David Watson's main influence is
Joe Williams, that you can take to the bank. He sounds like a leaner, thinner
Williams, with a frail, innocent quality to his baritone voice that acts as a boyish charm. He's not as deeply blues oriented as
Williams, who could be? There are many good moments though, on these 15 tracks, seven written by
Watson, five with lyrical input from veteran songstress
Dee Bell. The introductory number, "Entertaining You," pretty much sets the tone, a bossa-to-swing number that invites you in. Several bossas and sambas occur throughout, but
Watson is his strongest when singing ballads, as during the
Shirley Horn influenced take on
Erroll Garner's "Dreamy," or the most-like-
Joe Williams "A Hundred Years from Today" and "September in the Rain." He's more extroverted on an atypical, frenetic adaptation of
Eddie Jefferson's "I Got the Blues," which
Jefferson did as a shuffle blues, or a deliberate "Well, You Needn't" --
Carmen McRae's version. The slow blues "Fat Cat" is a quirky reflection on when
Watson was a bartender in Philadelphia listening to
John Coltrane and
Thelonious Monk, very interesting. Piano subtleties are contributed by pianist
John Mackay; bassists
Mel Graves and Steve Webber provide professional underpinnings, and guitarist Archie Williams gets some good licks in. There's a marginal horn complement on just two tracks, and one wonders how
Watson would sound with a big band. There are too few male jazz singers these days, so this is a welcome addition to that fraternity. Upon close listening one detects intonation problems he has to work harder on. Nonetheless,
Watson, who has quite a bit of experience under his belt, has the basis and solid grounding for honing his craft, developing into a fine interpreter and composer of classic material. ~ Michael G. Nastos