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A versatile and well-respected drummer,
Frederick Waits worked in many different situations throughout his career. He played flute early on, and even majored in flute at Jackson Street College; however, he soon became a professional drummer. Some of his early gigs were for blues artists, including
Memphis Slim and
John Lee Hooker, and
Waits also picked up experience performing soul music. He played with
Jimmy Wilkins' orchestra in Detroit in 1962, was in
Paul Winter's band from 1963-1965, and worked in Los Angeles with
Gerald Wilson's Orchestra before moving to New York in the mid-'60s. Some of
Waits' more important musical associations were with
Sonny Rollins (1966),
Andrew Hill (1968-1969),
McCoy Tyner (1968-1970),
Max Roach (
Waits was a founding member of M'Boom), the group Colloquium III,
Bill Dixon, and
Cecil Taylor (1987). Unfortunately, he never led any record dates of his own. ~ Scott Yanow