Imprisoned Splendor

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, Rovi