Bobby Watson: On Jazz And BBQ

by Michael Katzif 

courtesy of the artist

Bobby Watson pays tribute to his hometown with his seven part suite The Gates BBQ Suite.

When alto saxophonist Bobby Watson returned to Kansas City, it was a big deal. Despite its jazz legacy, Kansas City felt overlooked compared to other jazz towns, and often lost its best musicians to bigger cities. So for one of its own to return — especially a world-class player like Watson — brought a lot of buzz to the tight-knit scene.

Watson is a Kansas City-area native, but he left in order to make a name for himself in the jazz world. He attended the University of Miami alongside fellow students Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius. After he graduated in 1975, Watson moved to New York City and played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1977-1981.

He's played with nearly everyone, from Max Roach, George Coleman and Branford and Wynton Marsalis to Dianne Reeves, Betty Carter and even Carlos Santana.

 

courtesy of the artist

After more than 25 years touring the world and living in New York, Watson returned to his hometown in 2000 to serve as the William and Mary Grant-Endowed Professor of Jazz and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Now, the veteran saxophonist and professor has released the album of his long-awaited, seven-part work for large ensemble: The Gates BBQ Suite. (The piece premiered in December 2008 in a live performance with UMKC’s Conservatory Concert Jazz Orchestra.) Watson says the suite — more than five years in the making and completely self-financed — is a "dream piece," a labor of love. But it's also a supremely fun collection of songs in a classic big band tradition.

The Gates BBQ Suite is thematically oriented around the legendary Kansas City restaurant Gates Bar B. Q. As a native Kansas Citian myself, the record combines two of my favorite things: jazz and barbecue. Watson's songs both honor Gates and wink at those who most closely know the restaurant. I recently spoke to Watson to chat about his new recording, the barbecue connection and his — our — hometown.

Michael Katzif: So, as a native Kansas Citian, I'm required to lead with this crucial first question: Why Gates? Why not Bryant's?

Bobby Watson: (Laughs) I like Bryant's. There's a lot of barbecue places I like in town. Some people said "You should write something for Jack's Stack." [Arthur Bryant's and Jack's Stack are two other iconic barbecue places in K.C. —Ed.]

But I was always familiar with Gates in my life and my experience. Gates is what means something to me. But it just so happens that Mr. Gates [Gates' owner Ollie Gates — Ed.] is a music lover and he would always come and support me at my gigs. He used to have a jazz club called OG's. And his relationship with the music and jazz have a lot to with it.

I remember when I still lived in New York, we would always drive back to Kansas City every summer and we would hit Gates when we'd get back. It was sort of a tradition for us. And most of the musicians when they come into town, first place they want to go is Gates.
 
MK: I'll always go for the beef on bun when I hit up Gates. What do you normally eat when you go there?
BW: Well, we didn't eat pork for like 20 years, before the kids were born. And so when they got be around ten, they hadn't had pork. But you go into Gates, you're not smelling the beef up in the air, you're not smelling the chicken. You're smelling those daggone ribs. (Laughs) And they [had not] had beef ribs either. [We'd] go in there and go "(sniffs), gimme a beef sandwich."

But finally when the kids were 13, I was like, "I was raised on eating these ribs, let me let these kids have a short end," you know? And so we went to Gates! And so they had a short end and that turned it all around. I took a little pinch and the next thing you know I'm back on it. And that's our story. Every time we drive, we take three days to drive from New York to Kansas City. And when we get in, the first thing we do is grab the beef sandwiches and short ends and head over to grandma's house.

MK: You're originally from Kansas. But before 2000, you lived in New York and toured for over 25 years. What was it that drew you back to Kansas City?
BW: Well it's home and my parents are getting up there in age. But it was also an opportunity to come back home with a very special teaching situation in terms of being able to run a jazz department [at UMKC]. It's an endowed professorship, so I can still travel from time to time and keep my presence out there. So I think it was just a matter of timing. If I had to plan it myself, I would have waited a couple more years before I came home, but the opportunity was there at that time.

I talked to a lot of my friends about it, "What do you think? Should I try it?" [Because when] you've been in New York in the trenches, you don't want to feel like you're abandoning ship, you know? We're all soldiers for the music — very committed soldiers. But they said, "Oh no man, you better take advantage of that, dude. All you gotta do is get on a plane and go anywhere you wanna go."
I like the quality of life here, at this point in my life. The economic situation here, the cost of living, is decent. And it’s worked well for me.

Complete on  >>  http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/09/12/129820151/bobby-watson-reflecting-on-jazz-and-bbq&sc=nl&cc=jn-20100919