Kit Watkins

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Kit Watkins in 2001

Kit Watkins (born 1953) is an American progressive-ambient-jazz recording artist based in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Beginnings

Born in Virginia to classical piano teachers, Watkins took piano lessons from the age of 5 to 13. As a teenager he began to play keyboards in various amateur bands, first playing Top 40 material, then moving to progressive rock covers by Yes, ELP and suchlike. While a student at James Madison University, he met guitarist Stanley Whitaker, who introduced him to Gentle Giant, Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. He joined Whitaker's flegling band Happy The Man in 1973, replacing original keyboardist David Bach. The band already had two strong composers in Whitaker and Frank Wyatt. Watkins, then aged 19, soon began to compose for the band.

Happy The Man (1973-79)

The band moved to the Washington, DC area in the summer of 1975 and developed a devoted following as a result of airplay on WGTB-FM (the Georgetown University radio station which no longer broadcasts) as well as live performances sponsored by the station, headlining the Pandemedia event of that year. The band was a regular act at The Cellar Door in Georgetown, DC, and signed to the venue's management office. In 1976, they signed with Clive Davis' Arista Records, which released two albums, Happy The Man (1977) and Crafty Hands (1978). Both albums were produced by Ken Scott, engineer from The Beatles' White Album sessions, who also engineered and produced albums by David Bowie, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the Dixie Dregs. Watkins worked closely with Scott as the band's representative in recording and mixing both Happy The Man albums. For Watkins, this was a crash course in recording technique which he later found invaluable in his solo recording endeavors. Throughout Happy the Man's tenure, Watkins' contributions figured prominently in the band's sound and incorporated his writing, playing, arranging, and producing skills.

The two Happy The Man albums found a small but devoted cult audience for the band, but sales of both albums were disappointing, and the band was dropped by Arista in 1978. Concurrently, their drummer was replaced by French percussionist Coco Roussel. After about a year of label-shopping without results, the group's drive and commitment began to wane. Near the end of that year, the British progressive rock band Camel approached Watkins about filling their vacant keyboard position, and he accepted. Happy The Man disbanded as a result. Although Watkins had agreed to plans for reforming HTM as a studio-based project in the 1990s, when the rest of the band decided they also wanted to perform live, he withdrew from the plans (David Rosenthal replaced him). In 2000, he attended the reformed HTM's live debut.

Camel and Early Solo Years

In June 1979, Watkins traveled to England to join Camel, and the band recorded a new album, I Can See Your House From Here for Decca Records, with Rupert Hine as producer. The band toured England, Europe, and Japan to promote the album.

Watkins left Camel at the beginning of rehearsals in 1980 for their next album, Nude, because little of what he had written for Camel was accepted for inclusion on the new album.^{[citation needed]} Even though Watkins did not appear on subsequent Camel albums, he participated in the European tours for both Nude (1981) and The Single Factor (1982). Watkins was involved in the early stages of Stationary Traveller, but again left for the same reasons.

Labyrinth (1980)

After leaving Camel for the first time, Watkins launched a solo career and recorded his first solo album Labyrinth (with Coco Roussel on drums and largely in the vein of HTM, even including a couple of compositions intended for the band's third album) in 1980. Watkins and Roussel played duo concerts, with backing tapes, in 1980-81. Watkins' next effort, Frames of Mind, with Brad Allen on guitars and vocals, appeared in 1982. The album was a fun and quirky mix of new wave pop and hybrid world music, recorded at Watkins' home studio in Arlington, Virginia and released on his label, Azimuth Records. The duo created a music video of the song "My Telephone" which was shown throughout the United States on cable television. On his next release Watkins again worked with Roussel, the results released as Kit & Coco - In Time in 1985. The album and delved into both new and familiar territory - a mix of progressive, jazz fusion, and contemplative styles - and was critically acclaimed by reviewers and fans alike.

Later Solo Years

In 1987, Watkins relocated to Linden, Virginia in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains where he recorded and released several albums over the next 10 years, including Azure (1988), SunStruck (1990), and wet, dark, and low (1992) for the Minneapolis-based East Side Digital (ESD) label, and Thought Tones (1990), A Different View (1991), Kinetic Vapors (1993), Holographic Tapestries (1995), and Beauty Drifting (1996) for his Linden Music label. Linden also released a number of albums by other notable electronic/ambient artists, including David Borden, Robert Rich, and Jeff Greinke.

In 1990, Watkins, working out of his home studio in Virginia, produced Coco Roussel's solo album. Roussel recorded his tracks in Los Angeles and then uploaded them by computer to Watkins in Virginia. His album was one of the first to be produced using this early form of long-distance music exchange, similar to what many musicians now do on the internet.^{[citation needed]}

Linden Music closed its doors in 1997 due to distribution problems, but Watkins has continued releasing his work on CD, first via MP3.com and currently via Cafepress. In 2000, he signed a contract with One Way Records for the release of four of his albums (Labyrinth, SunStruck, wet, dark, and low, and Holographic Tapestries) which continue to be distributed nationally.

Recent albums include The Unseen (2000), Rolling Curve (2000), The Gathering (2001 - a live recording of a rare live performance given in Philadelphia that year), music for the end (2001), This Time and Space (2003), unraveled (2003), Flying Petals (2004), and World Fiction (2005).

Watkins has released two DVDs: a hypnotic visual work based on his album This Time and Space (2004); and The Gathering (2005), a live performance, videotaped by his longtime friend and Azimuth Records partner Sally Heldrich.

This file is a candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after Thursday, 30 July 2009.

Additionally, Watkins briefly formed an improvisational trio in early 2001 called Tone Ghost Ether with musicians Brad Allen and John Tlusty. The group has released four CDs. The trio focused on recording "live" in Watkins' performance studio, in the tradition of jazz groups of the past, without overdubs (although looping machines were used).

Watkins currently abstains from touring and devotes most of his available time to studio recording, except for the rare live performance. His ambient works have become staples on National Public Radio's Hearts of Space. Reviewers and fans have compared his work to Brian Eno, Mark Isham, Steve Roach, Harold Budd, Jeff Greinke, and others.^{[citation needed]}

Solo Discography

• Labyrinth (1980)

External links

• The Official Website of Kit Watkins
• Tone Ghost Ether