{"product_id":"bobby-watson-keepin-it-real-cd","title":"Bobby Watson - Keepin' It Real CD","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 700px; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1402367181\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bobbywatsonjazz.bandcamp.com\/album\/keepin-it-real\"\u003eKeepin' It Real by Bobby Watson\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e8-panel Digipak Album\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“His playing is sophisticated yet soulful. He’s elegantly slippery as only a player at one with his instrument can be, stretching phrases seamlessly over nearly the entire length of a chorus and interjecting brief figures with just the right squeal to make his point.”\u003cbr\u003e\n— Howard Mandel, Downbeat\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“We don’t have baseball right now, but Bobby Watson and New Horizon hits it out of the ball park on this fantastic release.”\u003cbr\u003e\n— Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“Alto saxophonist\/composer Bobby Watson debuts a new incarnation of his renowned band Horizon on KEEPIN’ IT REAL, furthering a legacy endowed by Watson’s days as one of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and passed on through a lifetime in jazz education.”\u003cbr\u003e\n— Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“These guys make it sound so easy, but if it were, why isn’t there more music like this?”\u003cbr\u003e\n— George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e#1 JazzWeek radio chart (2 weeks)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eAlto saxophonist Bobby Watson writes a new chapter of his storied career with KEEPIN’ IT REAL. While the album is a continuation of the supple hard-bop sound Watson has practiced throughout the decades, infused with elements of gospel and R\u0026amp;B, it also heralds change as Watson debuts a new edition of his band Horizon. Dubbed New Horizon, this group still features longtime collaborator and Horizon member Curtis Lundy on bass and adds trumpeters Josh Evans and Giveton Gelin, pianist Victor Gould and drummer Victor Jones. This new personnel infuses Watson with renewed vigor and creative energy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eAnother part of the story of this record is Watson’s retirement from a 20+ year collegiate teaching career. It gives Watson, who won the JAZZTIMES critic’s poll as the top alto saxophonist in 2019, his best opportunity in many years to focus exclusively on his own music. Change is an inevitable part of life and Watson embraces it as essential part of creativity. As he explains, KEEPIN’ IT REAL is a mantra that he strives to exemplify every time he lifts his alto to his lips.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ereleased June 26, 2020\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eBOBBY WATSON \u0026amp; NEW HORIZON\u003cbr\u003e\nfeaturing Curtis Lundy\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eBobby Watson – alto saxophone\u003cbr\u003e\nJosh Evans – trumpet (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 \u0026amp; 9)\u003cbr\u003e\nGiven Gellin – trumpet (tracks 2, 4 \u0026amp; 5)\u003cbr\u003e\nVictor Gould – piano\u003cbr\u003e\nCurtis Lundy – bass\u003cbr\u003e\nVictor Jones – drums\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eRecorded Live on February 20, 2020 at Sear Sound Studio C, NYC\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eProduced by Paul Stache \u0026amp; Damon Smith\u003cbr\u003e\nRecording, Mixing \u0026amp; Mastering Engineer: Chris Allen\u003cbr\u003e\nStudio Assistants: Owen Mulholland and Steven Sacco\u003cbr\u003e\nLiner Notes by Mark Ruffin\u003cbr\u003e\nPhotography by Jimmy and Dena Katz\u003cbr\u003e\nDesign by Damon Smith and Paul Stache\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eVictor Gould appears courtesy of Blue Room Music\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smoke Sessions Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56382102831486,"sku":"SSR-2004-CD","price":44.0,"currency_code":"PLN","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/4161\/5230\/files\/SSR-2004-CD.jpg?v=1760095113","url":"https:\/\/8merch.shop\/products\/bobby-watson-keepin-it-real-cd","provider":"8Merch Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}