Nathan Watts

Yvon · #1 05-19-2001, 09:46 AM

I love this guy!
He is a great bass player, probably underated, unfortunatly.

Brad Johnson · #2 05-19-2001, 01:14 PM

Nathan's probably the quintessential studio bassist: one less thing for the artist or producer to worry about. He's definitely someone who plays for the song.

Oysterman · #3 05-19-2001, 01:37 PM

Why have I never heard of this guy before? Can anyone fill me in on who he is?

JimK · #4 05-19-2001, 02:22 PM

...maybe you've heard him doin' his thing with Stevie Wonder?
"Sir Duke", "I Wish"..."Do I Do" kills me; about 8+ minutes of 'groove city'.

Brad-
...is that Watts on "Contusion"?

Oysters...in any event, look into Songs In The Key Of Life &/or Original Musicquarium. Too, Watts plays on the Jamerson bio, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown...I believe there's some info about Watts in that book.

Brad Johnson · #5 05-19-2001, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JimK

Brad-
...is that Watts on "Contusion"?

Pretty sure it is. I think the name of the cut (get it

) was related to Stevie's car accident around that time. VH1 did a special on the album (Songs in the Key of Life) a couple of years ago with all the original guys assembled (Hank Redd, Mike Sembello, Nathan, etc.) and they still sounded great. But the best part was watching Stevie recreate the layers of sound, playing the drums and just being Stevie.

Yvon · #6 05-19-2001, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad Johnson

Pretty sure it is. I think the name of the cut (get it ) was related to Stevie's car accident around that time. VH1 did a special on the album (Songs in the Key of Life) a couple of years ago with all the original guys assembled (Hank Redd, Mike Sembello, Nathan, etc.) and they still sounded great. But the best part was watching Stevie recreate the layers of sound, playing the drums and just being Stevie.

I saw it also, it was great!
Just to look at Nathan play I wish.....

winston · #7 05-21-2001, 05:03 PM

That was a really cool video. It was the only time I've really been able to see Stevie in action. I was surprised to learn that even on the cuts where Stevie played everything (including drums) he always did the keyboards first. A friend of mine has an INCREDIBLE live Stevie bootleg from around '77 or '78 with the WonderLove band and it's absolutely smoking. It's so soulful and it's great to hear how Nathan and Stevie trade off on the super-funky bass lines. Nate's definitely coming from the James Jamerson school, but with his own twist.

ibeni · #8 05-21-2001, 06:10 PM

he played also on the Jacksons Destiny and maybe some other motown records , somebody know ???