Anne Watts has a background in neoclassical piano, art songs, and marching bands. In school (Hampshire College) she studied with Art Matthews, son of ragtime composer Artie Matthews and pianist for the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Lester Bowie. Her mentor is Roland Wiggins, who'd studied with Henry Cowell and Vincent Persichetti and who passed on his knowledge of theory to the likes of Miles Davis and Sonny Fortune. She also studied independently with pianist Monica Jakuc, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lew Spratlan, and John Sessions (son of composer Roger Sessions). She went on to study with Konrad Wolff, protege of the great piano pedagogue Artur Schnabel. They argued about the validity of John Coltrane, and Konrad once told her that her composing sounded like she'd had "bad fish for dinner."
In 1984, she returned to her roots in the theater (her grandfather, T. Edward Hambleton, was one of the first producers of off-Broadway theater in New York City). She composed scores for Industrial Strength Theater's adaptation of Heinrich Boll's "My Sad Face," as well as Heiner Muller's Hamlet Machine and The Tempest for New Century Theater. She has also collaborated with painter/performance artist Lucio Pozzi and choreographer Louise Steinman.
In 1988 Anne co-founded Opus B, an arts cooperative working with the elderly, the mentally impaired, and at-risk youth. In a South Baltimore nursing home, she met John Englehart, an 81-year-old schizophrenic who'd been institutionalized since childhood. They began a close collaboration that lasted until his death in 1992, through which he developed his innate skills as a painter. Their work together culminated in a solo exhibition of his work in a Baltimore gallery and her song cycle Melee Au Soleil, recorded the week of his death.
"Live at Christ Church" illustrates the full range of Watts' influences, from Kurt Weill to Thelonious Monk and Nina Simone, and includes a homage to Englehart, "4:44 AM."
Check out the artist's website:
http://boister.netTrack List:
1. Prelude #1, Op. 87
2. 4:44 Am
3. Nocturne in f minor, Op. 55, No. 1
4. Je Ne T'Aimes Pas
5. Amble
6. Hallelujah
7. 'Round Midnight
8. Wild Is the Wind
9. Largo from Sonata in g minor
10. Pearl
11. Brahms' Birthday
12. Will Ye Go, Lassie
13. Wichita Lineman
14. When You Wish Upon A Star
Suggested CDs:
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