Ernie Watts Biography

Ernie Watts (born Ernest James Watts on October 23, 1945 in Norfolk, Virginia) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone (tenor, alto and soprano) and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist.

He began playing saxophone at thirteen and later attended the Berklee College of Music on a scholarship. He toured with Buddy Rich in the mid-1960s and visited Africa with Oliver Nelson's group. He began working with Haden in the 1980s and won Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist.

He first met Haden in relation to work he did for films. An early film effort playing the saxophone on the Grease (soundtrack album). He also played clarinet for The Color Purple (film) and saxophone for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.[1]