Music
Julius Watkins
1921–1977 · jazz French horn player
Detroit-born musician called the father of the jazz French horn, who played with Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Gil Evans and co-led Les Jazz Modes.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Short Hills, New Jersey
aged 55- Detroit years
- 1921–1940s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Julius Watkins picked up the French horn at nine in Detroit, an unusual choice for a young Black musician drawn to jazz, and kept at it even as his professional career began on trumpet in the Ernie Fields Orchestra from 1943 to 1946. By the late 1940s he was taking French horn solos on sessions led by Kenny Clarke and Babs Gonzales. He then moved to New York and studied for three years at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1954 he played on two Thelonious Monk dates, including "Friday the 13th" with Sonny Rollins, and he went on to record with John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis with Gil Evans, and Randy Weston. From 1956 to 1959 he co-led Les Jazz Modes with saxophonist Charlie Rouse, and he toured Europe with Quincy Jones's band in 1959–1961. He won the Down Beat critics poll in 1960 and 1961. AllMusic calls him virtually the father of the jazz French horn, and festivals in his name have been held since 1994.
Highlights
- Began playing French horn at age nine in Detroit
- Played on Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins's "Friday the 13th" (1954)
- Co-led Les Jazz Modes with Charlie Rouse, 1956–1959
- Down Beat critics poll winner, miscellaneous instrument, 1960 and 1961