Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Trevor Watts at 80, Cafe Oto London
Veteran saxophonist defies the years with a fiery performance
Blowing up a storm: Trevor Watts [shawn-vinson]

PLAYING  his alto and soprano saxophones with a rampant, joyous attack like a contemporary Sidney Bechet, from the very first notes Trevor Watts defies his advancing age.

The 80-year-old, a veteran of revolutionary bands like Spontaneous Music Ensemble and Amalgam from the 1960s and 1970s, rises to a seething ascent as he kicks backwards on reaching each sonic summit.

Veryan Weston’s chiming, intricate piano and the artistry of  John Edwards’s bass and the mallets of the subtle, ever-inventive drummer Mark Sanders beat out a thunderous salute to Watts’s eight decades.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Arin Keshishi Quintet on stage / Pic: Artstage
Culture / 24 November 2025
24 November 2025

As part of the 2025 London Jazz Festival Rich Mix offered intriguing sessions titled 'Persian Jazz,' CHRIS SEARLE was there

oto
Jazz / 30 April 2025
30 April 2025

CHRIS SEARLE wallows in an evening of high class improvised jazz, and recommends upcoming highlights in May

Vaughan Hawthorne-Nelson in concert at the Vortex with the T
Jazz / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
An unlikely venue hosts a memorable concert, and has future treats in store
Culture / 12 December 2024
12 December 2024
CHRIS SEARLE picks his favourites