Ema Watson

At the time of this recording, Watson was still building his reputation, playing in a group co-led by bassist Curtis Lundy. This was an outstanding band bolstered by the booming baritone sax of Hamiett Bluiett and featuring a strong rhythm section with pianist Mulgrew Miller and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith alongside Lundy. Special guest trumpeter Melton Mustafa provided sparkling lines and fiery solos, interacting smoothly with Watson and Bluiett in a solid frontline. Watson has since recorded more impressively engineered and mastered dates, but few have been musically superior to this early-'80s session.

Steven Feifke (pianist, composer, arranger/orchestrator and conductor) and Bijon Watson (lead trumpet) have joined forces to bring together a big band featuring some of the most well known names in all of jazz. These two artists are "frequent-flyer-mile" performers in a number of internationally acclaimed large ensembles and noticed one small problem in each one: there is almost no generation gap! The longstanding tradition spearheaded by artists like Art Blakey and Horace Silver of hiring the "young guns" for an ensemble has all but disappeared in recent years. In creating "The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra," Bijon and Steven make the objective of this band to strengthen that tradition of mentorship that has shaped and defined the jazz idiom since its earliest beginnings.

During 1983-86 altoist Bobby Watson recorded fairly regularly for the Italian Red label. On this album he is joined by an obscure but talented Italian rhythm section (pianist Piero Bassini, bassist Attilio Zanchi and drummer Giampiero Prina) called the Open Form Trio. Actually the highpoint of the date is Watson's unaccompanied solo on "If Bird Could See Me Now." Other memorable selections on the well-rounded set include "Watson's Blues," the ballad "Always Missing You" and the spirited "Funcalypso." Bobby Watson (who doubles on this album on soprano) at that point in time was combining advanced hard bop with some influences from the avant-garde, carving out his own style.