Ken Watters is an American jazz trumpeter residing in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. He is the brother of noted jazz trombonist, Harry Watters

Harry Watters

Harry Watters is a noted jazz trombonist. He has performed across the United States with many jazz artists including Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, Shirley Jones, and many others. He has performed as a featured trombone soloist with the United States Army Orchestra, the West Virginia Symphony...

. Ken is a member of several noted performing groups, including Tabou Combo, http://taboucombo.com, Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole

Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...

 Band, http://nataliecole.com, the Magic City Jazz Orchestra

Magic City Jazz Orchestra

The Magic City Jazz Orchestra is an American jazz ensemble which was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the SuperJazz Big Band by Birmingham, Alabama jazz pianist and vocalist Ray Reach...

, Ray Reach and Friends and the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars

W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars

The W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars is a group of jazz musicians who play annually at the W. C. Handy Music Festival in Florence, Alabama. During the last week of July each year, these musicians travel from all over the United States to gather in Florence and perform in various combinations...

. He attended the University of North Texas

University of North Texas

The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...

, where he participated in the famed Lab Band program and studied trumpet with internationally renowned teacher Leonard Candelaria

Leonard Candelaria

Leonard Candelaria is an American trumpeter and educator residing in Birmingham, Alabama. Until Fall 2009, he served as Professor of Trumpet and Artist in Residence at the University of Alabama at Birmingham...

. Later, Ken pursued further trumpet studies in New York City with Lew Soloff

Lew Soloff

Lew Soloff is a jazz trumpeter, composer and actor. He studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School. He is likely best known for his work with Blood, Sweat & Tears from 1968 to 1973...

 and Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...

.

Ken's latest musical focus is his new Haitian-Caribbean influenced jazz septet, RIYEL. The group's self-titled debut CD was released internationally on Summit Records

Summit Records

Summit Records, Inc. is an internationally distributed record label that evolved out of the dynamic large brass ensemble, Summit Brass in the late 1980s...

http://www.summitrecords.com

Discography

• The Jungle (1986)
• Brothers* (1999)
• Brothers II* (2000)
• Southern Exposure (2001)
• Brothers III* (2003)
• RIYEL (2010)

External links

• Watters Brothers website
• Ken Watters at Myspace.com