KIM WATERS
The King of Collaboration! Kim Waters by Dr. Joan Cartwright Kim Waters has produced over 25 solo albums that contain half of his collection of original compositions. But his astonishing record for performing and collaborating with other musicians, especially women, is outstanding. Kim didn’t just collaborate with women vocalists and instrumentalists, he sired a prodigy, Kayla Waters, whose song Full Bloom holds the record for the longest #1 song on the Billboard National Airplay Chart, six weeks! Kayla Waters is a prodigy sired by a prodigy. And Kayla has a twin, Kimberly, which sounds like a double bonus! Kim began violin lessons at seven. He studied theory and, by 11, switched to saxophone. The TV maestro Lawrence Welk has saxophones in his band and that caught Kim’s attention. By 13, he was a known prodigy at Peabody School of Music, Harford Community College, and in very short notice, in New York City. He even played with Ray Charles at Pier 6 in Baltimore. Kim and his brothers Eric (drums) and James (bass) were joined by Cyrus Chestnut on piano, while accompanying vocalists Byrd Pressley and Phil Perry (pictured below), on many occasions as the house band for the Playboy Club in Great Gorge, New Jersey. On weekends, they took gigs at jazz spots around the city. From 1984 on, the band played at Birdland, uptown at Small’s Paradise Lounge, Minton’s, and the Blue Note. Kim’s soulful smooth jazz captured the hearts of audiences, quickly. He performed for Jazzmobile at Bryant Park and on the Round-the-City Jazz Cruise. During his breaks, Kim took advantage of the jazz giants living in his midst for mentoring, including tenor men Gary Bartz and Mickey Fields, who Kim drove around when he was only 16 years old. The tri-state area leant a rich background for Kim’s musical grooming. Hailing from Belair, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore, Kim also performed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. He lived in Austin, Texas, for nine years and his travel abroad began with a trip to Tokyo, Japan, where he eventually appeared at the infamous Blue Note. By 1991, Kim was touring Europe at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Ronnie Scott’s in Londoon, and festivals in Lago Maggiore, Italy, in Algarve, Portugal, and in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. His latest collaboration is with our WIJSF member and magazine contributor Gail Jhonson. During this interview, he mentioned that they just dropped Glow, yesterday. Ironically, Gail texted me the link, this morning, and I listened to it. Little did I know they worked together. Kim’s most important collaboration is with his daughter Kayla Waters on piano. Kayla is a classically-trained pianist and composer. Together, they are a dynamic duo. I suggest you view this video: https://youtu.be/ eqDl5nfZQzU?si=Qveeluc0i35MSpi6
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