A native of Middletown, Connecticut, Watrous has the trombone in his veins. His father, Ralph Watrous, was a big band trombonist in the ‘40’s. Bill, who started playing the trombone at the early age of six, was a natural, often playing alongside his father. As Bill explains it, "I learned through osmosis." Bill was persistent and his love for the music was unquenchable, as even his inability to read music in grade school did not deter him. "I would listen to a group play a song and copy it," he says. In the Navy, Watrous played in a jazz band and studied with the late pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. For much of the 1960’s and ‘70’s, the trombonist played in the premier big bands of Woody Herman, Quincy Jones, and Kai Winding, playing his way to chops of steel. Settling in Los Angeles, Watrous occupied the trombone chair for some of Tinsel Town’s most popular shows, the Merv Griffin Show, the Dick Cavett Show, and the Ed Sullivan Show. Watrous continues to reside in Southern California, where he was recently appointed to the faculty of the University of Southern California’s music program. After turning 60 last year, he continues to perform regularly and remains one of it’s most in demand artists.
   Half Note Records presents its first recording of the new millennium: the Bill Watrous Quartet, Live At The Blue Note. The veteran trombonist leads this pack of equally experienced players including Derek Smith (piano, formerly with Benny Goodman), Russell George (bass -formidable studio man whose lengthy list of dates includes the likes of Frank Sinatra and James Brown), and Joe Ascione (drums - performed with Joey Calderazzo, Ken Peplowski and many others). Almost ten years since his last quartet album, Watrous proves that his chops are strong as ever with an incredible set in front of a sold out room. According to writer, Fred Jung. "The rhythm section is in terrific form throughout this intense live recording and helps to make Live At The Blue Note, Watrous’s magnificent comeback into recording and reclaim his place among the trombone elite."