Bobby Watson - Made in America

Made in America, offers a musical portrait gallery of nine influential African-Americans.

Listeners may be familiar with some — surely everyone knows the name Sammy Davis, Jr., while Grant Green, Butterfly McQueen and Madam C.J. Walker will ring a bell with many — most of them remain obscure despite their history-making achievements. “This project has been a history lesson for me,” Watson says, “and I hope it will be a history lesson for the listeners.” To shed light on these overlooked giants of American history, Watson enlisted a few collaborators with whom he shares some significant history of his own.

On Made in America the renowned saxophonist is joined by the Curtis Lundy Trio, featuring bassist Curtis Lundy, pianist Stephen Scott and drummer Lewis Nash. All four have tenures with the influential singer Betty Carter in common, while the album marks a welcome return to the scene for Scott, who has been largely silent for the last several years.