Meet Tim Watson | Guitarist and Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tim Watson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tim, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think I’ve really learned the most from jumping into really unknown territory, biting off way more than I can chew, and just pretending I know what I’m doing. My first experiences with putting together performances as a leader and composer were all disastrous in one way or another, and I used to regret those experiences, but now I’ve I appreciate the value of making mistakes. It’s pretty hard to learn anything as an artist if you don’t take risks.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I take pride in being involved with a lot of different types of music.

I’ve enjoyed working with some incredible Cuban jazz musicians in Miami, especially Ignacio Berroa and Armando Gola. I’ve also had some great musical experiences back in Boston working with one of my heroes Noah Preminger and with my old teacher Pat Donaher, whose album Ocassionally (with Alison Miller, Tony Scherr, Jason Palmer, Carmen Staaf, and I) comes out on April 9th. Playing jazz has taught me so much. If I had to condense it down, I’d say it’s helped me learn about intensity and some of the human elements of music in particular; how to glue a group together, how to have someone’s back, how to make the music happen no matter what.

My future pop/electroacoustic improv unit JUNE ARC has been one of the most exciting projects in my life for two years now. I believe really strongly in the band, and we’re excited to hopefully turn some heads at III Points 2021 in October. I’m honored to be on that lineup. It’s definitely cool to be in the same jpeg as Thundercat and Wu-Tang Clan.

I’m working on a chamber piece for the virtuoso Polish percussionist Antek Olesik, which should be finished by the summer. I’m also looking forward to collaborations with Dion Kerr, Jonathan Hulett, Brian Lynch, Eli Feingold, and Diego Melgar.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh man, great question. I’ll answer as if this is a few months in the future – hopefully we’re covid free. I’d say go to the Rubell Musuem (they have an amazing collection of 80’s NYC art), coffee at Panther of course, dancing at Floyd, eat at El Mago de las Fritas or Sushi Erika, and hang at Lagniappe. Those are a few of my favorites.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve had some amazing teachers, like Jeremy Harman, John Hart, Brian Lynch, Martin Bejerano, Pat Donaher, and many more. I’ve also learned so much from my friends in Miami.

Website: timwatsonguitar.com

Instagram: _timwatson

Image Credits
Mackenzie Karbon