Relentlessly listenable songs of sorrow and pity, of sin and salvation, deftly stitch together musical swatches of pre-Weimar Germany, jazz-age parts, and postmodern America to form a strong, seamless, 100 percent natural sound.

10 MP3 Songs
EASY LISTENING: Cabaret, JAZZ: Weird Jazz



Details:
Anne Watts is an international recording artist whose debut disc with her ensemble, Boister, was released in Europe and Japan to rave reviews. Paris' Jade magazine called it "the album of the decade".

Responses in the US were equally enthusiastic. "Any artist that can reference Lotte Lenya, Edith Piaf, Captain Beefheart, and Thelonius Monk at the same time is all right with me," said pianist/producer Jim Dickinson, who has worked with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. "[Watts'] Boister is the most startling and wonderful and heartbreaking record I've heard all year...A knockout!" said John Jennings, producer and guitarist for Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Watts and Boister have recently completed their sophomore recording, Song of the Smoke, released in Europe and Japan by Last Call Records in May 2000. Baltimore's City Paper notes "a smoother blend of the band's influences (Euro-cabaret, American hobo/boho eccentricity, intimate singer/songwriter detail), but it's still got quite a kick and a nice smooth finish." In France, it was called "an excellent surprise" (magic!/Revue Pop Moderne); "voluptuous!" (Compact Magazine); "an urgent discovery" (Accordeon Magazine); and "stronger than Cat Power and Ani DiFranco combined!" (MCM On Line).

In addition to promoting their new recording, Watts and Boister are currently performing their original score for Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill, Jr., commissioned by the prestigious Walters Art Museum's film series.

Watts is twice a recipient of Baltimore's Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture Award and the Maryland State Arts Council's Individual Artist Award. She is represented by Bug Music publishing and BMI.