Trevor Watkis

Trevor Watkis is a jazz pianist, composer and arranger, born in London, United Kingdom. He started playing the piano in his late teens with encouragement and the influence of his older brother vocalist Cleveland Watkiss. Trevor initially took up music playing the guitar prompted by his other guitar-playing brother and inspired by the music in he heard at home. Later, after hearing the playing of Mulgrew Miller, Julian Joseph and Donald Brown, Watkis made the transition to piano. In 1989 he went to study in the USA at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Trevor got the opportunity to immerse himself in a very musically and culturally rich environment while studying at Berklee.

Trevor has since performed with many great artists from both sides of the Atlantic, including Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Courtney Pine and Betty Carter.

In the spring of 2007 Trevor Watkis released his debut album on the independent BlueSoundScape Music label entitled, Straight Ahead...Ride For Tone!. Recorded in New York, the CD features mainly compositions by Trevor and has a great band of some New York's finest musicians: Steve Wilson (alto & soprano saxophones) Darren Barrett (trumpet) Reuben Rogers (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums). Trevor was interviewed on BBC Radio 3 show Jazz Lineup, where he talked about the album with presenter Claire Martin.

In a review for London newspaper the Evening Standard the reviewer described Watkis as a 'British pianist-composer of unusual warmth, touch and taste'