Meet Doc Watkins

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

Hi Doc, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a professional musician, I wanted to create a space for the community of local musicians to call home. Life on the road, or living “gig to gig” can be quite difficult and unpredictable, and I wanted to help change the way the jazz business works.

Thankfully, I had lots of supporters (and investors) who helped make this dream a reality. Now, I get to perform on my own stage, but also make lots of room for other local musicians, as well as national and international acts who include Doc’s as a stop on their tour.

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 started my career as a classical concert pianist, and earned my Bachelor’s, Masters, and Doctoral Degrees in Classical Piano. However, in my late 20s I chose to become a jazz musician, because what I really wanted was to perform every night for a live audience. In the world of classical music, this isn’t possible, so I switched to jazz. This was a big risk at the time, but I have been blessed with tremendous success, and I am very grateful for that.

I suppose there’s an intersection of jazz/classical music that comes through in my music, and I don’t personally see any obstacles between different genres. Jazz is about freedom and expression, so why not experiment with lots of different genres of music? My favorite artist of all-time is Willie Nelson, so there’s that …

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.
The downtown Houston skyline is beautiful, and one of my favorite things to do is to wander throughout the downtown area of a city. No plan, to itinerary, just wander and see what happens.

Stop into a local bar, have a drink, move on to a restaurant, and explore the city. I don’t like planning my trips, so finding a good place to wander is one of my favorite things to do.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My college professor and piano teacher, Alexander Tutunov. He shared his love of music with me, and taught me the importance of reaching others with music. His influence has shaped my career over the past 25 years.

Website: https://docwatkins.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlawjazz/