Rock Rebel

While Mick Jagger's in a supergroup with Damian Marley and Dave Stewart, Charlie Watts devotes himself to his lifelong passion, jazz.  And whether playing rock or boogie-woogie, there is one thing that matters to the Stones drummer, "the swing".

"A good drummer is someone who can swing and make you dance. If a drummer is able to make you dance, it takes you back to Africa, the roots of everything," he said in an interview with AFP.

What made him fall in love with jazz?  "Swing. I can't be more specific than that, it's the basis for all."

The drummer will perform Sunday at the New Morning in Paris with his quartet "The A, B, C & D of Boogie-Woogie." The next day he'll be one of the headliners of the 24th edition of "The Summer" festival in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (near Paris).

Speaking about jazz and France, a memory comes to mind, "When I was 17, I went to Paris to see Bud Powell (well-known bebop pianist) . At that time English fans of jazz had to "go to France" to listen, he says.  

Charlie Watts discovered jazz at age 13 with neighbor Dave Green, the "D" of "The A, B, C & D of Boogie-Woogie."

"We listened to Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Chet Baker and it was everything we dreamed of doing. This he does by the way, he became a jazz bassist. And me, I play everything they pay me to play."

A musician acclaimed by his peers and a member of the greatest rock band, Charlie Watts displays an unwavering modesty.

He's careful to emphasize that "The A, B, C & D of Boogie-Woogie" is not "his" group and all its members (the quartet is completed by pianist Ben Waters and Axel Zwingenberger) have "their own careers on their side."

He doesn't consider himself a jazz musician. Self-taught on drums, he learned to play by ear. "I've never been in a school to learn to play jazz. It's not what I like. What I like about jazz is emotion."

The music he plays with his quartet, the boogie-woogie, is "made for fun, a night of dancing. No need to play complex asymmetrical measures for "fun."'

Playing in a jazz quartet and with the Rolling Stones isn't so different, he assures.

"One's just amplified and on a larger scale, while with the other is smaller and quieter."

His best memory on stage? "I don't really have one. Most musicians are interested in what comes next. If the concert the night before was great, we want that night to be just as good."

Next year, the Rolling Stones will be celebrating their 50 year career, but the drummer doesn't have much to say about that.

It's "primarily the record company" that will mark the occasion, perhaps with a documentary.

"I guess if we agree, we'll do some concerts...I doubt we'll do a tour."