Driven by a desire to craft music that served as an escape and antidote to the relentlessness and overstimulation of modern life, his debut album ‘Terrarium’ is set to release on November 26th.

Watson describes his music as ‘complex yet melodic’; drawing on Contemporary Jazz, Scottish Folk, Impressionist Classical music and his heroes in Aaron Parks, Kit Downes and Larry Grenadier to make his own distinctive imprint on modern Scottish Jazz. 

Beginning most of his compositions on the upright piano in his mother’s home, Watson finds the safety and seclusion he experiences there enables him to enter an uninhibited and spontaneous state of mind, unaffected by the rest of the world. 

Led by lyrical folk melodies, colourful harmony, intimate instrumental textures and gently propellant grooves, each of Watson’s nine deeply personal compositions are interpreted and performed by his quartet with maturity, personality and feeling. 

“I called my album ‘Terrarium’ primarily because I wanted to create a piece of work which really draws you into its own world.  Like a Terrarium it has its very own atmosphere and explores the boundaries between nature and nurture – the terrarium is initially artificially created and as you leave it over time nature begins to take over.”

United by friendship, a common pool of influences, and similar approaches to collective music making, Watson’s quartet features some of the most celebrated and in-demand young voices in Scottish Jazz –  multi-award winning Alan Benzie on piano, Edition Records saxophonist Matt Carmichael (Fergus McCreadie, WDR Big Band, corto.alto), and the highly sought after Greg Irons on drums.