Black History Month:Musicians Union Local 6 & Earl Watkins

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Black History Month: Earl Watkins

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San Francisco has always been a club town, and in the mid-20th century it was all about jazz. The Say When Club, the Hangover Club, the Blackhawk, the Tin Angel, the Cotton Club, the Gay and Friskie Club ... those and more were headquarters for popular music ranging from Dixieland to big band swing to bebop.

At the center of it all was a gentleman who spoke softly with his voice but whipped up fury on his drum kit: Earl Watkins. Born and raised in San Francisco, he stuck close by the city most of his life, raising a family and mentoring countless musicians. He was a walking encyclopedia of jazz knowledge.

In addition to drumming, Watkins was involved in integrating the San Francisco jazz scene, helping black players get work through Local 6 of the Musician's Union, where he served on the board of directors.

As a youth, Watkins was fascinated by the polyrhythmic drumming style of Gene Krupa, which, with help from teacher John Randolph, he adapted and put to use in groups led by Jimmy Brown, Buddy Collette, Johnny Cooper and others.

After a World War II stint in the Navy, where he played in a band with Vernon Alley, another S.F. native, and Collette, Watkins settled in Berkeley and worked in Oakland haunts like Slim Jenkins and the Swing Club, where in the house band he backed many national jazz and blues acts. By the late '40s he became a mainstay at two of the top San Francisco clubs, Bop City and the Blackhawk.

In 1956 Watkins launched into the big time with a seven-year gig in the band of pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines, who at various times had employed Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.

In the '60s, with the advent of rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll, work for jazz musicians began to diminish. But Watkins kept busy, playing for years in a band at Oakland's Claremont Hotel and getting other gigs here and there.

In recent years, Watkins continued to work with Local 6, and he helped start the Fillmore Jazz Heritage Center, which is attempting to revive jazz in that neighborhood. In 2003, Congress awarded Watkins a certificate, dubbing him a certified jazz legend.

After Watkins died last summer at 87, Peter Fitzsimmons, executive director of the Jazz Heritage Center, wrote a tribute including these words: "When it was time to identify the San Francisco 'Living Legends of Jazz' for the official Fillmore Heritage Center groundbreaking ceremony ... one call to Earl Watkins was all that was needed. He knew all the players."

Video of Earl Watkins playing with the Muggsy Spanier Band in 1963 is on YouTube at links.sfgate.com/ZCID, where similar clips also can be found.

The Black History Month series of profiles of African Americans from the past runs Monday through Friday through February. For more information, including the Jan. 27 Sunday Datebook coverage of Black History Month, go to sfgate.com/entertainment.