Loyd Watson, Jr.
Location: Alabama
Genre(s): Jazz
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Loyd Watson, Jr. is to modern jazz what Miles Davis was to the hard-bop movement: a trendsetter. To be a trendsetter, one must be versatile enough to saturate himself in all areas of music and have the ability to take all that he/she has immersed themselves with and produce a sound of their own. That task is daunting in and of itself, but trendsetters make accomplishing that task look easy.

Loyd's path to greatness began in West Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a place from which no one would expect such genius. He started playing the saxophone in the seventh grade beginner band. From there, he would continue to play in bands all throughout high school and ultimately, college. Fulfilling the status quo would not be enough for Loyd. He formed his own band at the age of fifteen. While it was not unique to start a band, it was unique to start a band that played almost entirely original music. This stance definitely was not popular among local music enthusiasts, but it earned him respect. By the time Loyd had enrolled at Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, he had gained notoriety as an "original cat," one who had his own sound and could not be easily compared to anyone.
 

After graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Music Education-Jazz Concentration, Loyd returned to his home state of Alabama to become a middle and high school Band Director. After four years of teaching, Loyd decided to leave secondary education and took a job completely outside of the music field. He landed a job at Mercedes Benz as a production worker building SUV's. Although this was quite a change, Loyd never stopped writing and performing all types of music. While in this transition, he re-united musically with life-long friend Anthony Avery, better known as Sam Addams. Sam, a trendsetter himself, worked tirelessly with Loyd to create "Multiple Personality," Loyd's statement in groove. Loyd currently is balancing working at his "regular job" and touring to support his release. He also plans to return to college to pursue a Master's then Docorate degree in Music Education.