Bijon Watson I could be playing gigs every night in Top 40 bands, but that's not musically enriching to me. I have friends who do that and they make great money, rolling around in big fat Escalades. But they're not excited about what they're doing. It's why I teach, so I don't have to do those things. I can do the things that are musically rewarding and still stay true to what I love to do and I can still stay excited about music. One of his ultimate goals is to revive Orange County's jazz scene by performing and booking at local clubs and teaching jazz at Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), where he's been teaching for eight years.
Trumpets - Flugelhorn - Arranger - Producer
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Bijon Watson has been classically trained since the age of eight and has performed to audiences around the world. In high school, Watson was principal trumpet of the Massachusetts All-State Orchestra in 1985 and 1986, the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble, the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Youth Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of world-renowned conductor Benjamin Zander. He attended the University of Southern California, and the New England Conservatory of Music, and was a member of the 1994 Disney All-American College Band and 1995 Disney/Grammy All-American College Jazz Band.
Bijon has had the opportunity to record on numerous movie soundtracks with studios such as Paramount, Warner Brothers and Disney. His credits include performances and/or recordings with Joe Williams, Diana Krall, Michael Crawford, Arturo Sandoval, John Pizzarelli, Natalie Cole, Michael Buble, Renee Olstead, Michael Brecker, Nicholas Payton, Jon Faddis, Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Morrison, Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Prince, Mariah Carey, Carl Thomas, Carl Anderson and Eric Benet, and Gladys Knight to name a few.
Bijon has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the "Hour of Power" Orchestra at the Crystal Cathedral and in many musical theatre productions in Los Angeles and throughout California. In 2005 he was a member of Rickey Minor's house band for episodes of "American Idol". In 2006 Bijon performed on the 48th Annual Grammy Awards show with an All-Star band whose members included Bruce Springsteen, "Edge" of U2, Elvis Costello and Bonnie Raitt. Bijon is lead trumpet for the critically-acclaimed Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, the Gerald Wilson Jazz Orchestra, the Luckman Jazz Orchestra under the direction of James Newton, the Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars, and many other jazz, salsa, and pop bands throughout the United States.
A dedicated educator, Bijon is the Director of the Jazz and Commercial Music Program at the Orange County H.S. of the Arts. A sought-after clinician, he has given clinics at several high schools in Southern California and Europe as well as IAJE, CMEA, and Network of Performing Arts Schools conferences.
Bijon is endorsed by Stomvi Brass in Valencia, Spain and uses their entire line of trumpets exclusively. He plays the "Master" series B-flat trumpet and flugelhorn as well as the "Mambo" titanium b-flat trumpet and the Stomvi USA "Salsa" b-flat. In orchestral settings he uses the "Master" series C trumpet as well as the "Elite" series piccolo trumpet.