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“The alto is a singing horn,” says Bobby Watson, and the great saxophonist is in fine voice on his latest album, Back Home in Kansas City. The album features an all-star quintet with Watson’s longtime rhythm section of bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Jones along with pianist Cyrus Chestnut and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. “Great melodies are immortal, like a sculpture or a painting,” Watson insists. “This album is more about the singing quality of my instrument.” As the title suggests, Back Home in Kansas City also pays homage to Watson’s hometown and its own rich musical heritage. The saxophonist grew up in KC, leaving to study at the University of Miami and then spending a quarter century making his name in New York City. He returned home in 2000 to serve as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music & Dance, retiring 20 years later. His retirement coinciding with the pandemic, Watson found himself with plenty of time to reflect on Kansas City’s importance to his distinctive sound and, gradually, to play for local audiences who helped attune his approach to the blend of soul and balladry that makes up the new album. “Being out here in Kansas City has given me a chance to slow down and go deeper into what I want to play,” he explains. “The Kansas City audience is a sophisticated audience because of the history of this town. We’ve got people out here who have heard a lot of music. So I’m not playing down to the audience, and I’m not trying to simplify anything. I’m simply coming out of what I feel in my heart and my soul.”