Mitch Watkins was born on 1 August 1952 in McAllen, Texas, United States of America, and is an American jazz guitarist and keyboardist. Watkins began piano lessons at eight, switched to guitar at twelve, and a year later performed in a surf-band covering The Ventures. After a brief stint at Texas Christian University, he studied composition at the University of Texas, where he gravitated toward jazz guitar and formed the fusion group Passenger. Passenger toured Europe and Australia with Leonard Cohen in 1979. Watkins released Underneath It All (1989) on Enja, followed by Curves (1991) and Strings With Wings (1992) on Tiptoe. He has collaborated with Joe Ely, Jennifer Warnes, Lyle Lovett, and Jerry Jeff Walker, recording and producing from his own studio.
