LA tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts and Seattle's New Stories Trio were reunited at the 2019 Ballard Jazz Festival on the mainstage at the National Nordic Museum. Ernie Watts and New Stories first performed together in the 90s at The New Orleans Creole Restaurant and other Seattle locations and recorded a CD "Speakin' Out" for Origin Records in 1999. New Stories also performed as the rhythm section for numerous resident and visiting artists including Don Lanphere, Mark Murphy, Charles McPherson,