Reggie Workman
American jazz double bassist
Reggie Workman
Workman in 2016
Birth name Reginald Workman Born (1937-06-26 ) June 26, 1937 (age 87) Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, U.S.Genres Occupations Instrument Double bass Labels Website reggieworkmanmusic .com
Musical artist
Reginald Workman (born June 26, 1937)[ 1] is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey , in addition to Alice Coltrane , Mal Waldron , Max Roach , Archie Shepp , Trio Three (with Oliver Lake and Andrew Cyrille ), Trio Transition, the Reggie Workman Ensemble, and collaborative projects with dance, poetry and drama.
Career
Early in his career, Workman worked in jazz groups led by Freddie Cole , Gigi Gryce ,[ 2] Donald Byrd , Duke Jordan and Booker Little . In 1961, Workman joined the John Coltrane Quartet,[ 2] replacing Steve Davis . He was present for the saxophonist's Live at the Village Vanguard sessions, and also recorded with a second bassist (Art Davis ) on the 1961 album, Olé Coltrane . Workman left Coltrane's group at the end of the year, following a European tour and recording Africa Brass .
In 1962, Workman joined Art Blakey 's Jazz Messengers [ 2] (replacing long-time Blakey bassist Jymie Merritt ), and worked alongside Freddie Hubbard , Wayne Shorter , and Cedar Walton for most of his time. Workman left Blakey's group in 1964.[ 2]
Workman also played with Freddie Cole, Lee Morgan, James Moody , Yusef Lateef , Pharoah Sanders , Herbie Mann and Thelonious Monk .[ 2] He has recorded with Archie Shepp , Lee Morgan and David Murray .[ 1] Workman, with pianist Tommy Flanagan and drummer Joe Chambers , formed The Super Jazz Trio in 1978.[ 3]
As of 1987, he was[ 4] a professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, and was a member of the group, Trio 3 , with Oliver Lake and Andrew Cyrille . In 1984 he started an on-going performance arts collaborations with writer/director/choreographer Maya Milenovic Workman. Recent works include: "Dos Worlds" "Ophelia's Ocean" & "Guernica Continuum."
Personal life
Workman has three children, Nioka Workman (cellist), Olu Workman (entrepreneur), and Ayana Workman (actor/dancer/poet). Workman lived in Montclair, NJ from 1994 - 2005 and is currently a resident of Harlem, New York City .[ 5] [ 6]
Honors and awards
In 1997, Workman was named as the recipient of a Life Achievement Award by the Jazz Foundation of America and was awarded a citation of excellence by the International Association of Jazz Educators .[ 7] In 1999, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation presented him with its Living Legacy Award.[ 8] In 2020, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition in collaboration with Maya Milenovic Workman [ 9] and was named by the National Endowment of the Arts an NEA Jazz Master .[ 7]
Discography
Workman at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society , Half Moon Bay CA 4/2/89
As leader/co-leader
With Trio Transition
With Trio 3
Live in Willisau (Dizim, 1997)
Encounter (Passin' Thru, 2000)
Open Ideas (Palmetto, 2002)
Time Being (Intakt, 2006)
Wha's Nine: Live at the Sunset (Marge, 2008)
Berne Concert with Irene Schweizer (Intakt, 2009)
At This Time (Intakt, 2009)
Celebrating Mary Lou Williams–Live at Birdland New York with Geri Allen (Intakt, 2011)
Refraction – Breakin' Glass (Intakt, 2013)
Wiring (Intakt, 2014)
Visiting Texture (Intakt, 2017)
As supporting artist
With Juhani Aaltonen
Strings Revisited (Tum, 2002)
Reflections (Tum, 2004) with Andrew Cyrille
Prana / Live at Groovy (Leo, 1982)
With Roy Ayers
With Gary Bartz
With Art Blakey
With Hamiet Bluiett
Orchestra Duet and Septet (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
With The Bridgewater Brothers
Lightning and Thunder (Denon, 1977)
Generation Suite (Denon, 1978)
With Roy Brooks
Ethnic Expressions (Im-Hotep, 1973)
Live At Town Hall (Baystate, 1978)
With Marion Brown
Vista (Impulse!, 1975)
Passion Flower (Baystate, 1978)
With Donald Byrd
With Don Byron
With Steve Cohn
Shapes, Sounds, Theories (Cadence Jazz, 1984)
Bridge Over the X-Stream (Leo, 1999)
With Earl Coleman
Manhattan Serenade (1968)
With Johnny Coles
With Adegoke Steve Colson
The Untarnished Dream (Silver Sphinx, 2009)
With Alice Coltrane
With John Coltrane
Africa/Brass (Impulse!, 1961)
Ole Coltrane (Atlantic, 1961)
The Complete Copenhagen Concert (Magnetic, 1961)
Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard (Impulse!, 1961 [1962])
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (Impulse!, 1961 [1997]) – contains recordings also on Impressions and the above release
Newport '63 (Impulse!, 1961 [1993])
Ballads (Impulse!, 1961-1962 [1963])
Impressions (Impulse!, 1961–1963 [1963])
Live Trane: The European Tours (Pablo, 1961-1963 [2001])
So Many Things: The European Tour 1961 (Acrobat, 1961 [2015])
Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!, 1961 [2023])
With Stanley Cowell
With Marilyn Crispell
With Andrew Cyrille
With Sussan Deyhim
Madman of God: Divine Love Songs of the Persian Sufi Masters (Cramworld, 2000)
Shy Angels: Reconstruction and Mix Translation of Madman of God (Cramworld, 2002) with Bill Laswell
With Bill Dixon
With Eric Dolphy
With Booker Ervin
With Mario Escalera
Blue Mondays (Phoenix, 1981)
With Chris Fagan
Lost Bohemia (Open Minds, 1992)
With Art Farmer
With Sonny Fortune
Awakening (Horizon, 1975)
In the Spirit of John Coltrane (Shanachie, 2000)
With Hal Galper
With Grant Green
With Gigi Gryce
With Billy Harper
With Andrew Hill
With Terumasa Hino
Love Nature (Canyon/Love, 1971)
Peace and Love (Canyon/Love, 1971)
A Part (Canyon/Love, 1971)
Double Rainbow (CBS/Sony, 1981)
With Takehiro Honda
With Freddie Hubbard
With Bobby Hutcherson
With The Jazz Composer's Orchestra
With Elvin Jones
With Clifford Jordan
With Duke Jordan
With Oliver Lake
With Yusef Lateef
With Booker Little
With Living Colour
With Herbie Mann
With Miya Masaoka
Monk's Japanese Folk Song (Dizim, 1997)
With Cristina Mazza
Where Are You? (Il Posto, 1989)
With Ken McIntyre
Home (SteepleChase, 1975)
With Roscoe Mitchell
With Grachan Moncur III
With James Moody
Running The Gamut (Scepter, 1965)
With Lee Morgan
With David Murray
With New York Art Quartet
With Dave Pike
With Sam Rivers
With Max Roach
Nommo (Victor, 1976)
Live in Tokyo (Denon, 1977)
The Loadstar (Horo, 1977)
Live in Amsterdam (Baystate, 1977)
With Charlie Rouse
We Paid Our Dues! (Epic, 1961)
With Hilton Ruiz
With Pharoah Sanders
With Ellen May Shashoyan
Song For My Father (New Ark, 1989)
With Archie Shepp
With Wayne Shorter
With Sonny Simmons
With Heiner Stadler
With Sonny Stitt
Moonlight in Vermont (Denon, 1977)
With Monnette Sudler
Other Side of the Gemini (Hardly, 1988)
With Aki Takase
Clapping Music (Enja, 1995)
With Horace Tapscott
With John Tchicai and Andrew Cyrille
Witch's Scream (TUM, 2006)
With Charles Tolliver
With Mickey Tucker
Blues in Five Dimensions (SteepleChase, 1989)
With Edward Vesala
With Mal Waldron
Up Popped the Devil (Enja, 1973)
Breaking New Ground (Baybridge 1983)
Mal Waldron Plays Eric Satie (Baybridge, 1983)
You and the Night and the Music (Paddle Wheel, 1983)
The Git Go - Live at the Village Vanguard (Soul Note, 1986)
The Seagulls of Kristiansund (Soul Note, 1986)
The Super Quartet Live at Sweet Basil (Paddle Wheel, 1987)
Crowd Scene (Soul Note, 1989)
Where Are You? (Soul Note, 1989)
My Dear Family (Evidence, 1993)
Soul Eyes (BMG, 1997)
With Cedar Walton
With Tyrone Washington
With Richard Williams
With Frank Wright
Kevin, My Dear Son (Sun, 1979)
With Attila Zoller
Gypsy Cry (Embryo Records, 1970)
References
^ a b "Reggie Workman | Biography & History" . AllMusic . Retrieved August 3, 2021 .
^ a b c d e Colin Larkin , ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing . pp. 439/440. ISBN 0-85112-580-8 .
^ Dryden, Ken "Tommy Flanagan's Super Jazz Trio – Condado Beach" . AllMusic . Retrieved March 16, 2017.
^ "The New School > College of Performing Arts > Jazz > Faculty > Reginald Workman" . newschool.edu . The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music . p. 1. Retrieved January 25, 2016 .
^ Ebbels, Kelly. "Sonia Sanchez to read alongside Montclair musicians" , The Montclair Times , March 21, 2013, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 30, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2017. "A jazz-and-poetry-infused fundraising event for the Montclair Academy of Dance and Laboratory of Music (MADLOM) will bring together the poet laureate of Philadelphia, Sonia Sanchez, to read alongside jazz musicians, including former Montclair resident and John Coltrane band mate Reggie Workman at the Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton Ave., this Saturday evening, March 23."
^ "The State of Jazz: Meet 40 More Jersey Greats" , The Star-Ledger , September 28, 2003, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 27, 2008. Accessed September 15, 2017. "Reggie Workman -- This bass dynamo, active in post-bop and avant-garde circles, lives in Montclair."
^ a b "Reggie Workman: Bio" . National Endowment for the Arts . Retrieved January 11, 2022 .
^ "Reggie Workman – 1999 Living Legacy Awardee" . Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation . Retrieved January 11, 2022 .
^ "Reggie Workman" . John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation . Retrieved January 11, 2022 .
^ "Blogger" . Accounts.google.com . Retrieved August 3, 2021 .
External links
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