Artist: Reggie Workman


Reggie Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. 

Early in his career, Workman worked in jazz groups led by Gigi Gryce, Donald Byrd, Duke Jordan and  Booker Little. In 1961, Workman joined the John Coltrane  Quartet, 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. 

In 1962, Workman joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (replacing long-time Blakey bassist Jymie Merritt), and worked alongside Freddie Hubbard,  Wayne Shorter, and  Cedar Walton for most of his time in the Jazz Messengers. Workman left Blakey's group in 1964. 

Workman also played with James Moody, Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann and  Thelonious Monk. He has recorded with Archie Shepp, Lee Morgan and  David Murray. Workman, with pianist Tommy Flanagan and drummer Joe Chambers, formed The Super Jazz Trio in 1978. 

As of 2016, he was 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. 

Further information about Reggie Workman is found at ReggieWorkmanMusic.com.

Photography credit: Schorle, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

This content was excerpted from the Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Workman, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers 1963 Sanremo

Reggie Workman's Cerebral Caverns | Live at Ragas Live Fest 2019

Reggie Workman: Videos

Reggie Workman Solo at Erie Jazz Festival