Reggie Workman

 

Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.

Background

Workman was a member of jazz groups led by Gigi Gryce, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter and Red Garland. 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. After a European tour, Workman left Coltrane's group at the end of the year. Workman also played with James Moody, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, 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.

He is currently a professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, and is a member of the group, Trio 3, with Oliver Lake and Andrew Cyrille.

Workman has been a resident of Montclair, New Jersey.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

• 1977: Conversation (with Cecil Bridgewater, Slide Hampton, George Adams, Albert Dailey, Michael Carvin, Lawrence Killian)
• 1978: The Super Jazz Trio (Baystate)
• 1979: Something Tasty (Baystate)
• 1980: The Standard (Baystate)
• 1986: Synthesis (Leo)
• 1987: Gaia (Leo)
• 1989: Images (Music & Arts)
• 1993; Summit Conference (Postcards)
• 1995: Cerebral Caverns (Postcards)
• 2000: Altered Spaces (Leo)

As sideman

With Roy Ayers

• Virgo Vibes (Atlantic, 1967)

With Gary Bartz

• Another Earth (Milestone, 1969)

With Art Blakey

• Ugetsu (Riverside, 1963)
• Free for All (Blue Note, 1964)
• Kyoto (Riverside, 1964)
• Indestructible (Blue Note, 1964)
• Golden Boy (Colpix, 1964)

With Marion Brown

• Vista (Impulse!, 1975)

With Earl Coleman

• Manhattan Serenade (1968)

With Johnny Coles

• Katumbo (Mainstream, 1971)

With John Coltrane

• Africa/Brass (Impulse!, 1961)
• Ole Coltrane (Atlantic, 1961)
• Impressions (Impulse!, 1963)
• Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard (Impulse!, 1962)

With Stanley Cowell

• Brilliant Circles (Freedom, 1972)
• Such Great Friends (1983) with Billy Harper and Billy Hart

With Marilyn Crispell

• Gaia (Leo, 1988)
• Live in Zurich (Leo, 1990)

With Booker Ervin

• The Space Book (Prestige, 1964)
• The Trance (Prestige, 1965)
• Setting the Pace (Prestige, 1965) – with Dexter Gordon

With Sonny Fortune

• Awakening (Horizon, 1975)

With Grant Green

• Goin' West (Blue Note, 1962)

With Gigi Gryce

• Saying Somethin'! (New Jazz, 1960)
• Reminiscin' (Mercury, 1960)

With Billy Harper

• Capra Black (Strata-East, 1973)

With Andrew Hill

• Grass Roots (Blue Note, 1968 [2000])

With Takehiro Honda

• Jodo (Trio, 1972)

With Freddie Hubbard

• Hub-Tones (Blue Note, 1962)
• Here to Stay (Blue Note, 1962)

With Bobby Hutcherson

• Medina (Blue Note, 1968)
• Patterns (Blue Note, 1968)

With Elvin Jones

• Brother John (1982)

With Clifford Jordan

• Hello, Hank Jones (Eastworld, 1978)

With Duke Jordan

• Flight to Jordan (Blue Note, 1960)

With Oliver Lake

• Again and Again (Gramavision, 1991)
• Edge-ing (Black Saint, 1993)
• Live in Willisau (Dizim, 1997)
• Encounter (Passin' Thru, 2000)
• Open Ideas (Palmetto, 2002)
• Time Being (Intakt, 2006)
• At This Time (Intakt, 2009)
• Refraction – Breakin' Glass (Intakt, 2013)
• Wiring (Intakt, 2014)

With Yusef Lateef

• 1984 (Impulse!, 1965)
• Psychicemotus (Impulse!, 1965)
• A Flat, G Flat and C (Impulse!, 1966)

With Booker Little

• Booker Little and Friend (Bethlehem, 1961)

with Herbie Mann

• Our Mann Flute (Atlantic, 1966)
• Impressions of the Middle East (Atlantic, 1966)
• A Mann & A Woman (Atlantic, 1966) with Tamiko Jones
• The Beat Goes On (Atlantic, 1967)
• The Wailing Dervishes (Atlantic, 1967)

With Ken McIntyre

• Home (SteepleChase, 1975)

With Roscoe Mitchell

• In Walked Buckner (Delmark, 1999)

With New York Art Quartet

• Mohawk (1965)

With Dave Pike

• It's Time for Dave Pike (Riverside, 1961)

With Pharoah Sanders

• Karma (1969)

With Wayne Shorter

• Night Dreamer (1964)
• JuJu (1964)
• Adam's Apple (1966)

With Sonny Simmons

• American Jungle (1997)

With Archie Shepp

• Archie Shepp – Bill Dixon Quartet (1962)
• The Magic of Ju-Ju (Impulse!, 1967)

With Horace Tapscott

• Aiee! The Phantom (Arabesque, 1996)

With Charles Tolliver

• Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival (Strata-East, 1973)
• Impact (Strata-East, 1975)

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)

With Cedar Walton

• Soul Cycle (Prestige, 1969)

With Tyrone Washington

• Natural Essence (1967)

With Richard Williams

• New Horn in Town (Candid, 1960)

With Alice Coltrane

• Transfiguration, Live (Warner Bros. Master, 1978)

With Mulgrew Miller

• Trio Transition (DIW, 1987)
• Trio Transition with Special Guest Oliver Lake (DIW, 1988)