Reginald Volney Johnson (December 13, 1940 – September 11, 2020) was an American jazz double-bassist. Johnson was born in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

. After playing trombone with school orchestras and army bands, he switched to double bass, and started working with musicians such as Bill Barron and recording with

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

in the mid-1960s, before joining

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

's band for a month-long residency at the

Five Spot Café The Five Spot Café was a jazz club located at 5 Cooper Square (1956–1962) in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City, between the Greenwich Village, East and West Village. In 1962, it moved to 2 St. Marks Place until closing in 1967. Its fr ...

in December 1965, and then going on to The Lighthouse

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

in Hermosa Beach, California, where they recorded the live album, '' Buttercorn Lady'', at the beginning of 1966, with a line-up, comprising Blakey, Frank Mitchell,

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, Gap Mangione, ...

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

, and Johnson.McMillan, Jeffery S. (2008) ''DelightfuLee: The Life and Music of Lee Morgan'', pp. 168–184. University of Michigan Press
At Google Books. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
Retrieved August 10, 2013. He has also played and/or recorded with Bill Dixon,

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

, and Burton Greene, Lonnie Liston Smith, Stanley Cowell,

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note Records, Blue Note album ''Components (album), Components'', is one of his best-known composi ...

, Harold Land, Blue Mitchell, Walter Bishop Jr.,

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Carmen McRae,

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

, Clark Terry, The Crusaders, Johnny Coles, and

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

. In the mid-1980s he moved to Europe, where he has worked with

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, Horace Parlan,

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander OJ CD (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican American jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was in ...

Kenny Barron Kenneth Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist and composer who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Early life ...

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

, Phil Woods,

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...

, Alvin Queen, Jesse Davis, Freddie Redd and Clark Terry. Reggie Johnson reportedly died in Bern, Switzerland on September 11, 2020.

Discography

;As leader/co-leader *1985: ''First Edition'' – JR Records ;As sideman *1965: '' Fire Music'' –

(Impulse! Records) *1965: "Hambone" on '' The New Wave in Jazz'' with

(Impulse! Records) *1966: '' Hold On, I'm Coming'' – Art Blakey (Limelight) *1966: '' Buttercorn Lady'' – Art Blakey & The New Jazz Messengers (Limelight) *1966: '' Marion Brown Quartet'' – Marion Brown *1966: '' More'' – Giuseppi Logan *1967: '' Juba-Lee'' – Marion Brown *1967: '' Booker 'n' Brass'' – Booker Ervin (Pacific Jazz) *1968: '' The Jazz Composer's Orchestra'' – Jazz Composer's Orchestra ( ECM) *1968: '' Total Eclipse'' –

( Blue Note) *1968: '' Bish Bash'' - Walter Bishop, Jr. (Xanadu) *1969: ''

Orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling"), sexual climax, or simply climax, is the sudden release of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, characterized by intense sexual pleasure resulting in rhythmic, involu ...

'' – Alan Shorter (Verve) *1971: '' Coral Keys'' - Walter Bishop Jr. (Black Jazz) *1971: ''Spring Rain'' Rudolph Johnson (Black Jazz) *1971: '' Head On'' – Bobby Hutcherson (Blue Note) *1972: '' Black Vibrations'' –

(Prestige) *1972: '' Choma (Burn)'' - Harold Land (Mainstream) *1972: '' Constant Throb'' – John Klemmer (Impulse!) *1972: '' 'Round Midnight'' –

(Fantasy) *1973: '' Both Feet on the Ground'' – Kenny Burrell (Fantasy Records) *1977: '' Tin Tin Deo'' - Kenny Burrell (Concord) *1977: '' Mapenzi'' – Harold Land-Blue Mitchell Quintet (Concord) *1978: '' Handcrafted'' - Kenny Burrell (Muse) *1979: ''

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

'' –

(Blue Note) *1980: ''

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

'' – Bobby Hutcherson (Blue Note) *1980: '' Blue Manhattan'' – Al Haig (Interplay) *1981: '' Jaw's Blues'' – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Enja) *1981: '' Pannonica'' – Horace Parlan (Enja) *1982: '' New Morning'' – Johnny Coles (Criss Cross Jazz) *1983: ''

Two at the Top ''Two at the Top'' is an album by saxophonist/flautist Frank Wess and flugelhornist Johnny Coles, recorded and released on the Uptown Records (jazz), Uptown label in 1983. The original album was rereleased on CD in 2012 along with one additional ...

'' -

and Johnny Coles (Uptown) *1988: '' Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 1'' – Mingus Dynasty (Soul Note) *1988: '' Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 2'' – Mingus Dynasty (Soul Note) *1990: ''

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

'' –

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

(posthumous) (Columbia Records) *2020: '' First Time Out: Live at Slugs 1967'' – Rashied Ali Quintet ( Survival Records)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Reggie 1940 births 2020 deaths American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Jazz musicians from Kentucky People from Owensboro, Kentucky 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Mingus Dynasty (band) members