Reginald Veal (born November 5, 1963) is an American jazz bassist and multi-instrumentalist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Veal grew up in New Orleans where he began piano lessons at a very early age. After receiving a bass guitar as a gift from his father at the age of eight, Veal went on to later join his father's gospel group as the bassist. Veal studied with the legendary New Orleans bassist

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American professional American football, ...

. He attended

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

, studying bass trombone with the clarinetist

Alvin Batiste Alvin Batiste Sr. (November 7, 1932 – May 6, 2007) was an American avant-garde jazz clarinetist, who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He taught at his own jazz institute at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ...

. Veal was a touring bassist with pianist and teacher Ellis Marsalis from 1985 to 1989, and during this time he also worked with Pharoah Sanders, Elvin Jones, Charlie Rouse, Hamiet Bluiett, Harry Connick Jr., Terence Blanchard,

Dakota Staton Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to ...

, Donald Harrison and Marcus Roberts. Veal began playing in the

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

Quintet in 1987, which became the Wynton Marsalis Septet in 1988. He is the original bassist for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Veal has worked with Ahmad Jamal, McCoy Tyner, Branford Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Courtney Pine, Yusuf Lateef,

Nicholas Payton Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a writer who comments on subjects including music, race, politics, and life i ...

, Eric Reed,

Dianne Reeves Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer, who has won five Grammy Awards for her albums. Early life and education Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mothe ...

, Junko Onishi, Mark Whitfield and Greg Tardy. Today, Veal resides on the West Coast where he continues to record and tour.

Discography

*'' Gold Sounds'' with James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Ali Jackson (Brown Brothers, 2005) *''And to the Republic'' with Eric Lewis,

Jeff "Tain" Watts Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is an American jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others. Biography Watts got the nickname "Tain" ...

( Sunnyside, 2016)

References

*"Reginald Veal". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Veal, Reginald American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Jazz musicians from New Orleans American male jazz musicians 1963 births Living people