Doug Watkins

Biography

Douglas Watkins (March 2, 1934 – February 5, 1962) was an American jazz double bassist. He was best known for being an accompanist to various hard bop artists in the Detroit area, including Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean.

Biography

Watkins was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. An original member of the Jazz Messengers, he later played in Horace Silver's quintet and freelanced with Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins, and Phil Woods among others.
Some of Watkins' best-known work can be heard, when as a 22-year-old, he appeared on the 1956 album Saxophone Colossus by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, with Max Roach and Tommy Flanagan.
According to Horace Silver's autobiography, Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty, Watkins, along with Silver, later left Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers because the other members of the band at the time (Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Blakey) had serious drug problems, whereas Watkins and Silver were tired of being harassed and searched by the police every time they went to a gig in a new city and club.
When Charles Mingus briefly ventured over to the piano stool in 1961, he hired Watkins to take over the bass part; Oh Yeah and Tonight at Noon were the results.
Watkins recorded only two albums as leader: Watkins at Large×Watkins at Large1956 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracksA1Return to Paradise12:52A2Phinupi9:24B1Phil T. McNasty's Blues4:53B2More of the Same10:01B3Panonica3:49 for Transition; and Soulnik for New Jazz. The latter, recorded in 1960, with Yusef Lateef, features Watkins on cello with Herman Wright backing him on bass. The cello was an instrument he had started to play only a few days before the recording session.
Watkins died in an automobile accident near Holbrook, Arizona, on February 5, 1962, while traveling from Arizona to San Francisco to meet drummer Philly Joe Jones for a gig.

As leader

1956: Watkins at Large (Transition)
1960: Soulnik (New Jazz)