Lewis Worrell (born November 7, 1934) is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

double bassist The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Simila ...

best known for his work during the 1960s with

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

, the

New York Art Quartet The New York Art Quartet was a free jazz ensemble, originally made up of saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, drummer Milford Graves and bassist Lewis Worrell, that came into existence in 1964 in New York City. Worrell was later repl ...

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

, and

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 ...

Biography

Worrell was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, and began playing the tuba at age 11, switching to double bass six years later. In 1953 he graduated from Second Ward High School in

Brooklyn (Charlotte, North Carolina) Brooklyn was a largely African American section of Charlotte, North Carolina. It was home to many businesses, residences, and churches. The neighborhood was demolished for an urban renewal project in the 1960sCarolina Impact Season 7 Episode 12 (You ...

, after which he served in the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in France. He was a member of

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

' Orchestra USA and played with

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...

and

Elmo Hope St. Elmo Sylvester Hope (June 27, 1923 – May 19, 1967) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, chiefly in the bebop and hard bop genres. He grew up playing and listening to jazz and classical music with Bud Powell, and both were ...

. Worrell's first recording was in 1963, on

Hank Crawford Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from Rhythm and blues, R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was ...

's album '' True Blue''. In 1964, Worrell joined the

, replacing Don Moore, and participated in the recording of their first, self-titled album. He also performed with the NYAQ as part of the

October Revolution in Jazz The October Revolution in Jazz was a four-day festival of new jazz music which took place at the Cellar Café in New York City. It occurred from October 1–4, 1964, and was organized by composer and trumpeter Bill Dixon. The success of the festi ...

. The following year, he recorded with

on the live album '' Bells'', and with

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

on his album ''

Sonny's Time Now ''Sonny's Time Now'' is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his first as a leader. It was recorded in New York City on November 17, 1965 and first released on LeRoi Jones' Jihad label. It was later reissued on the DIW and Skokiaa ...

''. In 1966, he appeared on Ayler's '' At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 1 & 2'' and also recorded two albums with

('' Live in San Francisco'' and ''Three for a Quarter, One for a Dime'', both released on

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

), as well as on

's album '' Everywhere''. Worrell made a handful of recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, then disappeared from the music scene.

Discography

As sideman

With

* '' Bells'' (ESP-Disk, 1965) * ''

The New Wave in Jazz ''The New Wave in Jazz'' is a live album recorded on March 28, 1965 at the Village Gate in New York City. It features groups led by major avant-garde jazz artists performing at a concert for the benefit of The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School fo ...

'' (Impulse!, 1966) (one track) * '' At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 1'' (Base Record, 1982) * '' At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 2'' (Base Record, 1982) With

* '' True Blue'' (Atlantic, 1964) With

Robin Kenyatta Robin Kenyatta (March 6, 1942 – October 26, 2004) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. Early life Born Robert Prince Haynes in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Kenyatta grew up in New York City and began playing the saxophone at age 14. He was ...

* ''Until'' (Vortex, 1967) * ''Stompin' at the Savoy'' (Atlantic, 1974) With

* ''

'' (Jihad, 1965) With the

* ''

'' (ESP-Disk, 1964) * ''

Call It Art ''Call It Art'' is an album by the New York Art Quartet. It contains previously unissued live and studio tracks recorded in 1964 and 1965, and was released in limited quantities as a five-LP box set by Triple Point Records in 2013. The album includ ...

'' (Triple Point, 2013) With Sam Rivers * ''Live'' (Impulse!, 1998) With

* '' Everywhere'' (Impulse!, 1966) (tracks reissued on '' Mixed'' (Impulse!, 1998) * ''

Blown Bone ''Blown Bone'' is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd. It was recorded in March 1976 at Blue Rock Studios in New York City, and was released on LP by Philips Japan in 1979. On the album, Rudd is joined by clarinetist Kenny Davern, saxophonists Ste ...

'' (Emanem, 2006) With

* '' Live in San Francisco'' (Impulse!, 1966) * ''Three for a Quarter, One for a Dime'' (Impulse!, 1966)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worrell, Lewis American jazz double-bassists Free jazz double-bassists Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina 1934 births Living people