Doug Watkins

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Douglas Watkins (* 2. March 1934 in Detroit , † 5. February 1962 in Holbrook , Arizona ) was an American jazz - double bass player and cellist .

Watkins is - especially as a companion - one of the most important exponents of his instrument in the stylistic framework of hard bop . As a freelance musician, he took part in recording sessions of most of the important musicians of this style, with a total of almost 300 LP productions on which he can be heard during Watkins' lifetime . He played the vast majority of these recordings as an accompanist; under his own name he only released two LPs on which he also plays the cello , a. a. the 1960 album Soulnik with Yusef Lateef , Hugh Lawson , Hermann Wright and Lex Humphries . Sonny Rollins ' saxophone Colossus from 1956 is one of the musically most influential records in the extensive oeuvre of the bassist, who died early .

Watkins was a founding member of Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers , of which he has been a member since 1954. He left the band with Horace Silver in 1956 and joined the pianist's newly formed quintet. Charles Mingus drew on the skills of his younger bassist colleague when he took over the role of pianist in his own ensemble for some time in 1961. With Watkins on bass, the Mingus sextet recorded a recording session on November 6, 1961, the results of which were recorded on Mingus Oh Yeah! and some tracks on Tonight at Noon . On his way to a gig in San Francisco , Doug Watkins died in a car accident just months later at the age of 27. He had dozed off at the wheel of the car and then collided with an oncoming truck; his two companions, pianist Roland Hanna and trumpeter Bill Hardman survived the accident.

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personal data
SURNAME Watkins, Doug
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Watkins, Douglas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz bassist
DATE OF BIRTH March 2, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit
DATE OF DEATH 5th February 1962
Place of death Holbrook, Arizona