The other day I had the opportunity to meet the great Reggie Workman, one of the most technically gifted bassists of all time. He was the guest artist at the John Coltrane Music Workshop which was held at the Griffin Penn Middle School in High Point, North Carolina, July 23-27^th. Students ranging from the age of 10-17 were participants in the workshop. I will get into the specifics of this great workshop later, but first I just wanted to tell you what the first words out of my mouth were to Mr. Workman. “I am a huge Coltrane fan”. He said, “I am too”. Immediately, I wished I could have somehow retrieved those words! Mr. Workman had just given one of the best performances I have ever seen, and all I could say was that I was a huge Coltrane fan?? The reality was that I had just become a huge Reggie Workman fan, but I didn’t tell him that. He didn’t seem to mind that I was speaking of a man that he shared the stage with decades ago.  He didn’t seem to mind that all I could do was grab his hands and hold them because I knew those hands once shook the hands of the greatest jazz musician of all time. (In my opinion). He didn’t even mind when I shoved samples of my artwork in his face and told him to look it over and let me know what you think. Not only is he a great bass player, but he is an incredibly nice man. It was such a beautiful opportunity to see this man perform and even more incredible to see how he and the bass merged together and created sounds that quite simply moved your spirit.  He, along with another bass player, would later perform “Naima” a song written by Coltrane in honor of Coltrane’s first wife. Workman says in his notes, "I wanted to create a recording deeply rooted in our history and evolution, yet also truly futuristic." Workman’s rendition of Naima was indeed powerful. It dug into the very core of my soul. The very essence of our history. His way of making the bass speak to your spirit was transforming for me. I wish I had said it in the first few seconds of our meeting, but I’ll say it now. I am a huge Reggie Workman fan!