Nat Reeves

Nat Reeves – bass/leader
Sarah Hanahan – alto saxophone
Josh Bruneau – trumpet
Rick Germanson – piano
Neal Smith – drums

Early in his career, Nat Reeves not only performed with Jackie McLean but such greats as tenor-saxophonist Benny Golson, trumpeter Donald Byrd, drummer Art Taylor and pianists Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Kirkland, Walter Davis, Walter Bishop, Larry Willis and Kenny Drew. He became a longtime member of altoist Kenny Garrett’s group in 1994 and in recent times has worked and recorded with many of the who’s who of jazz including tenor-saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, George Coleman and Eric Alexander, trombonist Steve Davis, pianists Harold Mabern, George Cables, David Hazeltine and Anthony Wonsey, and drummer Joe Farnsworth among many others. Asked which of his recordings are among his favorites, Nat named Jackie McLean’s J-Mac Attack, Kenny Garrett’s Grammy-nominated Songbook and Seeds from the Underground, Steve Davis’ Say When, Joe Farnsworth’s My Heroes and Eric Alexander’s Temple of Olympic Zeus. “I actually like every recording that I’ve been on. They have all been learning experiences. Recording my CD State of Emergency with pianist Rick Germanson, trumpeter Josh Bruneau and drummer Jonathan Barber was a bit of a challenge because we were in the middle of a huge snowstorm and it was tricky getting all of the musicians into the studio although it turned out great. There is more music to those sessions that hopefully will be released someday.”

Nat Reeves has traveled the world including performing in India and Japan, at the San Francisco, New Orleans, Detroit and Atlanta Jazz Festivals, and with Pharoah Sanders at Dizzy’s at Lincoln Center.  At the end of 2019, an event was held in Nat’s honor at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art – “The Life, Times and Music of Nat Reeves.” In January 2020, Nat and his band traveled to Uruguay to perform at the Punta del Este International Jazz Festival.

Committed to carrying on Jackie McLean’s legacy, Nat also looks forward to leading more recordings in the future and, in addition to playing with many of his favorite musicians, to work more often as a leader, “I’m still busy after moving to Hartford. Now at 66, it is time do more of my own projects.”

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