Reggie Washington joins Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley to discuss his new album Rainbow Shadow, a moving tribute to his late friend Jef Lee Johnson. Washington shares the emotional journey behind the project, the collaborative process with world-class musicians, and his evolution from New York City to Belgium. An intimate conversation about friendship, legacy, and playing for the music and the message.

📘 What You’ll Hear in This Episode

– How Rainbow Shadow honors the legacy of Jef Lee Johnson

– The balance between preserving a friend’s music and adding personal artistry

– Stories from Washington’s early days in the New York music scene

– The creative benefits of living and working in Belgium

– Collaborating with world-class musicians to shape the tribute album

– Washington’s philosophy of playing for the music and the message

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Setting the Scene: A Summer Day

02:00 – Tribute to Jef Lee Johnson

12:35 – Reggie Washington’s Musical Journey

20:02 – Musical Journeys and Inspirations

25:14 – Reflections on Musical Legacy

28:39 – The Legacy of Rainbow Crow

🔗 Links & Mentions

– Visit Musiciansreveal.com

– YouTube – Musicians Reveal

– Live365 – Musicians Reveal Radio

📝 Key Takeaways

– Rainbow Shadow blends homage to Jeff Lee Johnson with Washington’s own sound

– The project was shaped by collaborations with top-tier musicians

– Washington’s move from New York City to Belgium sparked new creative inspiration

– The album reflects both personal memories and a universal message through music

– Highlights the importance of playing with intention and emotional connection

Nice summer day as we look outside the studios here.

It's cool in the studio.

Kind of David Letterman esque.

Air conditioner turned up pretty good.

We are here until 8 o'clock this evening and we have been really excited.

As soon as we know we had this all lined up.

A great friend of ours who has showcased his great talents inside the studios here at WVOF a few years back and we had him last on the show talking about his great friend, the late, great Mr. Jeff Lee Johnson.

And he has paid tribute with an outstanding release which just came out in the beginning of the month, rainbow shadow from Mr. Reggie Washington.

And we are now going to talk live all the way from Belgium, right?

Oh, yes, exactly.

David Letterman.

Yeah, yeah.

It's like all I can think of is when Luther Vandross went on David Letterman show, he commented on the air conditioner or something like that, man.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I can say that from experience.

I think he keeps it 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wow.

So I was on there with Bradford Marcellus and Buckshot Lefunk.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, it was cold.

Yeah, it was nippy.

He wanted to make sure his suits wouldn't get sweaty.

Oh, is that it?

Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

What's it like, you know, playing on shows like that back in your New York days when you just about played studio shows and everywhere else, man, you.

Know, it was an experience.

It was pretty new at the time I was doing it, man, but it was fun, you know, to see how that part of the business works and runs.

You know, I was a little bit young for that, but, you know, it was a great experience.

You know, they hit, they hit it and quit it, you know, to make it right.

You know, that was, that was fun, fun experience, right.

Our guest right now, Reggie Washington, phenomenal bassist all around, great musician who has just released On Jammin Colors.

His record label, the Rainbow Shadow.

Jeff Lee Johnson.

We last talk not too long after Jeff's passing.

What has gone on in, in between from the last time we spoke to this great record in regards to your friend and how you took his music and made it your own.

You know, it took a little time, but, you know, and then a couple of wonderful opportunities came along.

So, you know, Stephanie, my wife and I, we decided to, you know, jump on this because it just kept.

It was there.

And then I eventually started to feel like there was a voice over my shoulder.

Go ahead, do it.

Do this.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am okay.

And we were able to record in van in the, in France with A good friend, Alex Desell, who's also on the cd, he's a trumpet player.

And had an opportunity to do a couple of nights with the band that I put together before.

It was Music of the Phrase with DJ Grasshopper on the turntables, Patrick Dorsey on drums, and now with Marvin Sewell.

Jeff was in Music of the Phrase.

So I got Marvin.

Marvin Sewell to do the guitar chair because that was one of Jeff's loves, musical loves.

Great, great player.

So we did a couple of nights and then we played for, you know, we did four days, four or five days in the studio and just took tunes that I liked of Jeff and then we kind of rearranged them here and there.

I did some stuff in the house.

It was an ongoing thing, you know, for the beginning, you know, the beginning part of the year into the summer, you know, because I had to let some time, you know, you know, some air blow through some of the music to hear what I wanted.

And things just started coming to me.

So that's where a lot of the guests came from was Jacques Schwartzbard, who I loved playing with, and Wallace Rooney is on there.

Chico Huff, Lily Annel.

Johannes Tona, Jonathan Crawford.

Yeah.

And Dana Lehong.

Well, these guys had love and admiration for Jeff, so I really wanted to get these folks on there just to put a solo, give their love, their tribute to him.

There's many other folks that I want to do.

That's why it's Volume one.

We'll get a few more.

We'll definitely get a few more.

We're going to actually get into one of the cuts, one of the earlier cuts in the record, and it's called Reckless Eyeballing, and it features some of the cats you mentioned, Johannes Tona, and the core of the band on this record with.

You talk about Reckless Eyeballing and choosing this one.

Right.

And that's just.

It just sounds like, you know, just cooling out on the strip in a warm place.

It's gotta be in Brazil or something.

And he's just chilling and it's got the little Chico beat on it, but I wanted to put a happy, rejoiceful beat.

I kept hearing that, so I thought that would be great to put on there.

So some of it is actual Jeff on there.

In each of the parts, I like to use samples of him.

So he's in there.

He's present.

Yeah, that's right.

For those that don't know Jeff Lee Johnson, just do your homework on his amazing catalog and on the things that he accomplished in his Short Life.

And he performed twice here on our show.

We'll talk more with Reggie Washington and memories of Jeff Lee Johnson, of course, Rainbow Shadow.

You can go to jamincolors.com also reggie washington-official.com and find out about Reggie's upcoming torrid shows.

And we'll talk about some of those.

This is Reggie Washington from the Rainbow Shadow right here on 88.5 FM.

The upper.

Yeah, there goes the.

The crow right there.

Jeff Lee Johnson and Reggie Washington.

His latest release, which is called the Rainbow Shadow, and it's got a lot of.

Jeff Lee Johnson, of course, is the core of the record.

But you change it up so much with your own playing and, you know, modern sounds with the turntable list and everything like that.

People are digging it all around, right?

Yeah.

You know, it's very interesting to have an opportunity to record something that you want to record for real reasons, you know, because I just thought it was the correct thing to do or it was worth it, you know, and people have acknowledged this.

There are a few journalists that have enjoyed listening to it just because, you know, it sounds like it was done in a true, righteous manner.

And it was.

It was just a labor of love for us.

Plus, the music is good.

Yeah, right.

And this is just some stuff that people haven't heard.

Too bad.

You should have heard it.

So go back and listen to it, because this is just the way I heard it and the way I enjoyed it.

They were just favorite tunes for volume two.

We were like five tunes in.

Because he has such a vast catalog of music, man, and everything, I think.

Was it on one of your.

Your interviews, you know, he had.

He was talking about the string.

I had told him about that string between each CD of relevancy, between each one, you know, and one begat the other, you know, and plus it's therapy to listen to some of that stuff for me, you know, because it was very trying, you know, emotionally straining to go and listen to this stuff and listen to the lyrics and whatnot and the reason you're doing this.

But, you know, it's fulfilling when people appreciate it and like the effort and enjoy the listening to it.

That's all I want, just to be heard.

Yeah, the voice you're hearing is great.

Bassist musician Reggie Washington, originally from New York City, now makes home with his lovely wife Stephanie and his girls out there and in Brussels, Belgium.

And, you know, growing up here in New York City, and then, you know, you just went right into an international musician and making home out in Belgium.

What is Belgium like, for those.

Probably a lot of our listeners haven't stepped foot out there, but what's it like for you just living out there and what's it like for a musician?

You know, for me, living in New York, New York has a certain edge that it puts on you and a certain strain.

It's evident when you live here and then you leave and you come back.

You feel it.

And, you know, living here, that strain is not on you to do, you know, and you can create and it's just less of a stress.

I can breathe, you know, I can hear birds in the morning, you know, and take my daughter to school and then come back and get some work done, you know, and then do my gig and then come back, you know, it's pretty much the same.

But if you.

The atmosphere is conducive to positive thinking instead of honk, honk, beep, beep, you know, just, you know, I was tired of that, you know, And I love going home to see my brother and my sister and my oldest daughter and granddaughter and all my homies.

But all that rat dat ratatou know, I just don't want to deal with that anymore because it doesn't make me feel good.

And this is, you know, it's a positive, healthy feeling, you know, and that's okay.

Yeah, I can get with that.

Reggie's Washington's Official website.

Reggie washington-official.com.

also the record label, Stephanie and Reggie record label jammin colors.com.

you can get all the information about this release, Rainbow Shadow, and Reggie's vast discography and his previous solo releases.

Now let's get back into some more music.

This next tune is basically.

It's a Reggie Washington solo.

Solo performance right here.

Cake.

Now, it really grooves.

And how'd you decide just to take this one on yourself?

Oh, man.

You know.

You know, we talked about, like, silly things like, like the Watusi, you know, the twist, right?

And.

And you know, the.

What was that?

The oldest rang tune trap.

You know, you're just listening to crap on the road and that particular groove stayed with me and I did that during the summer.

I said, wow, this should be cool.

Let me do that.

So, yeah, it was just from conversations that we had in the past and the tunes that we were listening to and knuckleheadedness of things that we would talk about, you know, came to this tune.

Yeah, this is Reggie Washington in tribute to Jeff Lee Johnson.

Rainbow Shadow.

Pick it up.

We'll come back and see Washington from Rainbow Shadow.

That's called Cake.

And we're just.

I wish our audience could hear our in between takes discussion talking about Jeff and the music business and, and everything in between there for a refresher for our audience.

When did you and Jeff first come into contact and then start to collaborate?

Okay.

In New York when he started playing with Sirrano Shannon Jackson.

I had just left the band and that was the big talk with him.

So we kept crossing paths over the years, you know, and talking about wanting to play with each other until about.

That was when he was doing News from the Jungle with Mike and Sonny.

But he got me to duet and that was magical.

That was such fun.

And from there, you know, we stayed in touch some more and, you know, and Stephanie was.

Was also looking for someone else and he was looking for management.

So we kept closer, you know, closer touch then.

And then, you know, from there, I, you know, want to get a trio, man.

What are you doing?

Shoot, I want to play with you.

So let's get Gene Lake and we can do a trio.

So, you know, it became like the dream team, you know, and we recorded Freedom and it was, it was fun.

I found out a whole lot of things about myself, a whole lot of things about.

About him, you know, and.

And it was, it was, it was a learning experience the way it's supposed to be.

You've got.

I'm looking at your website, reggiewashington-official.com and.

And you've got various dates coming up.

You're all.

You're always working now.

Now with.

First, let's talk about project here, Rainbow Shadow and what you got coming up?

September, you're going to take it out on the road in different spots, right?

Yeah, we have some dates in Europe.

Let me see.

I even have that right in front of me.

Yeah, we're doing some stuff in Belgium starting on the 3rd of September in Desinga Reichsworsel in Belgium.

And then after that we're playing at this place called Talani's Garden in Boire in France.

He's an artist, an excellent artist.

And Jeff had played there a few times and he had such a profound effect on this artist.

And he made this huge wall mural of Jeff.

It's incredible.

You can see it on the Facebook, Tolani's Gard.

And then after that I'm playing an Aix en Provence, doing a theater decks.

And then I'm doing some stuff in Brussels at Monte Jazz Festival.

And it's also like a bass.

What do you Call it the Day of the Electric Bass.

I believe that's what it's called in Brussels.

And then the 9th in September.

9th of September at.

At New Morning in Paris.

And that was pretty much a very popular stronghold of Jeff Lee's in Europe with Paris.

He was well loved and cherished there.

So I'm trying to really push that day as being a very special day for Rainbow Shadow.

And then onto the week after that.

September.

September 13th in London at the Bussey Building.

And then in Zurich the next day, 14th in moods, and then the 17th in jazz club Tona in Dresden.

And we're also playing in, I believe, Vienna.

So it's getting large.

It's coming together and just gotta prepare myself.

That's right, yeah.

Piece it all together and make sure everybody's on board.

Who are you looking to take on the road with you?

Have you gotten the band?

It's the band.

It's the same band.

Pat Dorcion and DJ Grasshopper, Turntables being the sounds and sights.

And Rainbow Crow of Jeff and Marvin Sewell is also coming out from New York, too.

So it's, you know, I'm just gearing myself up because I have to sing.

So, yeah, that's a new extravaganza for me.

It's enjoyable, it's new, it's enjoyable.

But, you know, if you do it and people know that you can do it, then you have to do it right.

Here I am, I gotta do it now.

Is it true that to sing and simultaneously play another instrument, the bass, and singing is the toughest around?

Well, it can be.

It all depends on how you're thinking it.

You know, I've learned a lot from drummers and also from watching other cats.

Like, you know, I have so much respect for Sting, Jermaine Jackson, you know, Chris Walker.

You know, some of these cats, man, they're averting white.

You know, you sing and play and dance.

Pretty cool.

That's right.

So the way I do it, I just have to learn everything at the same time.

So it's one easy brain movement.

Instead of having to learn to sing it and then learn to play it and sing it, I'm going to try to do it all at one time.

And it's working.

It's working.

I just have to get used to it.

And then I'm.

Then I'm good.

And then hopefully you'll take it back here to the States one of these days.

Yeah, yeah.

Where Stephanie and I are trying to do that now because we have to.

In Philly, I have to go and see him.

I have to go see him and Trish and play in Philly and do it in New York and, you know, try to go up and down the East Coast.

There's many places that want to hear this music.

I just want to.

Want to play it and let people hear it, you know.

And I told a lot of folks I was going to do it and here it is.

I hope you all like it.

Yeah, we're loving it.

We're going to get into another song.

Change the pace, slow it down just a bit with Black Sands from Rainbow Shadow, Reggie Washington.

And we'll come back.

You got time for one more segment?

Oh, yeah, no problem.

All right, Reggie Washington is our guest.

And go to jamincolors.com reggiewashington-official.com this is Joe Kelly in the upper room and this is Mr. Reggie Washington.

Great sounds from Mr. Reggie Washington right there.

And that is Black Sands.

We're talking about George Duke and Jeff Lee Johnson and Reggie Washington.

And man, you've been amongst some greats and of course you're a great.

So man, awful special.

You've had a great career so far, man.

You know, it's just been.

I've been kind of fortunate to make it, to have it, have it be a bit, a bit difficult, you know, I had to find myself and I think it's made me a, A better musician, a better artist, a better leader and also sideman, you know, and playing really obscure music, mainstream music, you know, popular, whatever.

I just try to play good music and then getting to know the people that has helped in me maturing as a musician, as a human being, you know, like we were talking about George, George Duke was one of the.

I used to revere him because of the left hand bass stuff and him with Byron Miller, you know, I aspired to want to play with this guy.

You know, it was, oh man, this is the great George Duke.

And I was asking all sorts of questions and he was very gracious and answered them wonderfully and says, man, this is, this is cool.

That makes being a musician so worthwhile for something to come full circle to you.

And this is a part of musical history and you're able to speak with them and share ideas.

That's what being a Musician.

That's when it gets to be.

It's fun.

It's fun because then you can look for some other, you know, and give some.

Give some wisdom to some other young musician, man, to see if it sticks.

I've seen a couple so far, man, and it's cool.

I enjoy it.

Yeah, you mentioned, you know, you were young cat out there and going to shows back in the 80s and probably earlier than that.

Well, what.

You know, let's take you back to those New York days and going to see show.

Do you have any memorable venues or performances that just.

You think back to those times as being great to have experienced, man, the.

Old Knitting Factory, you used to see all sorts of people there, you know, Sonny Sherrock.

It was early.

You can see early.

Steve Coleman could give.

I saw Jeff there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's where I met Jeff.

And then Calvinator and Jean Paul Borelli and.

Oh, man, Lester, Joe Bowie, defunct, you know, Wetlands, Seabees, you know, we used to play all of those places, man.

Playing on the block.

The Bitter End is supposed to be a great tribute for Kenny.

Yeah, that's.

The father passed away.

Yeah.

Yeah, man.

Another proponent of the music leaves the building, you know, rest in paradise.

My brother, because he was instrumental in Cats getting an opportunity to play, didn't say much, but he was observant and he would do things.

You know, I see a lot of it in hindsight, being older, and he was doing things that he normally wouldn't do, but he knew that there was something good happening.

Like, I used to leave my equipment at the Bitter End.

I wasn't really supposed to, but he was, you know, he was being helpful, and he knew I was on the level I was trying to do, you know, and he was helpful.

He was helpful.

We recorded with Oz Noy and Anton Fig and Keith Carlock.

We did some recording there and.

Wow.

Sean Pelton and myself and Kevin Bentz had a rock band called Play back in the day.

Wow.

Adam.

Adam Falcon.

That's right.

Yeah.

Adam.

We played all sorts of places down there, man.

And when it was bustling and flourishing, it's changed.

It's changed more musicians, less venues to play, and it's just being saturated.

You know, it's not each one teach one anymore.

It's who can cut who.

And it's not, you know, I'm saddened by it, but, you know, hey, the music needs to be played, and I just do what I got to do from where I am.

And, you know, there's opportunities.

There's opportunities every place.

It's like you're an opportunity.

Thank you, Joe.

Thank you.

You know, you're giving folks an opportunity to voice, you know, to have their voice heard.

So, you know, kudos to you, man.

And I'll keep the stuff coming for you.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

You've got a stage right here, so whenever you're ready to drop it, you know that.

Yeah.

And there's plenty of.

There's plenty of folks that are happening from here, man, that deserve.

That deserve to be heard, you know, so.

Sure, we can share.

We can definitely share ideas, man.

That's great.

Yeah.

Before we get into one final cut, let's talk about the artwork on the record, the pictures.

And there's a story to the nine photos on the front and in the back.

And why don't you tell us about this?

Okay.

That is a photo shoot by.

By a friend and really great photographer's name is David Croonell.

And it's just a pictorial interview for what I did.

It was maybe comprised of 250 photos.

And he just interviewed me.

And it's just my reactions and facial expressions, hand and whatnot.

Of during the interview when you asked me to talk about Jeff and, you know, just the gambit.

So it's about.

It's over 200 photos, and those are the nine best that Stephanie and David felt.

I don't like to get into those types of decisions, so I let them do it because she's the brain.

She's the one buying my love.

She's what's happening in this one.

So that.

And also the other stuff is in there.

The paintings are for a good friend of mine.

His name is Pascal Martos.

He's from Paris.

David Quenell is from Brussels, and Pascal is from Paris.

And he was also a friend of Jeff's.

And he had a profound effect on Pascal also with his playing.

And he was one of the very few cast that Jeff spoke to, you know, and they're really extraordinary pieces of work.

And that one was done posthumous for Jeff.

And after we did Son d' Hu Ver, the homage for Jeff at the Saint d' Hurt festival in Paris, and he painted that.

He takes the picture and then he starts to paint, and then he, you know, paints in other ideas that he has in his brain.

And, you know, and then it comes to that.

It's really.

It's wonderful.

It's really wonderful.

And it's also on the face of the cd, too.

Now.

Now, before we wrap up, the scarecrow, what's the meaning for Jeff for that.

Rainbow Crow.

Rainbow Crow.

Okay.

Yeah, that's Lenape.

Lenape, like a Lenape Indian fable, you know.

And to make a long story short, it's the Rainbow Crow used to have beautiful feathers, and in order to save his people, he had to bring them fire to help keep them warm for the winter.

But Rainbow Crow had beautiful coat and he also had beautiful plume and he also had a beautiful voice.

So he went and grabbed the stick that had fire on it, and he was going to save his people.

But doing this, he was breathing in the embers and the ashes from the.

What do you call it?

From the light from the fire.

And it also sings the colors of his wonderful plumage.

So he can't sing the way he used to sing.

But he did this to save his people.

He gave of himself to save his people.

And I think that's what Jeff was thinking about, and I feel that that was his feeling on it.

You know, he does so much and gives so much of himself to the music to the detriment of himself.

And you can hear it.

He plays for the music.

And that's what I do.

I play for the music.

That's one credo that I take with me that I got directly from him.

Play for the music.

Nothing more, nothing less.

No crap.

If it needs a kachunka chunk and that's it, then that's it.

You know, it's funky the way it is.

So, yeah, I can dig that.

I take that with me, you know, And I think that's where that Lenape Indian fable comes from in how it interwinds into his lifestyle, in his life.

Yeah.

We got to tell our listeners once again to pick up Rainbow Shadow, Reggie Washington's latest release, reggiewashington-official.com and also@jamincolors.com we gotta thank your lovely wife Stephanie for arranging everything and, you know, pushing it all good for you to make.

Make this great music be heard.

Yes.

She.

She's the brains of the outfit and she had a love for.

For.

For Jeff.

That was.

That was.

It was really.

It was larger than mine because she could feel, you know, the pleasure, the pain, you know, and they were heart to heart.

It was really.

It was cool.

It was cool to have them, you know, be friends and somebody that he could outlet to and talk to, you know, not much because he was never a human of major words, but the words that came out of his mouth were.

They were believable.

Right?

You could definitely believe in it, man.

And.

And when I first got the Rainbow Shadow from you, I'm looking at the t. The titles of the songs that you chose.

And I said, all right, move.

Shannon's on here.

And I said, I'm gonna crank this one up in the car.

And.

And.

And this true story.

The goosebumps were coming up on my arm, so you definitely did Jeff more.

More proud than.

I'm sure he's smiling down upon you and digging it, too.

Yeah.

That came from the Saintiver concert.

One of his friends here, Frederic Guate, he's editor for Jazz magazine in France, he told me, man, you have to do that tune.

That should be your tune.

That's your tune for Jeff.

Okay.

All right, let's do this.

Yeah, it gives me goose pimples to sing that one, too.

Yeah.

Bassist and lead vocalist now, Reggie Washington.

Oh, geez.

Hey, thanks, Father man.

You always welcome to come on and hopefully come in the studio once you come to the States again.

Yeah, man, that's.

That's.

That's a definite.

We have to do that, man.

So I'm going to keep it.

Keep it pumping out, and you, you know, you keep it.

Keep it.

Keep it straight.

Keep it real, man.

And you're.

You're doing it, and I'll help you out when I can, all right?

Reggie Washington.

Move.

Shannon.

Jeff Lee Johnson, rest in peace.

This is Reggie Washington.