Butch Warren

Throughout his career, Butch Warren was a bit of a throwback to an earlier era, when bassists stuck to walking behind soloists. Although a fairly modern player, Warren was only an occasional soloist and was at his best accompanying other musicians. His first professional job was playing in his father Edward Warren's group at age 14. Early on, the bassist worked locally in the Washington, D.C., area, most notably with Stuff Smith. In 1958, he moved to New York to play with Kenny Dorham at the Five Spot and stayed in town throughout most of his career. During the next six years,...