Immortal: the Musical Crusade of Reggie Workman

Executive Producer: Wynton Marsalis

Produced by: Sculptured Sounds, LLC , ZORA Productions

Your gift is tax-deductible. 

A Documentary about Reggie Workman, a jazz legend, and NEA Jazz Master, standing at the crossroads of generations, and addressing his youngest daughter Ayana’s questions.

Critics have long debated whether or not there is a future for JAZZ music. 

Think pieces have been written, arguments made. 

Jazz clubs are closing! The legends of the genre are dying! What comes next?

Listeners and musicians know: Jazz is not dead. Far from it. It’s ever evolving and expanding. A musical life form, sometimes with a mind of its own.

So why are people reading its last rights? 

Jazz is arguably the greatest gift that American culture has given the world. Within this offering, there’s an artist who is long overdue for an ovation. Someone who has witnessed the greatest musical talents and is one of those talents himself.

Who is this legend?

Reggie Workman.

Those who know Jazz know his name but might not know his story. We’re here to change that. 

Immortal: The Musical Crusade of Reggie Workman shares his extraordinary and enduring legacy, for the first time through his daughter Ayana’s eyes.

Throughout his career Reggie has seen countless iconic moments–touring with John Coltrane and appearing on “Live” at the Village Vanguard, igniting European audiences with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, to name a few.

For decades, Reggie has stood at the intersection of music and culture, where stories of Jazz and American history converge. 

(Reggie Workman with John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, and Elvin Jones at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn, London on November 11, 1961. Photo: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Jazz is inextricably linked to African American history–Reggie often refers to it as “African American music” first. He only calls it Jazz when absolutely necessary. 

Not everyone is ready to take ownership of African American history as a fundamental part of American History, but it’s an undeniable truth. As America was forming an identity, Jazz musicians were birthing a unique sound, changing the landscape of music forever. 

What happens when what we leave behind meets what lies ahead?

Reggie has played a pivotal role in bridging the gap between past and present, into the future of the genre.

His students have gone on to win Grammys, become educators, and travel the world spreading the influence of the music to Europe, Asia and beyond. 

Artists Alliance, Inc, 1985: Standing: Sonny Fortune, Russ Musto, Big George, Maya Milenovic, James Browne, Milford Graves, Billy Hart, John Stubblefield, Susan Hino, Stanley Cowell, Ricky Ford, Olub Dara. Kneeling: Shinzo Ono, Sam Rivers, Reggie Workman, Kevin Eubanks, Terumasa Hino, Craig Harris

Immortal takes its audience on a vibrant and vital journey, composed of vignettes with significant voices, through which we discover Reggie’s sound. It culminates in conversations with Reggie’s youngest daughter Ayana Workman while they create their first project together: “Pulling”. 

We interview Archie Shepp, Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, Nasheet Waits, Aaron Goldberg, Oliver Lake, Andrew Cyrille, Don Moye, Ravi Coltrane, Lakecia Benjamin, Cornel West, Jen Shyu and many others.

Ayana Workman, Robert Glasper (former student of Reggie) , Reggie Workman 2022 

The future of Jazz depends on a deep understanding of the past. This lifeblood comes in the form of Reggies community of students, fans and collaborators. It’s up to us; those who believe in the enduring influence and legacy of this music to share the stories of the musicians who are responsible for its impact.

This is what Reggie leaves behind, so that he may never be forgotten.  

Now, we need your help. Together, we can make this important film a reality and celebrate the profound legacy of jazz music, and Reggie’s storied career.

Your support will help us get this film over the finish line, completing our final interviews and the postproduction process by the end of this year.

Reggie Workman and Ayana Workman, when she was 5

Crowdfunding is a key element in our overall funding strategy. We believe strongly in the power of community, especially in the pursuit of an undertaking as essential as this project. Please contact us directly at mayamw18@gmail.com if you would like to make a private donation or if your company or foundation would like to support this project. Your gift is tax-deductible. 

Andrew Aaron, Reggie Workman and a musician friend, Philadelphia’s Germantown HS

We hope to screen Immortal at upcoming festivals, and eventually on streaming services to make this film available to the masses. The proceeds of the film will be allocated for the development of the Reggie Workman & Maya Milenovic Foundation, which will support young students of music and the performing arts.

Cedar Walton, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Reggie Workman, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard at the Sanremo Train Station, 1963

Reggie Workman and Archie Shepp, friends from Philadelphia, PA since 1946. 

At this time Reggie and Maya, co-founders of MaDLOM in 1998, have united forces with a young team of producers, cinematographers, media experts, and editors, in the creation of “Immortal: the Musical Crusade of Reggie Workman. MaDLOM is a multidisciplinary after-school “Arts Laboratory”, dedicated to the creative development of students ages 3-18 through movement, theater, drumming, storytelling, and film. We strive for a developmentally appropriate and joyful process, with an emphasis on artistic literacy, creative expression, leadership, and self-confidence. Our students have become dancers, musicians, filmmakers, theater directors, actors, writers, and so much more. 

Reggie Worman and Ayana Workman 2021

MaDLOM’s older students will get a chance to learn on set, in a “film creative room”, and get a chance to use this subject as their senior options or ideas for work in the future.

We can’t create this historical document without your help.