Butch Warren, 74, Prominent Jazz Bassist, Dies Butch Warren, a bassist who performed and recorded with Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock and many others and seemed poised for a high profile in the jazz world before his career was permanently derailed by mental illness and substance abuse, died on Oct. 5 in Silver Spring, Md. Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post, via Getty Images Edward "Butch" Warren in August during a jazz tribute held for him in Washington. The cause was cancer, according to an announcement on his Web site. In the early 1960s, Mr. Warren was one of the most prominent bassists in jazz. His powerful, lively lines anchored albums now regarded as classics, most of them on the Blue Note label, including Dexter Gordon's "Go!," Joe Henderson's "Page One" and Mr. Hancock's first recording as a leader, "Takin" Off." In 1963 he joined Monk's quartet, one of the most popular ensembles in jazz. He recorded and toured the United States, Europe and Japan with Monk, who Mr. Warren recalled once told him, "You make my music sound better." But like many jazz musicians of his generation, Mr. Warren struggled with heroin addiction. He also had serious mental problems. Shortly after he left Monk in 1964 and returned to his native Washington, he was hospitalized and received a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. For the rest of his career he remained in Washington, surfacing occasionally to perform in area clubs and then disappearing for long stretches, during which he was hospitalized and sometimes homeless. In his last years Mr. Warren was healthy enough not just to resume performing locally but also to record his first and only albums as a leader: "French 5tet" (2011), recorded in Paris, and "Butch's Blues" (2012). Edward Rudolph Warren was born in Washington on Aug. 9, 1939, and began performing at age 14 in a group led by his father, the pianist Eddie Warren. After working in and around Washington for a few years, he moved to New York, where he attracted attention as a member of the trumpeter Kenny Dorham's group in 1959. Mr. Warren was married and divorced twice. Survivors include a daughter, Sharon Warren.