Henry Franklin

Henry Franklin, long known by the nickname "The Skipper," first drew broad notice for his bass work on South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela's 1968 chart-topping single "Grazin' in the Grass." He soon emerged as a prominent West Coast figure in funk and modal jazz, issuing two revered albums on the historic Black Jazz Records imprint—among them 1971's The Skipper—while appearing on sessions alongside Woody Shaw, Julian Priester, Freddie Hubbard, and Hampton Hawes. Eventually establishing his own imprint, Franklin maintained a steady output that encompassed 2009's Home Cookin', 2015's Two Views, and the 2016 McCoy Tyner homage High Voltage. Recent joint efforts include 2022's Daggerboard and the Skipper, recorded with trumpeter Erik Jekabson and percussionist Gregory Howe, as well as 2022's JID014 alongside Adrian Younge and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Franklin was raised in a musical household as the son of respected West Coast jazz trumpeter and bandleader Sammy Franklin. With his father's support he first took up clarinet and piano, even studying tap dance, before committing to the bass. After early classical instruction he pursued private lessons with jazz bassists Al McKibbon and George Morrow and absorbed the recorded legacies of Paul Chambers and Doug Watkins. While still attending high school he began working professionally, joining vibraphonist Roy Ayers' Latin Jazz Quintet with Bill Henderson, Carl Burnett, and Elmo Jones. Additional Los Angeles engagements brought collaborations with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Scott LaFaro.

Around 1968 Franklin spent a year on the East Coast with Willie Bobo, during which he also performed with Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Lamont Johnson, and others. One such performance attracted the attention of Hugh Masekela, who recruited him into his group. Franklin's first recording with Masekela appeared on the 1968 album The Promise of the Future, which contained the enduring hit "Grazin' in the Grass." He further joined Masekela in D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film documenting the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Subsequent work included the Three Sounds' final album, 1969's Soul Symphony.

As a bandleader Franklin introduced his debut, 1971's The Skipper, on the Oakland-based Black Jazz Records label. The vibrant fusion of modal jazz, funk, and soul spotlighted his ensemble featuring trumpeter Oscar Brashear, saxophonist Charles Owens, electric pianist Bill Henderson, and drummer Michael Carvin. A follow-up arrived in 1974 with the second Black Jazz release The Skipper at Home, again employing the core group now expanded by pianist Kirk Lightsey and drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler. Additional dates with saxophonist John Carter and trumpeter Bobby Bradford yielded 1970's Self-Determination Music and 1973's Secrets. He also participated in sessions with Woody Shaw, Gene Russell, Freddie Hubbard, Julian Priester, Bobbi Humphrey, Harold Land, and Hampton Hawes. His third solo album, Tribal Dance, appeared in 1977, and he ventured outside jazz circles by contributing to Stevie Wonder's 1979 release Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Franklin remained active, recording with Dennis Gonzalez and performing with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, Joe Williams, Bobby Hutcherson, and others. Frequent European tours accompanied a series of his own albums, among them 1985's We Came to Play and 1996's Bassic Instincts. For more than a decade he held a standing five-night engagement at The Mission Inn in Riverside, California, concluding in 2011. In that era he continued issuing recordings, many on his Skipper Productions label, including 2007's If We Should Meet Again, 2009's Home Cookin', and 2015's Two Views, while also authoring the bass method book Bassically Yours. The 2016 tribute High Voltage featured pianist Bill Heid and drummer Carl Burnett. Daggerboard and the Skipper, uniting Franklin with trumpeter/composer Erik Jekabson and percussionist/composer Gregory Howe, surfaced in 2022, as did his collaboration with instrumentalist Adrian Younge and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad on JID014, part of the ongoing Jazz Is Dead series.