Biography
Following more than thirty years spent out of public view, Henry Grimes staged an astonishing return to active music-making. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he took up violin during junior high and tried tuba briefly in high school before committing to bass as his permanent instrument. He relocated to New York City in the early 1950s, enrolled at Juilliard, and soon began working with leading jazz artists. Tours followed with the groups of Arnett Cobb and Willis Jackson; he also returned to Philadelphia for engagements alongside Bobby Timmons and Lee Morgan. In 1957 Grimes appeared with Anita O'Day and Sonny Rollins, then joined the Gerry Mulligan quartet for the 1957–1958 season that included Art Farmer. His broad adaptability was on full display at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, where he performed capably with the Benny Goodman big band, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Thelonious Monk.
Additional associations came with Lennie Tristano in 1958 and with Sonny Rollins during a European tour in 1959, just prior to the saxophonist’s temporary retirement. Respected across stylistic divides, Grimes became a significant presence in free jazz beginning in 1961, collaborating intermittently with Cecil Taylor through 1966 while also working regularly with Perry Robinson in 1962, Sonny Rollins from 1962 to 1963, Albert Ayler from 1964 to 1966, and Don Cherry from 1965 to 1966. He led the ESP session The Call in 1965 and, beyond those already named, recorded with Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Bill Barron, Karl Berger, Gary Burton, Gil Evans, Burton Greene, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Sunny Murray, Jerome Richardson, Annie Ross, Pharoah Sanders, Shirley Scott, Archie Shepp, Billy Taylor, Charles Tyler, McCoy Tyner, Marzette Watts, and Frank Wright.
At age thirty-one, however, Grimes vanished from the jazz world in 1967. For decades he ranked among the music’s most conspicuous missing figures, widely assumed to have died. The assumption was upended in 2002 when he was located living in a South Central Los Angeles hotel, his home for the preceding twenty years. After growing disillusioned with music, he had driven spontaneously to San Francisco with drummer Clarence Becton; the bass, strapped to the car roof, deteriorated in the desert crossing, and Grimes pawned it. He remained largely unaware of musical developments over the subsequent thirty-five years. Social worker and writer Marshall Marrotte located him, after which Sound to Noise magazine conducted an interview. News spread that Grimes was alive, in reasonable health yet impoverished, and eager to resume playing. William Parker shipped him a bass in December 2002; from that point Grimes recovered his technical command and resumed public performance. Appearances included Billy Higgins’ World Stage, the Jazz Bakery, and other Los Angeles venues, plus the Vision Festival in New York; he also began teaching an improvisation class at a local high school. The re-emergence stood as one of 2003’s notable jazz narratives—an unexpected return after a thirty-five-year absence. Subsequent activity encompassed international concerts and festivals, several new recordings, a return to violin, and the publication of the poetry collection Signs Along the Road. Henry Grimes died on April 15, 2020, at age eighty-four, from complications related to COVID-19.
Additional associations came with Lennie Tristano in 1958 and with Sonny Rollins during a European tour in 1959, just prior to the saxophonist’s temporary retirement. Respected across stylistic divides, Grimes became a significant presence in free jazz beginning in 1961, collaborating intermittently with Cecil Taylor through 1966 while also working regularly with Perry Robinson in 1962, Sonny Rollins from 1962 to 1963, Albert Ayler from 1964 to 1966, and Don Cherry from 1965 to 1966. He led the ESP session The Call in 1965 and, beyond those already named, recorded with Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Bill Barron, Karl Berger, Gary Burton, Gil Evans, Burton Greene, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Sunny Murray, Jerome Richardson, Annie Ross, Pharoah Sanders, Shirley Scott, Archie Shepp, Billy Taylor, Charles Tyler, McCoy Tyner, Marzette Watts, and Frank Wright.
At age thirty-one, however, Grimes vanished from the jazz world in 1967. For decades he ranked among the music’s most conspicuous missing figures, widely assumed to have died. The assumption was upended in 2002 when he was located living in a South Central Los Angeles hotel, his home for the preceding twenty years. After growing disillusioned with music, he had driven spontaneously to San Francisco with drummer Clarence Becton; the bass, strapped to the car roof, deteriorated in the desert crossing, and Grimes pawned it. He remained largely unaware of musical developments over the subsequent thirty-five years. Social worker and writer Marshall Marrotte located him, after which Sound to Noise magazine conducted an interview. News spread that Grimes was alive, in reasonable health yet impoverished, and eager to resume playing. William Parker shipped him a bass in December 2002; from that point Grimes recovered his technical command and resumed public performance. Appearances included Billy Higgins’ World Stage, the Jazz Bakery, and other Los Angeles venues, plus the Vision Festival in New York; he also began teaching an improvisation class at a local high school. The re-emergence stood as one of 2003’s notable jazz narratives—an unexpected return after a thirty-five-year absence. Subsequent activity encompassed international concerts and festivals, several new recordings, a return to violin, and the publication of the poetry collection Signs Along the Road. Henry Grimes died on April 15, 2020, at age eighty-four, from complications related to COVID-19.
Albums
Live
