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Henry Grimes

Master jazz musician (acoustic bass, violin, poetry) HENRY GRIMES has played more than 600 concerts in 30 countries (including many festivals) since 2OO3, when he made his astonishing return to the music world after 35 years away. He was born and raised in Philadelphia and attended the Mastbaum School and Juilliard. As a youngster in the '50s and early '60s, he came up in the music playing and touring with Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson, Arnett Cobb, "Bullmoose" Jackson, "Little" Willie John, and a number of other great R&B / soul musicians; at Juilliard he played classical music on bass with the opera orchestra and studied with the great Fred Zimmermann, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic; but drawn to jazz, he went on to play, tour, and record with many great jazz musicians of that era, including Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Lee Konitz, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Sunny Murray, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner, and Rev. Frank Wright.

Sadly, a trip to the West Coast to work with Al Jarreau and Jon Hendricks went awry, leaving Henry in Los Angeles at the end of the '6O's with a broken bass he couldn't pay to repair, so he sold it for a small sum and faded away from the music world. Many years passed with nothing heard from him, as he lived in his tiny rented room in an S.R.O. hotel in downtown Los Angeles, working as a manual laborer, custodian, and maintenance man, and writing many volumes of handwritten poetry.

He was discovered there by a Georgia social worker and fan named Marshall Marrotte in 2002 and was given a bass by William Parker, and after only a few weeks of ferocious woodshedding, Henry emerged from his room to begin playing concerts around Los Angeles, and shortly afterwards made a triumphant return to New York City in May, '03 to play in the Vision Festival.

Since then, often working as a leader, he has played, toured, and / or recorded with many of this era's music heroes, such as Rashied Ali, Marshall Allen, Fred Anderson, Marilyn Crispell, Ted Curson, Andrew Cyrille, Bill Dixon, Dave Douglas, Andrew Lamb, Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Amina Claudine Myers, William Parker, Marc Ribot, Wadada Leo Smith, and Cecil Taylor. In the past few years, Henry has also held a number of residencies and offered workshops and master classes on major campuses (including Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Hamilton College of Performing Arts, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, CalArts, Mills College, the University of Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, and several more). He can be heard on about a dozen new recordings, made his professional debut on a second instrument (the violin) at Lincoln Center at the age of 70 with Cecil Taylor, has seen the publication of the first volume of his poetry, "Signs Along the Road," and creates illustrations to accompany his new recordings and publications. He has received many honors in recent years, including four Meet the Composer grants and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Arts for Art / Vision Festival in 2016. He can be heard on 90+ recordings on various labels, including Atlantic, Ayler Records, Blue Note, Columbia, ESP-Disk, ILK Music, Impulse!, JazzNewYork Productions, Pi Recordings, Porter Records, Prestige, Riverside, and Verve.

Sadly, at age 83 in the year 2019, the great Henry Grimes is living in a Harlem nursing home, where he is confined to bed and a wheelchair and can no longer walk, speak clearly, think straight, hear or see well, remember things clearly, or do much of anything else. Early signs of Parkinson's Disease were first observed by Henry's medical team around 12 years ago, and the disease has gotten much worse over those years, but he continued playing his bass and violin, and once on the bandstand, his playing was mostly unimpaired up until the last couple of years (there may have been some extra vibrato, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with string instruments). But his health care in the nursing homes (this one and the one he was in before) has not been all that it should be, and by not walking Henry or letting us walk him or giving him intensive physical therapy, they and the disease combined have gradually crippled him. He stopped playing his bass and violin because he could no longer play with the facility, accuracy, speed, and control that he had before, and it became too frustrating for him, and it made him angry and depressed, until finally he decided to stop playing, and he sent his bass and violin back home. Recently, Henry has acquired a blood clot (aneurysm) in his right leg and has also started exhibiting respiratory problems, and he is receiving whatever treatments are available for him.

Henry's friends, bandmates, and fans in the NYC area can get to visit him quickly and easily with one or two subway or bus rides (4, 5, and 6 trains stop right at the nursing home). His wife Margaret visits him just about every evening and tries to make sure he is doing well, is getting good care, and does not feel abandoned, and she tries to get true friends to visit Henry as often as possible.

Awards

Henry Grimes has received many honors in recent years, including four Meet the Composer grants, and he has been honored for his outstanding musicianship by many publications and organizations (designated "best of," etc). On June 7th, 2016, he received the Arts for Art / Vision Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and played for 12 hours non-stop, leading three very different groups of his own choosing. If you go to artsforart.org and click on "menu" and then Vision Festival, you can read full details of this, Henry Grimes's crowning achievement at age 80.

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When recordings like Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' seemingly falls from yonder jazz sky, we must stop to thank those swinging stars above for our grand fortune. Because despite all our flaws--a broken politic, a poisoned planet, constant wartime bickering--we are a fortunate, if mostly undeserving, race of peculiarities. That becomes especially apparent when random, instantaneous works of art and human affinity like this grace our path. Located at 242 East 3rd Street between Avenue B and ...

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Since its inception in 2010, Omnivore Recordings has applied a most stringent set of standards to its archival efforts devoted to the disparate likes of Merle Haggard, Maynard Ferguson and the Posies (and no less so in the occasional preparation and release of new content such as Americana master Peter Case). The label has rightly been recognized for its exacting approach to vault exhumations. Perhaps the most laudable of all its campaigns is the one on behalf of ...

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Video / DVD

Happy 80th, Henry Grimes

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 3, 2015

Today is Henry Grimes's 80th birthday. While Henry is known as free jazz's most eminent bassist, he also appeared on a significant number of important mainstream jazz albums earlier in his career. Henry's sound has always been strongly supportive as a time-keeper and fiery in intensity, pushing musicians to take creative risks. As Sonny Rollins notes in his forward to Barbara Frenz's new biography of Henry, Music to Silence Music, “Henry's music, the music of the man, has been such ...
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Performance / Tour

Henry Grimes - Four Days in Chicago

Source: Karl E. H. Seigfried
September 7, 2011

Karl performed (bass) with Henry Grimes (bass and violin) for four concerts during the Chicago Jazz Festival. Here are details from Neil Tesser's Preview: One event constitutes a miniature festival in its own right, as the resurrected New York bassist Henry Grimes returns to Chicago for a slew of performances. It's no surprise to find Grimes in town during the Festival: he spent the last several Labor Day weekends appearing in multiple contexts at the much-missed Velvet Lounge, the historic ...
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Performance / Tour

Henry Grimes and Wadada Leo Smith Offer a Rare Acoustic Duo Concert in NYC on July 10th

Source: Margaret Davis Grimes
July 4, 2011

On Sunday, July 10th, 2011 starting promptly at 6:30 p.m., continuing an artistic collaboration that started last October in California, two legendary and visionary musicians, Henry Grimes (upright bass, violin, poetry) and Wadada Leo Smith (trumpets), will offer a rare acoustic duo concert at Zurcher Studio, 33 Bleecker St. betw. Lafayette & Bowery one block above Houston St. and just opposite Mott St. Admission is $20 ($10 for low-income persons), phone 212-777-0790. From the late 50s throughout the 60s, after ...
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Performance / Tour

Henry Grimes's Month of 75th Birthdays at the Stone in New York City!

Source: Just Roots PR
October 31, 2010

Acoustic bassist, violinist, and poet Henry Grimes continues his very active schedule of concerts, touring, and education with an informal month-long residency at the concert space called the Stone, northwest corner of Ave. C and 2nd St. in Manhattan, http://www.thestonenyc.com/calendar.php, playing various sets of music with many of his favorite musicians during the month. At the invitation of Stone proprietor John Zorn, Henry and Margaret Grimes curated the space for November, Henry's 75th-birthday month, and many of those booked asked ...
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Event

Henry Grimes and Friends in Concert: A Benefit for Harlem Textile Works at the Black Box Theater, Harlem

Source: Just Roots PR
August 31, 2009

On Saturday, September 12th, ‘O9, visionary jazz musician Henry Grimes (acoustic bass, violin, voice), along with his esteemed band mates Andrew Lamb (reeds, flute, percussion) and Michael Wimberly (drums, percussion), will present a benefit concert for Harlem Textile Works at the Black Box Theatre, 3O8 West 133rd St. just east of St. Nicholas Ave. over the Morningstar Pentecostal Church, Village of Harlem, New York City.

Sets will be at 7 and 9 p.m, tickets $15 per set of music, available ...
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Event

Henry Grimes & Friends in Concert: A Benefit for Harlem Textile Works at the Black Box Theater on September 12th

Source: Margaret Davis Grimes
August 17, 2009

On Saturday, September 12th, 2009, the legendary and visionary jazz musician Henry Grimes (acoustic bass, violin, voice), along with his esteemed bandmates Andrew Lamb (reeds, flute, percussion) and Michael Wimberly (drums, percussion), will present a benefit concert for Harlem Textile Works at the Black Box Theatre, 308 West 133rd St. just east of St. Nicholas Ave. over the Morningstar Pentecostal Church, Village of Harlem, New York City. Sets will be at 7 and 9 p.m, tickets $15 per set of ...
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294

Performance / Tour

The Henry Grimes/ Marc Ribot Duo Live at the Rubin Museum NYC

Source: Two for the Show Media
March 17, 2009

The Henry Grimes/ Marc Ribot Duo will be performing in concert at The Rubin Museum in NYC on March 27th, 2009 at 7:00PM as part of the 2009 Winter/Spring Harlem in the Himalayas Series.

Henry Grimes - Bass Marc Ribot- Guitar

Henry Grimes has played 58 concerts with the extraordinary Marc Ribot in the last five years in duo, trio, and quartet formations in 16 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, ...
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160

Performance / Tour

Henry Grimes Times!

Source: Margaret Davis Grimes
January 12, 2009

Monday, January 19th release date for Henry Grimes Solo, the phenomenal double-CD set Henry Grimes Times on the ILK Music label. Henry playing acoustic bass and violin for more than 2&1/2 hours of continuous improvisation! Thursday, January 22nd, 6 p.m: Deep Tones for Peace fundraiser at the United Nations in New York City, with Henry Grimes playing solo bass, and others among the Deep Tones for Peace musicians listed below also playing at the fundraiser either in person or in ...
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157

Music Industry

Grimes Times! June 2008

Source: Margaret Davis Grimes
June 1, 2008

Sunday, June 1st (tonight!), 8 p.m: Julie Patton's “Ghost of a Chance Defense Fun(d) Band" rent party, w/ Julie Patton ("voicesays"), special guest Henry Grimes, “Poet of the Air" (words, instrumental voicing), Brad Jones (bass), Drew Gardner (percussion), Rod Williams (piano), Paul Van Curen (guitar), and more, at the Stone, northwest corner of Ave. C at 2nd St., Manhattan (NYC), 212-473-OO43. Julie says: “So accustomed to throwing my own voice I no longer own it. Who does? I exchange the ...
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234

Performance / Tour

Grimes Times! On Tour with Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity, February, 'O8

Source: Margaret Davis Grimes
January 28, 2008

Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity, with Marc Ribot (leader, guitars, voice), Roy Campbell, Jr. (trumpets), and Chad Taylor (drums), and featuring Henry Grimes (double-bass, violin), on tour in Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Switzerland, and France: Friday, February 1st: concert at Sardinen USF in Kulturhuset USF, Nordnes, Georgernes Verft 3, Bergen, Norway, 1O p.m., +47 55 31 55 7O; Saturday, February 2nd: Henry Grimes workshop, 2:3O-4:3O p.m., & Marc Ribot workshop, 4:3O-6:3O p.m., followed by ...
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If only for the Ann Arbor debut of the legendary and recently rediscovered bassist Henry Grimes, the closing night of Edgefest [Oct., 'O5] would be deemed an overwhelming success. As if making up for the lost decades, Grimes, rarely playing at less than an eighth-note pace, gently prodded reedman Andrew Lamb and drummer Newman Taylor Baker through a handful of insistent yet meditative suites that found plenty of room for all three players to shine. That the trio rarely rose above a whisper didn't take away from its intensity; rather, with Grimes furnishing mantra-like foundations both with his fingers and a bow, Baker and Lamb were able to overlay their own invocations, creating an almost chamber-music-like vibe in the intimate venue. Lamb, who switched between tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute, was a worthy melodic foil for Grimes' churning rhythms, while Baker, tastefully restrained, relied on nuance and color in order not to overshadow the leader. Grimes clearly was totally assured with his instrument at his command, rewarding an adoring house that had waited far too long to bask in the virtuosity of one of jazz's truly legendary figures. - Will Stewart, “Ann Arbor News” Since his triumphant comeback, Henry Grimes has made up for lost time, recording a fine live CD with drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist David Murray in Finland, and partnering Sun Ra alum saxophonist Marshall Allen for an unlikely duo tour bannered “Spaceship on the Highway.” Saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Avreeayl Ra joined the ship when it touched down at Chicago's HotHouse in March in front of a diverse crowd. The free-form summit was dominated by stratospheric eruptions from Allen's unfettered alto, mellifluity from his antiquated EWI, and cosmic poetry, which Anderson backed with bluesy fills and Ra colored with pipings from a cedarwood flute. Nevertheless, the night belonged to Grimes, whose customized space bass boomed beneath his lean, agile fingers. He knew exactly what to do. - Michael Jackson, “Downbeat” Henry Grimes is a rare virtuoso without ostentation, an ideal ensemble player of counter-melodies and aggressive rhythms, with a big, true sound... a triumphant return for Grimes and a promise of brilliant music to come. - John Litweiler, “Chicago Sun-Times” Tonally resplendent bass-playing ... perpetual-motion lines too fast, fleet and harmonically free-ranging to be easily notated. Grimes emerged a poet of his instrument. - Howard Reich, “Chicago Tribune” I was kind of unprepared for how amazing the show would be, having not ever seen Henry and being admittedly skeptical of the story behind his somewhat recent comeback. But he was incredible, as were Marshall [Allen] and Fred Anderson and Avreeayl Ra that night. One of the best shows of the year for me - electrifying. - Matthew Lurie, “Time Out Chicago” I'm at the first night of the 1Oth Vision Festival ('O5), New York's most forward-looking jazz event... Henry Grimes's quartet features Sun Ra saxophonist Marshall Allen with the science fiction-like electronic glissandi of his EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). Grimes sculpts tones from his bass with a sense of time that continually subdivides the pulse into tributaries of counter-comments. As the energy of the performance reaches a natural cadence, Grimes pulls a funky riff from the air that relights fire-crackers under the band. And with his final solo, Grimes's fingers scurry down the fingerboard in some seemingly abstractly choreographed pattern, except that the musical sense of what he plays communicates instantly. - Maggie Williams, Editor, “Double Bassist” Henry Grimes' huge sound and inventiveness are the qualities that made him a bass player sought after by both avant-garde and mainstream musicians - not that these distinctions make any difference for such a deep musician. - Francesco Martinelli, “All About Jazz” Henry Grimes took charge of terra firma, shaking the floorboards with booming notes that segued stealthily from jocular to foreboding - a sort of four-stringed analogue to James Earl Jones on a wild oratorical ride. Grimes draws heavily from the blues, but doesn't bore his audience with simple retellings of the genre's stock stories. He stains them with his own blood, sweat and tears, making his canvases among the music's most poignant and exhilarating. - David Sprague, “Variety” Henry Grimes returns, proceeds to jump back into this river of music, he is splashing in it, rolling in the flow of sound, with a joy that is now! not yesterday. The cry is I'm happy to be alive and I love music and I want to play as much as I can. - William Parker Henry has unbelievable ears and what he plays will always relate to what’s going on in some completely unpredictable and beautiful way. It’s tempting to write off the density of his playing as just him going off the deep end, but when you listen to it, you hear the melody sped up, counterpointed, harmonized, attacked, distorted, played backwards. He’s really a Cecil Taylor of the bass. When I play with Henry, it’s as if I’d only seen synthetic fabrics my whole life, and I’m confronted with a hand-knitted wool sweater with all its oddities and imperfections-different, yet infinitely warmer. - Marc Ribot Henry Grimes is among the greatest improvisers living in the world today. His playing is exquisite. - Roscoe Mitchell

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