Henry Grimes papers

1957-2018

Henry Grimes was a double bassist and leading innovator of the 1960s free jazz movement. Born in Philadelphia in 1935, Grimes began playing the violin at age 12 before switching to the double bass. After graduating from Mastbaum Technical High School, Grimes began attending Juilliard in 1952, studying under Frederick Zimmerman of the New York Philharmonic. He quickly developed a reputation as a versatile and innovative player and began working with artists such as Anita O'Day, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, Lennie Tristano, and Billy Taylor.

At the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, Grimes stood out, performing six sets over the course of the weekend. Appearing with Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, Tony Scott, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Thelonious Monk, Grimes impressed the jazz world despite not being listed in the festival program. Grimes is seen briefly in Bert Stern's documentary of the weekend, Jazz on a Summer's Day, performing with the Thelonious Monk Trio. Immediately following the festival, Grimes' first creative period with Sonny Rollins began with the recording of Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass. This was followed by the Sonny Rollins Trio 1959 tour of Europe. Joined by drummers Kenny Clarke and Pete La Roca, the Sonny Rollins Trio reimagined what a trio could sound like, pushing the sound of jazz in a new direction.

As Grimes' profile in the jazz community grew, he moved further towards the free and avant-garde, appearing on landmark recordings with Cecil Taylor (Unit Structures, Conquistador!), Don Cherry (Complete Communion, Symphony for Improvisers, Where is Brooklyn?), Pharoah Sanders (Tauhid), McCoy Tyner (Reaching Fourth), Albert Ayler (Spirits, Swing Low Sweet Spirituals, Spirits Rejoice), and continued work with Sonny Rollins (Sonny Meets Hawk!). In 1965 he released The Call as a trio leader on ESP-Disk. Joined by Perry Robinson on clarinet and Tom Price on drums, The Call was, at the time, Grimes' lone recording date to feature his own compositions.

Despite his profile and regard in the jazz community, paying jobs became harder to come by. In 1967, Grimes took a job touring with Jon Hendricks' band from New York to San Francisco, planning to relocate to the West Coast in hopes of better opportunity. However, while driving through the desert, his bass, strapped to the roof of a car and lacking a travel case, was damaged. After reaching San Francisco and performing with Hendricks, Grimes stayed in the Bay Area playing dates with Al Jarreau and doing a short tour with Sunny Murray's group which included Pharoah Sanders and Amiri Baraka.

By 1968, Grimes had settled in Los Angeles, however work continued to be hard to find. With little money and few connections in Los Angeles, Grimes sold his bass, hoping to gather enough funds to eventually buy back and repair his instrument. Instead Grimes fell out of the music world, began working odd jobs, and living in single room occupancy housing in downtown Los Angeles, refocusing his creative energy towards writing poetry and exploring his spirituality.

After three decades outside the music world, during which many assumed his death, Grimes reemerged in 2002 when Marshall Marrotte, a social worker and jazz fan, used his resources to track down the lost bassist. Grimes expressed an interest in returning to performing and word got out that he was in need of an instrument. The bassist William Parker donated one of his doubles basses, nicknamed Olive Oil for its green color, to Grimes who immediately started practicing and soon began to make live appearances in Los Angeles. In May of 2003 Grimes returned to New York for the first time since 1967, appearing at the annual Vision Festival. Soon afterwards he relocated back to New York and began living with Margaret Davis who became his manager. Davis and Grimes married in 2007.

Over the last 16 years of his life Grimes performed hundreds of shows, conducted workshops and seminars, and played with the likes of Marc Ribot, Marshall Allen, Rashied Ali, Andrew Cyrille, Bill Dixon, and more. At the 2016 Vision Festival, Henry Grimes was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award.

Henry Grimes retired from performing in 2018 due to Parkinson's disease. He died on April 15, 2020 due to complications from Parkinson's and COVID-19.