Henry Grimes Press Quotes & Reviews




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.......... The Talk of the Town! ..........

Henry Grimes designated "Musician of the Year" by "All About Jazz"/ New York, Dec., 'O3; nominated "Jazz Artist of the Year" by "L.A. Weekly," California, June 'O3 and June 'O4; Henry Grimes Trio featuring Andrew Lamb and Newman Taylor Baker designated "Best Jazz Trio of the Year" in 'O4 by "NYPress" Best of Manhattan issue; Henry Grimes & Ted Curson duo concert June 2, 'O5 chosen one of the year's best concerts and Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity featuring Henry Grimes chosen one of the year's best recordings by "All About Jazz" / New York, Best of 2OO5 issue; Henry Grimes's Spaceship on the Highway Quartet featuring Marshall Allen, Fred Anderson, & Avreeayl Ra named one of the best concerts of 'O5 by "Time Out / Chicago"; Henry Grimes nominated Bassist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association, June, 'O6; Henry Grimes listed among the top dozen acoustic bassists in the "Downbeat" critics' poll, 'O6; the Cecil Taylor Trio with Henry Grimes & Pheeroan akLaff at Iridium (1O/26/O6) named a critic's choice for one of the 1O best concerts of the year by "All About Jazz" (thanks, Russ Musto!)....

Henry has always been a serious, intense, and fearless musician whose personal life reflected those exceptional qualities. I admire him greatly.-- Sonny Rollins, 'O7

The return of Henry Grimes was remarkable because so many musicians fall by the wayside and are never heard from again. The world needs these musicians. Yes, the world needs every good creative spirit to make his or her contribution immediately. The rest is history: friends, students, a bass, practice. 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, 'O4

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 of the tune you’re playing sped up, counterpointed, harmonized, attacked, distorted, played backwards. He’s really a Cecil Taylor of the bass. And he has his own version of playing grooves related to some strain of sixties funky jazz that we think we remember, but we don’t. 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. He’s the living embodiment of the difference between groove and metronomic time, which we were all taught were the same thing, right? Wrong.
-- Marc Ribot, 'O6, <www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=21084>

First review of The Henry Grimes Trio featuring David Murray and Hamid Drake "Live at Kerava" on Ayler Records (released in January, 'O5, aylCD-O28):

Grimes' first recorded document since his reappearance is a trio session with titans David Murray and Hamid Drake. Murray's familiar tonal distortions distinguish him among the pantheon of tenors: John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Sam Rivers, and Albert Ayler. And Drake's boundless percussive vocabulary notes him on a flurry of recent projects from the stateside Fred Anderson and Ken Vandermark to Euros Peter Brötzmann and Misha Mengelberg. But it is Grimes' beautifully sparse bass solos (particularly arco), characterized by a logical clarity and melodic mastery, that suggest his overwhelmingly rapid rediscovery. Murray's soulful vibrato often infuses with Drake's boiling drumming and Grimes' melodic innocence. Grimes proves himself to be a bass juggernaut, swinging in unhurried fashion, his agile improvisations swelling in texture. Drake's relentless funk, paired with Grimes' vividly interesting quotes, promoted by Murray's brawny tenor saxophone flights, further the music's unbridled enthusiasm. Never predictable, the trio's level of intensity and inspiration ranks this recording as one of the finest in Ayler's considerably important catalog. The journey of Henry Grimes is an interesting one. The disappearance of Grimes is a puzzling one. But the reemergence of Grimes is the best story to come out of music in years. Grimes, who defines just what a true musician is, never failing to live a musical life, even if the music is in silence, has seemingly accepted the blessed circumstances of his new dawn, and we are all better for it.
-- Fred Jung, Editor in Chief, "All About Jazz / L.A."

2nd review: HENRY GRIMES TRIO - Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival (Ayler Records 028) featuring Henry Grimes on contrabass, David Murray on tenor sax & bass clarinet and Hamid Drake on drums. There is no better fairy tale in the legends of free jazz than the triumphant return of contrabassist supreme Henry Grimes, after his thirty-year absence and rumors of his demise. This is only Henry's second date as a leader; his first was on ESP in the mid-sixties, besides the hundreds of historic sessions he did with Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor and Sonny Rollins. This is also his second record date since his return; the first was Dennis Gonzalez' 'Nile River Suite'. For this fabulous live date, recorded in Finland in June of last year, Henry selected an incredible all-star trio - the mighty David Murray on tenor sax & bass clarinet, and perhaps everyone's favorite drummer and percussion hero, Hamid Drake, each one a leader and an incredible musician on his own. Both William Parker, another bass legend, and Ben Young, jazz scholar & radio host, have contributed some fine liner notes. This great trio toured Europe last year and this date is/was the fruit of their labors. This is an immensely powerful and intensely creative trio, so focused as one strong and liberating force; the recording also is perfectly balanced, so that each member of this grand trio is one equal part. Nice to hear David Murray playing with that fierce and unquenchable spirit, digging deep and unleashing those sheets of notes. Henry and Hamid are also locked together in rhythmic flight, pumping, pushing and pulling, swinging hard yet free. Over an hour and consistently splendid throughout. Welcome back Mr. Henry Grimes, we love you and we missed you!
-- Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, <www.downtownmusicgallery.com>.

3rd review: HENRY GRIMES TRIO - Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival (Ayler Records 028): This album is the first to appear under Henry Grimes's name since his phoenix-like return, and it's a scorcher. He couldn't have found better company either, in the form of tenor saxophonist / bass clarinettist David Murray and drummer Hamid Drake, who perhaps more than any other horn player and percussionist have managed to do what Grimes did so spectacularly on the bass before his disappearance back in 1967, i.e. play with consummate virtuosity and astounding musicianship in all styles, in and out from bop to free. Those who doubted whether Grimes, the man who Denis Charles once said could make a bandstand shake ("I thought the bass was going to explode") could regain the strength, the tough skin and sheer muscular coordination, let alone the awesomely swift musical creativity, are invited to check this out at their earliest convenience. Not only can the man still walk - nay, run - all over the instrument, but the melodic inventiveness that drove Rollins' "Our Man In Jazz" forward is as bright and alert as ever. He nails Murray's "Flowers for Albert," spurring the saxophonist on to what I'm tempted to describe as one of his most inspired performances of recent times...
-- Dan Warburton, Editor-in-Chief, "Paris Transatlantic Magazine," www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/main/home.html

4th review: HENRY GRIMES TRIO - Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival (Ayler Records 028): At times, people disappear for a good reason, only to reappear down the line with a renewed sense of purpose. Such was the case with bassist Henry Grimes. He disappeared very mysteriously at the tail end of the 60's, only to be found a couple of years back living in a motel in Los Angeles. He was as far removed from music when he was found as one can ever be. William Parker gave him a bass, and lo and behold, he's back playing to packed houses again. It feels almost as if he never disappeared. "Live at The Kerava Jazz Festival" is Henry Grimes first proper album as a leader since "The Call" (ESP) which dates back to mid- 60's. What a return to form it is! The trio is a powerhouse, where along with Grimes on bass (of course), he's joined by David Murray on tenor and bass clarinet, along with percussionist Hamid Drake. Henry's bass playing is absolutely earth-shattering. It's true, he can make building move and rumble. The deep plucking on "Spin" where he takes an extended solo is mesmerizing. Hamid Drake acts as a very solid partner to Henry's lead. He concentrates on shimmering cymbal work and in effect gives the trio a sense of forward-looking motion. In effect, David Murray almost steals the spotlight away from the leader. His tenor work is truly robust, as he works out to the extreme on every piece. His version of "Flowers for Albert" nearly steals the show. In every sense of the word, this is the finest work I'd heard David Murray do since 1979's "3D Family" [hathut], where interestingly enough he was leading an adventurous trio of his own. Depending on how you look at it, this is a showcase for David Murray as well (and it's good that he hasn't forgotten his Ayler roots!). It's only January, and as much as I hate to do this early on in the year, I'll cast my vote now. I have just heard the record of 2005.
-- Tom Sekowski, www.vivo.pl

5th review: HENRY GRIMES TRIO - Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival (Ayler Records 028): ... Grimes, Hamid Drake and David Murray put on a hugely enjoyable, often transcendent concert of improvised music. From the expectant hush that opens "Spin", punctuated by Drake's brush strokes and Grimes' glissing harmonies, dynamics and energy levels have nowhere to go but up, and up they go with an almost malevolent vigor; beyond all recall and redemption. All three players, masters of that increasingly chameleon art of reference and subreference once mislabeled "free" jazz, spend the gig propelling each other to further and further-flung corners of the stratosphere or down below the gutbucket into the expressionism of uhr-blues. Just where lines are crossed, summits are reached, and homage becomes whim is often difficult to gage, as the stirringly frenetic rendition of the Murray classic "Flowers for Albert" will demonstrate. Murray assimilates, sublimates and transcends Ayler, Drake thumps and punches from moment to moment at the borders of jazz and rock, delicate cymbalwork providing a gorgeously glistening backdrop, while Grimes seems to hear and anticipate every harmonic nuance Murray can muster. Murray is no less a rhetorician, as his funkily slapped bass clarinet work on "Eighty Degrees" places him beyond any further comparison with Dolphy, and that's only one of his many and multifarious contributions to this date. Despite fireworks of all colors and shapes from Drake and Murray, however, Grimes softly steals the show with his bass solo on "Spin". I hope it will eventually be the subject of a thorough analytical study; its conception and execution are so unified that it might have been a free-standing "organic" composition. Its first half bowed and the remainder plucked, it begins nebulously enough, like Mahler's first symphony, with strong hints of the pitch A amidst clusters of rising harmonics. As melodic fragments gradually emerge, they still hover around B-Flat, G, sometimes intimating G-sharp, but often leaving A implicated if not achieved. The arco section exudes white heat, but key moments of silence, especially in the plucked passages, speak even further to Grimes' compositional leanings as a soloist and to his continued and re-invigorated power as a diversely gifted improviser. His sound is leaner but more direct than on much of his 1960's work, but his energy and evident enthusiasm remains undimmed. Despite all the buzz, please don't miss such a transformative listening experience.
-- Marc Medwin, www.bagatellen.com

6th review: HENRY GRIMES TRIO - Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival (Ayler Records 028): From his return to performing at LA's World Stage to his triumphant residency in New York, bassist Henry Grimes plays like he's making up for lost time. Captured here on his first recording in decades, Grimes performs live in Finland with two of the best and hardest-working musicians around, David Murray on reeds and Hamid Drake on drums. Although a generation younger, Murray and Drake share with Grimes an approach that incorporates virtuosity and daunting technical skill to create an active onslaught of ideas. The program opens with Grimes' "Spin," the veteran prowling around his bass, Murray and Drake quickly joining him in an easy, unstructured intro. Grimes snaps into a viciously authentic hard bop drive, with Drake including the bass rhythm in one of the many he deals. Murray takes his big tone for an endless ride, as Drake and Grimes shapeshift the time. An a-cappella blast from Grimes begins with shivers, chisels, and slides, followed by prodigious pinpoint pizzicato. Next up, Murray hits his groove and the music pours out of him in torrents. Murray plays an amiable bass clarinet in an easy-going duo with Grimes on "Eighty Degrees." By the time Drake hits the sticks, the trio gallops with Murray launching skyward. The multirhythmic master takes a majestic solo turn, followed by the trio led by a protean workout by Murray, back on tenor. An interstellar bass solo leads straight into the next composition. Murray's "Flowers for Albert" seems to reference Grimes' old boss with playful melody fragments that seem shorthand for Ayleresque melodies. The rhythm section plays straight momentum behind Murray, who rolls around with the tenor. Drake finds beats everywhere, and the band receives a heartfelt ovation that results in the encore, Grimes' "Blues for Savannah." A Monkish theme maps the cheerful jam that follows. There's going to be a tendency to underestimate Grimes' achievement here, which is akin to a star major league hitter dropping out for thirty years to return more poised with the same power against younger pitchers. For fans unable to catch Grimes, Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival holds the proof that this jazz Orpheus has returned from the underworld a greater light.
-- Rex Butters, "All About Jazz"

7th review: HENRY GRIMES TRIO - Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival (Ayler Records 028): Welcome back Henry! I'm in free jazz heaven listening to the new CD "Henry Grimes Trio Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival." Henry Grimes' reappearance after more than three decades is a great story. I'll tell you an even greater one. The guy, at least from what I hear on this CD, hasn't lost a lick from when he played bass with Benny Goodman, Miles, Monk, Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, et al. (Imagine that, a guy good enough, and flexible enough, to play with Goodman AND Ayler.) If that weren't enough, David Murray, saxophone god (plus bass clarinet on part of this), and Hamid Drake, "widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in improvised music" to quote allmusic, round out the ensemble. It will be hard to beat for my album of the year. I was actually sad when it ended. Thank goodness CDs are supposed to last 50 years, which is probably longer than I will.
-- Greg Kline

For more great reviews of the Henry Grimes Trio CD featuring David Murray and Hamid Drake, please go to: www.ayler.com/028rev.html !

Before bassist Henry Grimes' triumphant return to music in 2OO2 after a 35-year absence, his only recording as a leader was �The Call� in 1965.� "Sublime Communication II: Live at Edgefest," recorded last October (�O5) on the closing night of that Ann Arbor festival, demonstrates that Grimes is playing better than he ever has before.� Such drastic improvements over the last three years must certainly stem, in large part, from musically nurturing associations like this one.� The CD features veterans Andrew Lamb on reeds and Newman Taylor Baker in the drum chair. Excellence was a foregone conclusion, but it�s stunning to hear the collective vision nonetheless, helmed with skill and fire by an obviously jubilant Grimes. From note one, the disc crackles with an almost unbearable energy as Sir Henry roars in with speed, power and precision; he�s almost �shredding,� so to speak, combining the effortless tonal range of a Derek Bailey with the visceralgia and wide timbral pallet of Sonny Sharrock.� His bandmates are no less impressive and, thankfully, completely sensitive to Grimes' vigorous new approach. Baker knows when to lay back, supporting the leader's exhortations with the most graceful slithers, brush strokes and sizzles.� When Lamb finally enters, breathing a slowly repeated F on his saxophone, it's with a most exalted restraint. That doesn�t last, of course, and before long he�s exploring a Japanese scale as Grimes and Baker emote alongside and underneath and intensity builds to fever pitch.� And that's only the first 1O minutes or so of a 35-minute improvisation. The disc's second session is more wistful and pensive, shrouding the celebration just below the surface. When Lamb�s supple flute is eventually joined by Grimes and Baker, any sobriety is quelled by the joy of spontaneity.� Grimes patiently provides a rhythmic backdrop for Lamb�s razor-sharp explorations -- that is, until it is time for another Grimes solo (it is his album, after all). The disc is full of such interplay, and why one of the jazz labels busy reissuing back catalog hasn't snapped this up is beyond me.
-- Marc Medwin, "Dusted"

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”

[Reviewing the Spaceship on the Highway tour, HotHouse, Chicago, 3/O5:] 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.
-- Chicago journalist Michael Jackson, "Downbeat"

Marshall Allen, Avreeayl Ra, Henry Grimes, & Fred Anderson (Spaceship on the Highway),
photo © Mark Sheldon, HotHouse, Chicago, 'O5, marksheldonphotography.com

[Reviewing the Spaceship on the Highway tour:] 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"

[Reviewing the Spaceship on the Highway tour:] 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"

Henry Grimes & Marshall Allen, photo © Rick Klaus Theis, NYC, 'O5

[Reviewing the Spaceship on the Highway tour:] 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"

[Reviewing the Spaceship on the Highway tour] To briefly share my recollections of the Spaceship on the Highway tour shows that I saw [March, ‘O6]: I caught the Detroit show: just Henry and Marshall. Henry was quiet and intensely focused, while Marshall was his wonderful impish self. There were some Ra songs, and Marshall did some singing and clowning while Henry just played and played and played. It was almost like he was in a trance, with amazing ideas flowing out of him. I felt somewhat like Marshall was leading the proceedings to a certain extent, although he certainly followed Henry at times. I missed the first Chicago show, but the reports I read in the paper made it sound like a similar show to Detroit, with the simple addition of Avreeayl Ra and Fred Anderson. Marshall was again nominally the focus, from the reports I got. The second night was something very different. They were a group, and Henry was the leader. He made the stage announcements, and the others looked to him to show the way. The playing all the way around was nothing short of stunning. I'm actually getting chills up my spine thinking about it. The next night there was a jam session at the Velvet Lounge; Marshall's back was bothering him, so he didn't attend. When Henry got there and took the stage with Ernest Dawkins and a bunch of youngsters, Henry took command. They played for about 35-45 minutes, and it was a fantastic journey. After that, they settled in on standards for the rest of the evening, and the rotation of players began. There were several other bass players, and they all got to share the stage with Henry. Henry was onstage from about 8:3O til about 12:3O and didn't take a break. When he gets behind the bass, ideas just pour out of him. The MC said that should be a lesson to all these young players who complain about getting tired. To my eyes, Henry was a kind, humble man who wasn't/ isn't quite prepared for all the attention he's receiving. Music is this man's focus now, and he's been playing like he's making up for lost time. Sure, it's a great story, but there's greatness in his playing too.
-- Sean Westergaard (All Music Guide)

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, jazz journalist and scholar

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"

A night of outstanding music [at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City] began with the Henry Grimes Quartet. His beautiful green bass caught my eye from the moment I walked in. His playing caught my ear from the moment he picked it up until he stopped playing. The quartet started out the set with more experimental compositions and moved to less dissonant material, closing with the familiar Sonny Rollins set finale "Oleo." More often than not, sets of music usually flow in the opposite direction, becoming more experimental as the night goes on. This presentation put the music in a different context. One selection had a gorgeous melody and featured a wonderful solo by clarinetist Perry Robinson. The quartet was rounded out by Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet and soprano saxophones and Andrew Cyrille on drums, both great soloists in their own right. Someone with such rare artistry as Henry Grimes should be seen live as often as possible.
-- Bryan Zoran, <www.jazzreview.com>

The revered bassist has been dialing up all kinds of partners since he returned from the abyss last year. There's an ardor to his playing that feeds the spirit of his work....
-- Jim Macnie, "The Village Voice," "Voice Choices" short list

Fully rejuvenated by his year back in the performance spotlight, Henry Grimes, together with pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Andrew Cyrille, delved into inner mysteries and dark concepts on his emotional and inspired set.
-- Frank Rubolino photo caption from the Vision Festival 'O4, "All About Jazz"

Bassist Henry Grimes's amazing return to the music scene was easily the jazz human-interest story of 2OO3. The buzz about his Rip van Winkle-like reappearance at the Vision Festival, after some 33 years away from music, was eclipsed only by the fact that his playing showed few signs of rust; the fest took place in May ('O3), and Grimes was leading his own band at Iridium by early July. His skill -- hardly unfathomable for a musician whose resume includes recordings and gigs with people like Mose Allison, Albert Ayler, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins and Cecil Taylor -- puts the lie to the old saw, "If you don't use it, you lose it." Grimes's story this year, however, is different. It's not just about how eager he is to return to the top of the jazz world; it's about how quickly the word's getting out that he's up to the challenge....
-- Kelvin Leander Williams, "Time Out New York," "Top Live Shows"

Grimes' bass playing is supple yet can go into mutiple directions at once, in constant variations in tone and rythym. He was the backbone of the 6O's free-jazz avant-garde movement; he returns now when there is a rebirth in this musical legacy. This is an opportunity to see a true hero.
-- Sounds for the People festival Web site, Montreal

If you haven't heard the fantastic news about HENRY GRIMES' return to the jazz world, I don't know what stone you've been sleeping under! He's been the talk of the town, and I don't just mean New York or Los Angeles, but the jazz community at large has been celebrating his recent rediscovery from not even having played for a good three decades. After a few fairly recent gigs out West, he made his triumphant return to NYC at this year's Vision Festival and showed us all that he is back, and boy is he ever! His arco and pizzicato playing is like a resurrection for bass players the world over.... Welcome back, Mr. Grimes!
-- Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor, "All About Jazz"/ New York

The most inspiring story of this year was the re-emergence of bassist Henry Grimes. He was once in demand after having played with everyone from Benny Goodman to Albert Ayler. After more than 3O years of being "disappeared," Grimes made it back into the world, and the jazz world, thanks to the [initial] help of a diligent jazz fan/social worker, Marshall Marrotte [and many others since then]. Grimes is once again active in music.... a remarkable comeback, both musically and emotionally. Too often the jazz life offers more victims than survivors, and Henry Grimes' life is a rare story of the latter.
-- "JazzTimes" industry survey

BEST JAZZ TRIO: THE HENRY GRIMES TRIO WITH ANDREW LAMB AND NEWMAN TAYLOR BAKER
Henry Grimes plays the bass with absolute control, spinning tales without words, enriching the room with the depth of his bass. Newman Taylor Baker can capture any rhythm and will surprise you two or three times each show with how far he can take percussion. And Andrew Lamb works his saxophone and flute, paying close attention to the silence between the sounds, layering. They played at the Vision Festival Concert Series, and most recently at Zebulon in Williamsburg. When you see this collaboration [listed] ... stop what you're doing.
-- Steven Psyllos , "NYPress," "Best of Manhattan" issue

Henry Grimes is a very special gift to this scene. He plays with so much dedication and gentleness in his music. The group with Andrew Lamb and Newman Taylor-Baker under Henry Grimes' leadership is filled with freedom and zest and enthusiasm and great music. You really can hear the special voice of each musician. They give each other all the space and yet all the fullness of sound. It is wonderful to hear.
-- Patricia Nicholson Parker, producer, Vision Club Series & Vision Festival

Henry Grimes at the Vision Fest and his first NYC club appearance in 3O years at the Iridium in July: The big jazz story of 2OO3 had to be the rediscovery of legendary bassist Henry Grimes, who was living in a SRO in LA since his disappearance from the scene nearly 3O years ago. Question was could he still play. You could hear a pin drop when Henry took his first extended solo during the Jeanne Lee Memorial Concert at the Vision Fest last June. Just amazing. The man still had it, like he never stopped playing. That appearance led to his first NYC club appearance at the Iridium in July with Roy Campbell, Jr., trumpet, Rob Brown, alto saxophone; Andrew Bemkey, piano, and Michael Thompson, drums. Welcome back, Henry!
-- Jim Eigo's "Top 1O for 2OO3," Jazz Promo Service

.... The great surprise was the re-emergence of Henry Grimes, a bass player who vanished from the scene in the late 1960s -- after working with leaders including Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Miles Davis, Albert Ayler, Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins. He was reported to have died in 1984. But last fall, Marshall Marrotte, a jazz fan and social worker from Georgia, found Grimes living in a single-room occupancy hotel in downtown Los Angeles. He'd been living there for some 20 years, doing odd jobs and surviving on Social Security. He'd sold his bass years ago to make ends meet. When word got out that he was indeed alive and wanted to get back into music, New York avant-garde bassist William Parker had one of his own basses repaired and shipped to Grimes, who resumed practicing and soon began performing in the Los Angeles area. As a support network developed, Grimes returned to the New York jazz scene May 26 with a special appearance at the Vision Festival. He's been performing with increased frequency....
-- Ken Frankling, "2OO3: The Year in Jazz," United Press International

Henry Grimes's playing, technique, and sense of style are brilliant... supple and resolute.
-- Jukka Haaru reviewing the Henry Grimes Trio concert at Kerava, Finland for "Helsingen Sanomat," Finland's major print publication

Thanks to Henry and Perry and Andrew for the joy and emotions you gave us. We are proud for the opportunity you gave us to host such superb and affirmative musicianship. Henry Grimes' music is mysteriously profound, and we were astounded by the deep, dark expressive power that hit us from his bass. And we feel grateful also to the ever searching musicianship of Perry Robinson and the phenomenal skills of Andrew Cyrille. We were witnesses to a sound sculpture coming to birth.
-- Gianni Morelenbaum Gualberto, Artistic Director, "Aperitivo in Concerto" Festival, Teatro Manzoni, Milan

Henry Grimes, who went from Sonny Rollins to Cecil Taylor to an absence of many decades, showed at the Vision Festival that he's lost none of the verve and technique that established him as one of the key bassists of the late '5Os and '6Os.
-- Gary Giddins, "The Village Voice" Short List

Grimes returned to a New York stage for the first time at the Vision Festival in May, 'O3, but it was at Iridium, during a three-night double bill with David S. Ware’s quintet [July, 'O3], that he was able to play for an extended period and present himself to an eager public. Joining the enigmatic bassist were Rob Brown on alto, Roy Campbell on trumpet, Andrew Bemkey on piano, and Michael Thompson on drums. Grimes was in excellent form on bass — rough around the edges, to be sure, but with a full, round tone and a very clear sense of musical direction. The music was free yet extraordinarily sensitive, with clearly delineated solo rotations and perfectly intuited peaks and valleys. This was a quintet without a weak link.
-- David Adler, "All About Jazz"/New York

Grimes, cheek bent to bass neck, seemed to be in another world, but his fingers were right there, darting elegantly among the vines and thickets, or bowing deep, resiny foundations, just as they were with Ayler and Taylor and Rollins and Shepp.
-- Greg Burk, "Los Angeles Times"

Henry Grimes at World Stage, March 21: The great avant-garde bassist poked his head out of 3O-year obscurity and brought 1965 back, just like that. Now he's split for New York to recapture the torch. Blessings be upon him.
-- Greg Burk, "L.A. Weekly," "The List 2OO3"

Grimes, whose supple, borderless, yet precise contrabass work was featured on many landmark '6O's recordings by the likes of Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Sonny Rollins, dropped out of music 3O years ago and was recently rediscovered living in Los Angeles. Lured back to the bass, he surfaced in March for the first of only a few shows. It was immediately clear that he had lost nothing... All you can say is "wow."
-- Greg Burk, "L.A. Weekly"

Grimes' disappearance from jazz in the late '60s and subsequent rediscovery late last year by jazz fan Marshall Marrotte have been well documented. But the question that remained was whether Grimes could regain his extraordinary skills more than three decades after he stopped playing. On Tuesday at the Jazz Bakery, in one of the several performances he has been giving around the Southland over the past few months, the answer was a definite yes. Performing in a free-floating jazz setting... Grimes offered a focused sound and fluid articulation that were the rallying point for a set of improvisations that might otherwise have lost their way.
-- Don Heckman, "Los Angeles Times"

On a double bill with the David S. Ware quartet, Grimes answered some obvious questions without ever speaking into the microphone. His fingers moved fluidly about the bridge of the bass (a loaner from a string studio in Soho). His rapport with the musicians - trumpeter Roy Campbell, saxophonist Rob Brown, pianist Andrew Bemkey, and drummer Michael Thompson - was confident as the band charted a course through some decidedly flexible musical space. His sound full and distinctive, Grimes reappears at a moment when the musical ideals of the free-jazz movement seem of renewed relevance. "Something happened," Grimes told me after the gig.... "Everything that I've strived for came true, with bigger implications for the future."
-- Larry Blumenfeld, "The Village Voice"

The last three years must seem to Henry Grimes as the busiest period in his career, almost equal to his prolific output in the 196Os, when he contributed to such epochal albums of the avant-garde as "Spirits Rejoice" (Albert Ayler), "Unit Structures" and "Conquistador" (Cecil Taylor), and "Complete Communion" (Don Cherry). On November 1O, Grimes performed in the 2OO6 London Jazz Festival with guitarist Marc Ribot's group Spiritual Unity, alongside Roy Campbell on trumpet and Chad Taylor on drums… The band performed with the kind of focused energy you'd expect from a group of musicians paying tribute to an influential trailblazer like Ayler. Grimes was superb throughout, demonstrating the same commanding technique and large, authoritative tone that dominated his recorded work of the 196Os… Later that night, Grimes, Chad Taylor and Roy Campbell were joined onstage at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho by none other than British Jazz Godfather Evan Parker for a brief 1O-minute performance being recorded for the BBC. Parker played tenor with the group, and the result, despite the fact that this was the first time these four men had played together, was tantalizingly magical, pure gold, an experience that was over so quickly, but one that will linger for a long time to come. A brief conversation with Henry Grimes after the late-night gig revealed his feelings about working with musicians such as Cecil Taylor: that Taylor's standard of musicianship is so high that playing with him automatically lifted your own performance, and, as a consequence, that of the entire group. Henry Grimes himself is now that man who inspires greatness by example.
-- Daniel Graham, "All About Jazz"

It was beautiful. His playing had a strongly implied swing, but one that seemed to go in multiple directions at once. It was extremely supple, with constant variations of tone and rhythm. He was also able to imply multiple melodies without droning or limiting the melodic trajectory of his playing. It sounded inquisitive, curious. He was simultaneously supporting, adding new information and invigorating the overall sound field, and not one of these multiple dynamics was dropped for very long. It's as though he was utilizing a system of musical multitasking, the sound of simultaneous human modes - social, mental, emotional, physical....
-- Drew Gardner, <drewgardner.blogspot.com>
One of the first things Mr. Marrotte did when he found Mr. Grimes was to reintroduce him to his music. "I was amazed," Mr. Grimes recalled, "because I listened to some CD's of some of the Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler things, and some of my music. At the time, I didn't pay that much attention to them. But when I listened to them again, it was amazing what I heard. There was more to it than I ever realized." Despite his lost years, Mr. Grimes said he had no regrets: "I'm working on straightening things out now. But I'm back for good."
-- Neil Strauss, "The New York Times"

His comeback became one of the great jazz stories of 2003, an unlikely case of a missing figure suddenly re-emerging on the jazz scene after a 35-year "vacation."
-- Scott Yanow, <www.allmusic.com>.

... Immediately apparent: his refined focus, with virtually no extraneous body movement whatsoever.... Midway through, the group settled into a dirge-like interval, allowing The Legend to play around with march-like cadences, often surprising us with pregnant space and rhythmic ingenuity: a lesson in beauty from simplicity. Then the vibe changed. Henry faced us and started a medium-hard groove in 4, solo -- statuesque, yet perspiring athletically, channeling music through his spirit... Henry Grimes - defining swing before our eyes, his hands gently, smoothly working in concert. What beautifully relaxed, soft hands. Nothing forced, fudged, or groped. He's Back. The new Henry Grimes, a courageous work in rediscovery. Unforgettable.
-- David Jeffrey - <David.Jeffrey@mitchell.com>.

I am so happy to hear that Henry is playing again. He is one of the great individualists, and his absence left a space that nobody else could fill. I welcome his return to the music community and all that it will mean to us. I send love and respect to him.
-- Dave Holland, via Email 5/28/O3.

spiritnote...#286 hymn 10 / pome for henry grimes

he kontinuuez the legacy / borne from the fieldz of the afrikan burial groundz / more than yesteryear buried cowrie shellz and beadz that ancestorz called to the orishaz / summoning the i and i spirit / he kontinuuez the legacy / guarding the urban bush landscapez / see how focuz he layz hiz hand upon hiz instrument / earth'z heartbeat / given from the forestz of the equator / hearing the howl of life from the isle of ife / yesteryear iz today playing / the dawnz of future generationz / heard by tomorrowz obatalaz babiez / he kontinuuez the legacy / dissecting the unity of oppositez / thru swollen fingerz / gathering mojo secretz / crossing the circle of nommo / from hiz long sojourn in babylon'z bush outpostz / he refused death'z call / ogun heard hiz prayer / in the windz of time / ra'z child waz calling / the polyrhythmik bassist / waz ready to dance once again / hummmiiiinnnnn' hallelujah'z and scattin' the hard bop'z prayerz / once again creating rainbowz for the moon stepperz / henry grimez iz back / riffin hiz own hearbeat / he kontinuuez the legacy / az amiri barka'z noted pome / "in the tradition" / r worksongz heard once again . . . by a juju kora bassist doing the ol' monk'z kalinde dance of life / he kontinuuez the legacy
-- A. Ibn Pori

justanote . . . # 90 they played speaking in double tonguez part eleven

[written upon hearing Henry Grimes and Marshall Allen in Detroit on the "Spaceship on the Highway" tour, 3/O5]

there were no markz upon their beingz except their tonality registered az a hoodoo or mojo absolutnezz / a mere abstraction of their own reflection az apprenticez or disciplez / real urban bush hipsterz / alive and well in the twenty-first century / the syncretic antithesiz of counterpoint mysticism / real polyrhythmic tempoz that open time-signaturez to how afrikan burial ground peoplez survived in corny babylon / offering their spiritz before new middle amerikkka az the connection between the past and future / acknowledging the wholesome valuez of the tradition . . . / in the musiks / played upon the ear / real soundz created by the handz upon the stringz of the earth / played drawing wind imagez that only aware urban bush mindz cld link up-to / space iz the place / re-echoing az contemptiouz detectivez unveiling the falsificatorz who keep the secret of blueblack spiritz hidden / they played speaking in double tonguez / not afraid of being called crazy or mad / they played it so effortlessly / but u knew it had come from the true underground whirlpool vortex / like the black gold from the bowelz of the earth / when itz all gone / the earth will make itz last hajj / together they came to the crossroad / played again the common thread / opening the door to the otherside by playing again speaking in double tonguez / a little heavier musikz/ wired w/concrete imagez that brought everythang into focuz / space iz the place . . . / echoing the pure spirit chant / awakening and sustaining a peoplez musikz -

ashe/asanta sana
-- A. Ibn Pori

please tell mr. grimes i had a dream..

i was looking at a tarot card of henry walking through a doorway, wearing the shirt he had on last night.

at the bottom of the card it said

DONT GIVE UP.

peace

matt
-- Email dated August 24, 'O3 from New York trumpeter Matt Lavelle

Margaret Emailed me Henry's poems for his first published book, "Signs Along the Road," and I was reading them all night and dozed off in my chair and had a dream about Henry. I was looking for a book in my apartment, and he said, "It isn't in there." "Where is it?" "It's underneath." "What? Underneath what?" "Down where things originate, where the formations are," he said matter-of-factly, as if he was telling me what to pick up at the store. "Where mythologies are created."
-- musician / journalist / educator Marc Medwin, February 1O, 'O7

Transcription of hand-written letter from Leo Lindberg to Henry Grimes:

Stockholm, Sweden
21.7.03

Hallo Henry!

My name is Leo Lindberg and I am 9 years old. I listen to jazz music all
the time and plays double bass drums and trumpet. First time I heard you was on a record of my father "Complete Communion" with Don Cherry. I thought you were fantastic specially the bow solos and your sound. Then I listened to McCoy Tyner's "Reaching Fourth" and Roy Haynes quartet with Roland Kirk.

When I saw your picture in my father's jazz magasin and read that you
should start playin' again I was very happy. I took the picture and had one T-shirt made as you see on this photo.

Hope you feel good and starts playin again.

You are my bass hero.

Greetings from Leo

and his father Owe (also a bass player)

[Enclosed was a photo of an adorable little boy holding the neck of an upright bass in one hand; on his T-shirt is a photo of Henry Grimes in the '5O's, also holding a bass; the photo covers little Leo's entire chest. You can see him a year later with his "bass hero" by clicking here.

Henry Grimes, Chicago, 'O6
photo by Mark Sheldon