ZUM TOD DES US-AMERIKANISCHEN JAZZ-KONTRABASSISTEN HENRY GRIMES

Der am 3. November 1935 in Philadelphia geborene US-amerikanische Jazz-Kontrabassist Henry Grimes (Bild) ist am 17. April 2020 nach Komplikationen mit COVID-19 gestorben. «Er galt als einer der wichtigsten Vertreter seines Instruments im Free Jazz, zog sich aber Ende der 1960er-Jahre überraschend und so vollständig aus der Musikwelt zurück, dass man ihn für tot hielt. Sein ebenso überraschendes Comeback nach knapp dreieinhalb Jahrzehnten im Jahre 2003 wurde in der Jazzszene als Sensation empfunden.»*

Foto: Seth Tisue, Boston, 2005 (Ausschnitt), Mind meal at English Wikipedia – Lizenz: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en – Datei: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Grimes.jpg

Jazz Great Henry Grimes, RIP

A renowned bassist (but skilled at many other instruments), Grimes played with just about everyone in the ’50s and ’60s, including Don Cherry, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Lee Konitz, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Sunny Murray, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, and McCoy Tyner.

By the end of the ’60s, however, he found himself broke in Los Angeles with a busted bass, and completely disappeared from the music scene by 1970. Many thought he had died but in the early 2000s he was found still living in Los Angeles, in a rented room doing odd jobs to make ends meet. He was given a new bass by William Parker, and reemerged with new passion, playing shows in Los Angeles, and then making a triumphant return to NYC for the 2003 Vision Festival.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/jazz-great-henry-grimes-rip/

Henry Grimes, Bassist of Avant-Garde Pedigree and a Storied Return, Dies of COVID-19 at 84

In a 2012 interview with For Bass Players Only, he reflected on his period of exile.

«I never gave up on music, not for a minute,» he said. «You could say I was absent for a long time, but I always believed I would be back one day. I just couldn’t see the way to get there, but I knew it would happen.»

https://www.wbgo.org/post/henry-grimes-bassist-avant-garde-pedigree-and-storied-return-dies-covid-19-84#stream/0

Known primarily for his bass work, the Juilliard-trained performer also played violin.

https://downbeat.com/news/detail/bassist-henry-grimes-dies-at-84

Henry Grimes and Giuseppi Logan, Lost and Found Jazz Stars, Are Both Gone

The musicians were the two biggest disappearing acts on the jazz avant-garde. Now both have died of complications of the coronavirus.

Giovanni Russonello

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/arts/music/henry-grimes-giuseppi-logan-coronavirus.html

Der Bassist Henry Grimes ist verstorben

Er hatte in seiner inaktiven Zeit als Musiker schon immer geschrieben und im Jahr 2007 erschien Grimes‘ erstes Buch «signs along the road» im Kölner Verlag buddy’s knife jazzedition. 2015 veröffentlichte die Autorin Barbara Frenz seine Biographie unter dem Titel «Music to Silence to Music», für das sein alter musikalischer Weggefährte Sonny Rollins das Vorwort schrieb.

Frank Schindelbeck

https://jazzpages.de/der-bassist-henry-grimes-ist-verstorben-2004181/

Audios / Videos:

Henry Grimes – short documentary, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yati6dyZXE&feature=emb_logo

Sonny Rollins – Tenor Sax … Henry Grimes – Bass … Joe Harris – Drums – Schweden 1959

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TDS-s-GQ4I&feature=emb_logo

Sonny Rollins – Sax … Don Cherry – Trumpet … Billy Higgins – Drums … Henri Grimes – Bass – Rom, 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiAkIZzNxlM&feature=emb_logo

Henry Grimes Trio | Album: Call | Free-Jazz | USA | 1965

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxs0tmX6ais&feature=emb_logo

Henry Grimes‘ 75th Birthday Concert