Henry Grimes (1935–2020), free jazz legend

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Henry Grimes was a legendary free jazz bassist who played with many greats including Sonny Rollins.   

• Died: Wednesday, April 15, 2020. (Who else died on April 15?) 
• Died at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications.  
• We invite you to share condolences for Henry Grimes in our Guest Book. 

Jazz Legend 

Grimes was a talented in demand jazz bassist who played with many legends including Benny Goodman, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and many others. Later he became influential in the free jazz movement, playing with Don Cherry and Cecil Taylor.  

Grimes disappeared from music for a long time 

By 1970 amid financial difficulties, Grimes disappeared from the music world. Many thought he had passed away. A social worker and jazz fan named Marshall Marrotte tracked him down through public records in 2002. Grimes returned to jazz with help from other musicians and went back to playing live shows. Grimes told For Bass Players Only in 2012: “I never gave up on music, not for a minute. 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.” 

What they said about him

RIP Henry Grimes, one of jazz’s greatest bassists, who played on historic 60s sessions with Don Cherry, Sonny Rollins and Cecil Taylor, then disappeared for three decades before resurfacing to make more magic with Marc Ribot and others.

— Adam Shatz (@adamshatz) April 17, 2020

Sad to hear of the passing of Henry Grimes. On February 25, 1959, the Sonny Rollins Trio played the Club Saint-Germain in Paris, the first of two nights. Henry was on bass and Pete La Roca was on drums; they were 23 and 20 years old at the time, respectively. And that had to be pic.twitter.com/7VgJiAuGYt

— Jack Long (@Jack11061957) April 18, 2020

Full Obituary: New York Post