In A Mellow Tone
Wednesday January 17th, 2018 with Bernard Stepien
Sonny Rollins and bassist Henry Grimes

Saxophone giant Sonny Rollins changed frequently sidemen during the ‘50s and ‘60s. However, one bassist seemed to have enjoyed a steady association with Rollins from the late ‘50s through the ‘60s. This is Henry Grimes, a Juilliard graduate that entered the fray very young. It has been said that during the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, he was playing with six different bands that included such diverse musicians as Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins. Good recordings of Henry Grimes with Rollins are relatively rare. Last fall, I came across a CD recorded by the Swiss radio in Zürich in 1959 that thanks to the Swiss precision enables us to hear a crystal clear Henry Grimes and especially the incredible drive that he produced ever since then. Grimes toured extensively with Rollins and more bootleg recordings were made at various festivals in Europe. His further association with the greats of the sixties like Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor and last but not least Albert Ayler are all part of that his greatness only to disappear from the Jazz scene after moving to Los Angeles where he was re-discovered only in 2002.