H E N R Y G R I M E S and M E L V I N G I B B S !
Sunday soul meeting
April 3rd, 2O11, 3 p.m.
Melvin Gibbs & Henry Grimes, NYC, 2O11, photo by Brandon Ross
at Connie Crothers' loft, 475 Kent Ave. betw. Division Ave. & South 11th St., #41O,
Master jazz musician HENRY GRIMES (acoustic bass, violin, poetry) has played more than 4OO concerts in 24 countries (including many festivals) since his astounding return to the music in 2OO3 after 35 years away. He toured with R&B bands in his teens, then attended Juilliard as a classical bassist, but drawn to jazz, he went on to play / tour / record in the late '5Os and '6Os with Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, and McCoy Tyner.
But a trip west to work with Al Jarreau and Jon Hendricks went awry, leaving Henry in downtown L.A. at the end of the '6Os with a broken bass he couldn't pay to repair, so he sold it for a small sum and faded away from the music world, making a meager living as a custodian and maintenance man. Discovered there in 2OO2, he was given a bass by William Parker and shortly afterwards made a triumphant return to New York City to play in the Vision Festival.
Nowadays, living in New York City and often working as a leader, Henry plays / tours / records with Marshall Allen, Marilyn Crispell, Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Marc Ribot, Wadada Leo Smith, Cecil Taylor, and more.
Henry has held recent residencies and master classes at Berklee, CalArts, Hamilton College,Humber College, Mills College, New England Conservatory, University of Gloucestershire, University of Michigan, etc., can be heard on 85 recordings, made his professional debut on a second instrument (violin) at age 7O, has seen the publication of his first poetry book, and creates illustrations for his new recordings and publications. He has received many honors in recent years, including four Meet the Composer grants. http://www.henrygrimes.com, grimestimes@earthlink.net.
MELVIN GIBBS is a bass guitarist, composer, and producer who has appeared on close to 2OO albums in diverse genres of music. A Brooklyn native, he attended Medgar Evers College and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He first came to public notice as a member of the group Defunkt, a mainstay of the early '8Os downtown N.Y. scene, and throughout most of the '8Os, he played in drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society alongside guitarist Vernon Reid, as well as playing with guitarist Sonny Sharrock and saxophonist John Zorn.
Melvin was also a member of the group Power Tools alongside guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, and he co-led the band Eye and I. He is a founding member of the Black Rock Coalition. Melvin was a member of the Grammy-nominated avant-metal Rollins Band from 1993-98, and again in 2OO6 when the group briefly re-formed. He has also recorded with hip-hop artists Dead Prez, Brazilian artists Caetano Veloso and Marisa Monte,Latin jazz artist Eddie Palmieri, Nigerian artist Femi Kuti, and New York guitarist Marc Ribot.
He has also produced albums by guitarist/ singer Arto Lindsay and turntablist DJ Logic. He formed the Punk-Funk All-Stars with guitarist/ singer James Blood Ulmer, Defunkt leader Joseph Bowie, Vernon Reid, and Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-leads the band Harriet Tubman with guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer JT Lewis.
His other current projects include "Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down" featuring guitarist Pete Cosey and keyboardist John Medeski, the JFM Trio featuring Chicago guitarist Jeff Parker and percussionistFrancisco Mora, and the Geechee Seminoles, a duo featuring Melvin and drummer/ hand-body percussionist/ dancer David Pleasant. In 2OO9 Mr. Gibbs joined the group SociaLybrium with keyboardist Bernie Worrell, long-time Parliament-Funkadelicguitarist and musical director DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, and JT Lewis on drums.
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