Jazz double bassist
Larry Grenadier has built an expansive body of work with many of the genre's most influential musicians. Over the course of a performing and recording career that spans four decades, he's earned a reputation for a detailed, fluid rhythmic sensibility. His playing is instantly recognizable for its lyric sensitivity, imagination, and curiosity, and a fat, woody tone. These traits have made him an in-demand sideman and valued collaborator in a career that began in the mid-'80s with the album Blues for Red as a member of
Larry Vuckovich's quartet with
Charles McPherson and
Dusko Goykovich. Before entering his long partnership with pianist
Brad Mehldau's celebrated trio in 1993, he played on tours and recordings with guitarists
Wolfgang Muthspiel,
Mike Stern, and keyboardist
Tom Coster; he also played on half of
D'Angelo's debut album,
Brown Sugar. During the first decade of the new century he worked primarily with
Mehldau and in a trio led by
Pat Metheny, but also played key support roles on early dates by pianists
Chihiro Yamanaka and Akiko Grace. He is one of jazz's most sought-after sidemen; his diverse credits include work with
Paul Motian,
Enrico Rava,
Jamie Saft, and the
Fly Trio -- the collective he formed with saxophonist
Mark Turner and drummer
Jeff Ballard.
Grenadier's intuitive sensitivity has made him a natural accompanist for singers as well, including
Rebecca Martin (his life and creative partner),
Monica Borzym,
Sophie Milman, and
Ariel Pocock. In recent years he has played on recordings by trumpeter
Ibrahim Maalouf, formed and recorded an album with jazz supergroup Hudson, and continued working with
Mehldau and
Muthspiel.
Grenadier was born into an intensely musical family in San Francisco on February 6, 1966. He took up trumpet -- the same instrument played by his father, Albert, who taught him to read music and gave him his first lessons. A year later, he was given his first electric bass, which allowed him to play in a covers trio alongside his brothers Steve and
Phil Grenadier. At 12, after witnessing a live performance by bassist
Ray Brown, he began exploring the work of such fabled bassists as
Charles Mingus,
Paul Chambers,
Wilbur Ware, and
Oscar Pettiford. By age 16, he was working as a professional with various members of his hometown's jazz scene, and backing top-tier performers passing through San Francisco including
Johnny Griffin,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Art Farmer,
Frank Morgan, and
Toots Thielemans. Most had been introduced to him by pianist
Vuckovich, in whose group he also played.
Grenadier attended Stanford University and graduated with a degree in English literature in 1989. Afterward, he moved to Boston to work with
Gary Burton's band and toured with him for nearly two years, then relocated to New York City, where he was able to gain experience on the bandstand and by touring with
Joe Henderson and
Stan Getz, as well as playing in
Betty Carter's band. After joining
Mehldau's trio in 1993 and touring and recording with
Metheny, he began a decade-long tenure with
Paul Motian, and subsequently played with
Billy Higgins,
Charles Lloyd,
John Scofield,
Joshua Redman,
Brian Blade,
David Sanchez,
Chris Potter, and
Danilo Perez, to name a few.
Grenadier's membership in the
Fly trio with longtime friends
Ballard and
Turner has resulted in three critically acclaimed albums, starting with a self-titled effort in 2004, followed by 2009's
Sky & Country and 2016's Year of the Snake. He also tours and records with
Martin. In early 2017,
Grenadier joined
Scofield and keyboardist
John Medeski in
Jack DeJohnette's quartet Hudson. They issued their self-titled debut in June for the occasion of
DeJohnette's 75th birthday, and followed it with a tour.
In February 2019,
ECM Records issued
Grenadier's first album of bass solos -- a label tradition. Titled
The Gleaners, it presents originals by the bassist alongside readings of pieces by
George Gershwin,
John Coltrane, and
Motian, as well as a pair of works written especially for him by
Muthspiel.
Grenadier also included an instrumental interpretation of a song by
Martin. ~ Al Campbell