Larry Grenadier
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 /TiVo
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Where The River Goes
Wolfgang Muthspiel, Ambrose Akinmusire, Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Eric Harland
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Oct 5, 2018
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Driftwood
Wolfgang Muthspiel, Larry Grenadier, Brian Blade
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on May 16, 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
New York Days
Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Paul Motian
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Jan 26, 2009
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
After Midnight
Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos, Rebecca Martin, Larry Grenadier
Jazz - Released by Brandit Digital Media Services on Jan 28, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
New York Days
Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Paul Motian
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Jan 26, 2009
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Take (Live at Studio Sextan)
Biréli Lagrène, Larry Grenadier, Mino Cinelu
Latin America - Released by naïve on Mar 3, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Gleaners
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Feb 15, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Meet Charlie Parker (Chan's Overture) (Vocal Version Of "Ornithology")
Madeleine Peyroux, Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, Craig Taborn, Kelly Harland, Larry Grenadier
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on May 19, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Year Of The Snake
Fly Trio, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Apr 20, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nine Stories Wide
Jonathan Kreisberg, Larry Grenadier, Bill Stewart
Jazz - Released by Criss Cross Jazz on Feb 17, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New York Trio - Page Two
Peter Beets, Larry Grenadier, Willie Jones III
Jazz - Released by Criss Cross Jazz on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fear of Roaming
Sangha Quartet, Seamus Blake, Kevin Hays, Larry Grenadier, Bill Stewart
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Feb 16, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Panoramic
Steve Cardenas, Tony Malaby, Larry Grenadier
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Dec 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Gleaners
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Feb 15, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Details
David Kikoski, Larry Grenadier, Bill Stewart
Jazz - Released by Criss Cross Jazz on Apr 20, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trio 2000 + One
Chris Potter, Larry Grenadier, Steve Swallow, Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian
Pop - Released by Winter and Winter on Jun 5, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don't Mean a Thing at All
Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos, Rebecca Martin, Larry Grenadier
Jazz - Released by Brandit Digital Media Services on Jan 7, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bullet.T
Pierrick Pédron, Marcus Gilmore, Sullivan Fortner, Larry Grenadier
Jazz - Released by Gazebo on Apr 23, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Meltdown
Jonny King, Milton Cardona, Larry Grenadier, Steve Wilson, Billy Drummond, Steve Davis
Jazz Fusion & Jazz Rock - Released by Starsing on Dec 30, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Los guys
Albert Sanz, Chris Cheek, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo