Larry Grenadier


Larry Grenadier is an American jazz double bassist.

Early life

Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his children were born. Grenadier began on trumpet when he was in fifth grade, before beginning to play the bass the following year. Grenadier's brothers played trumpet and guitar. Grenadier's father helped introduce him to the instruments and music theory. Larry's older brother Phil began listening to jazz around this time, influencing his sibling's musical interests. Grenadier began listening to several jazz bassists, including Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Richard Davis, Paul Chambers, Wilbur Ware, and Oscar Pettiford, among others.
At age 12 Grenadier began formal study of the acoustic bass, learning from local jazz bass players Chris Poehlor, Paul Breslin, and Frank Tusa and later classical bassists Michael Burr and Stephen Tramontozzi. At 16, Grenadier had a busy career playing in the San Francisco Bay Area with both local musicians and those traveling through town in need of a bass player. These musicians included Harvey Wainapel, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Larry Vuckovitch, Eddie Henderson, Bruce Forman, Eddie Marshall, Vince Lateano, George Cables, Donald Bailey, Toots Thielmans, Johnny Griffin, Charles McPherson, and Frank Morgan, among others.
Grenadier studied at Stanford University and graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English literature. At Stanford, he met Stan Getz, with whom he toured.

Career

After graduating from Stanford, Grenadier moved to Boston to play with vibraphonist Gary Burton. In 1991, he moved to New York. He continued to collaborate with some of the musicians he had met during his time in Boston, such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner, Jorge Rossy, and Chris Cheek. Others he met for the first time in New York include Bill Stewart, Kevin Hays, Renee Rosnes, Ralph Moore, Billy Drummond, Danilo Perez, David Sánchez, Tom Harrell, and Billy Hart. Grenadier continued his association with Joe Henderson, touring with his band, which at times included Al Foster, Renee Rosnes, and Larry Willis. He also spent a few months during his earlier years in New York playing in Betty Carter's band.
In the early 1990s, Grenadier first met and played with pianist Brad Mehldau. He joined Mehldau's trio with drummer Jorge Rossy; together, they toured and recorded for more than ten years. Rossy was replaced by drummer Jeff Ballard in 2004.
Grenadier has also worked with guitarist Pat Metheny, with whom he toured as a trio along with drummer Bill Stewart. He credits his experiences touring with Metheny's trio as a significant learning experience.
Grenadier has also played with John Scofield, Hudson, Charles Lloyd, Chris Potter, Billy Higgins, Michael Brecker, and Paul Motian, among many others. In 2014, Grenadier collaborated with Stefano Bollani on the album Sheik yer Zappa.
Grenadier is a member of FLY, a trio that includes drummer Jeff Ballard and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner. They have recorded three critically acclaimed albums. He also tours and records with his wife, singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin. A landmark solo bass album The Gleaners was issued by the ECM label in 2019.

Personal

Grenadier married Rebecca Martin, the singer and songwriter on June 7, 1997. Grenadier and Martin live in the Hudson Valley. Together, they have one son, Charlie.

Selected discography

As leader
  • The Gleaners
With BeatleJazz
With Peter Beets
  • New York Trio – Page Two
With Peter Bernstein
  • Heart's Content
  • Stranger in Paradise
With Seamus Blake
  • The Call
  • Four Track Mind
With Chris Cheek
  • Blues Cruise
With George Colligan
  • The Endless Mysteries
With Fly
  • Fly
  • Sky & Country
  • Year of the Snake
With Jon Gordon
  • Ask Me Now
  • Currents
With Phil Grenadier
  • Sweet Transients
  • Playful Intentions
With Kevin Hays
  • Ugly Beauty
With Hudson
  • Hudson
With Ethan Iverson
  • Costumes Are Mandatory
  • Every Note Is True
With David Kikoski
  • Details
  • Limits
With Jonathan Kreisberg
  • Nine Stories Wide
With Charles Lloyd
  • The Water Is Wide
  • Hyperion with Higgins
  • Lift Every Voice
  • The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
With Herbie Mann
  • America/Brasil
  • Celebration
With Brad Mehldau
  • Introducing Brad Mehldau
  • The Art of the Trio Volume One
  • Live at the Village Vanguard: The Art of the Trio Volume Two
  • Songs: The Art of the Trio Volume Three
  • Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard
  • Places
  • Progression: The Art of the Trio, Vol. 5
  • Largo
  • Anything Goes
  • Day Is Done
  • House on Hill
  • Brad Mehldau Trio Live
  • Highway Rider
  • Ode
  • Where Do You Start
  • Blues and Ballads
  • Seymour Reads the Constitution!
With Pat Metheny
With Paul Motian
With Rebecca Martin
  • Thoroughfare
  • Middlehope
  • The Growing Season
  • When I Was Long Ago
  • Twain
  • The Upstate Project
  • After Midnight with Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos
With MTB
  • Consenting Adults
  • Solid Jackson
With Wolfgang Muthspiel
  • Rising Grace
  • Where the River Goes
With Chris Potter
With Enrico Rava
  • New York Days
With Joshua Redman
  • Timeless Tales
  • Back East
  • Compass
  • Walking Shadows
With Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • Deep Song
With Jamie Saft
With David Sánchez
  • Sketches of Dreams
With Stan Sulzmann
  • The Jigsaw
With Mark Turner
  • Two Tenor Ballads with Tad Shull
  • Yam Yam
  • In This World
With Scott Wendholt
  • From Now On
With Steve Wilson
  • Four for Time
With Frank Wess and Johnny Coles
  • Two at the Top
With Chihiro Yamanaka
  • When October Goes
  • Madrigal
  • Lach Doch Mal
  • ''Reminiscence''