Larry Grenadier

Early life

Grenadier's father, Albert, was a trumpet player, and his two brothers, Phil and Steve, play trumpet and guitar, respectively. Grenadier began on trumpet when he was 10 years old before beginning to play the bass the following year. 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 John Patitucci, Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Brian Bromberg, Les Claypool, Richard Davis, Jeff 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 Steven Tromontozzi. 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. Some of these musicians included Harvey Wainapel, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Larry Vuckovitch, Eddie Henderson, Bruce Forman, Eddie Marshall, Vince Lateano, George Cables and Donald Bailey, Toots Thielmans, Johnny Griffin, Charles McPherson, Anita O'Day, 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 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 Charles Lloyd, Chris Potter, Eric Harland, Julian Lage, Taylor Eigsti, Billy Higgins, Michael Brecker, and Paul Motian, among many others.

Grenadier is a member of FLY, a trio which 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.

Grenadier lives with Rebecca and their son Charlie James in the Hudson Valley, north of New York City.

Gallery

Photos: Hreinn Gudlaugsson

Selected discography

With Peter Beets

With Peter Bernstein

With Seamus Blake

With Chris Cheek

With George Colligan

With Fly (band)

With Jon Gordon

With Phil Grenadier

With Kevin Hays

With David Kikoski

With Jonathan Kreisberg

With Charles Lloyd

With Herbie Mann

With Brad Mehldau

With Pat Metheny

With Paul Motian

With Rebecca Martin

With MTB

With Wolfgang Muthspiel

With Chris Potter

With Enrico Rava

With Joshua Redman

With Kurt Rosenwinkel

With Jamie Saft

With David Sánchez

With Stan Sulzmann

With Mark Turner

With Scott Wendholt

With Steve Wilson

With Chihiro Yamanaka

With Ethan Iverson