As one of contemporary jazz’s most respected and accomplished bassists, Larry Grenadier has built an expansive body of work that encompasses a variety of significant projects with many of the genre’s most inventive and influential musicians. Over the course of a performing and recording career that spans three decades, he’s earned a far-reaching reputation, for his instrumental talent, for his instantly recognizable tone, and for the sensitivity, imagination and creative curiosity that have established him as an in-demand sideman and valued collaborator.
Grenadier’s trademark upright bass work has been a longstanding fixture in the bands of pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Pat Metheny, and has graced albums by a broad array of prestigious artists, including Paul Motian, Charles Lloyd, Enrico Rava, Danilo Perez, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He’s also found time to make three albums with his own acclaimed trio Fly, and to record five more with his wife, noted singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin.
“I’m hyper-aware of the balance between a studied approach to music and a more primal, instinctual understanding of the way music works,” Grenadier states. “Having access to technique is useful in being able to communicate and express yourself musically. But music is about intuition and emotion. Compassion, strength, flexibility and stamina are all important qualities in playing music, but the most important thing is the ability to listen.”
“Even after all these years, playing music is still a learning experience for me,” he concludes. “I’m always working on the technical aspects of my playing, but at the same time, I know that what happens on stage between musicians isn’t about that. The level of telepathy and intuition that exists in music, especially in jazz, is a constant reminder of what we’re capable of, both inside and outside of music.
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