Jerry Granelli's story is one that follows the evolution of the West
Coast jazz scene. Born in 1940 in San Francisco, the boy recognized
his passion in 1948 when he spent a day with Gene Krupa. Hanging out
during the 50s in San Francisco nightclubs like the Blackhawk and
Jimbo's Bop City, soaking in the sounds of Ellington, Miles, Max Roach
and Monk, his passion grew, eventually leading him to Dave Brubeck
drummer Joe Morello. After two years as Morello's star pupil, Granelli
became a highly sought-after session player, eventually playing,
recording and touring with the Vince Guaraldi Band. He provides the
unmistakable steady swing beats for the classic Charlie Brown
"Peanuts" theme song.
In the volatile West Coast scene of the 60s, Granelli moved on to the
Denny Zeitlin Trio, a group that included bassist Charlie Haden. A
hugely successful recording and touring band, they tied with Miles
Davis for Group of the Year in Downbeat magazine's Critics and Readers
Poll in 1965. Throughout the 60s he performed with many major players
on the scene, including Jimmy Witherspoon, Mose Allison, Lou Rawls,
John Handy, Sonny Stitt, Sly Stone, Ornette Coleman and Dewey Redman.
He was right there too as the West Coast focus shifted from cool jazz
styles to the beginnings of psychedelia. His free-form improvisational
trio held down the opening slot for comedian Lenny Bruce for three
months in 1963, and shared bills at The Matrix and The Fillmore with
Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company and the
Grateful Dead, also accompanying the Dead on their first European tour
in 1971.
Granelli became a Buddhist in 1970, and from the mid-70s through the
90s he focused on teaching, bringing his insider knowledge to hundreds
of students at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, then Seattle's Cornish
Institute, the Conservatory in Halifax, and the Hochschule der Kunst
in Berlin. He now has his own summer school in Halifax, the Creative
Music Workshop.
During the 80s he toured and recorded in a trio with Ralph Towner and
Gary Peacock, and began recording his own projects. These include
1993's A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing, featuring Bill Frisell and
Robben Ford and nominated for a Grammy; Another Place; and UFB's News
from the Street and Broken Circle (all produced by Lee Townsend and
released on Intuition). Then came his New York septet Badlands (Enter,
a Dragon and Crowd Theory, on Songlines); his collaboration with DJ
Stinkin Rich (Buck 65), Music has its Way with Me, and duos with
keyboardist Jamie Saft and bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly; his
spoken-word collaboration with Rinde Eckert and septet, Sandhills
Reunion (2004, Songlines) and v16.
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let go of what you want it to be. let go of how you think it to should be. even let go of your vision. -and so we began by bringing in compositions and tearing them apart to find out what worked. This recording is a crystallization of that process.
In January of 2011, Jerry Granelli called it. The material was ready. The recording could begin. After almost a year of tearing the music apart and pulling it back together; communications over long distances and intimate rehearsals; playing the pieces live and hidden away in Jerry's studio-the trio and the music were ready. This would be their debut recording.
It was always about letting go. But the title came later. Everyone had to pack away any preconceptions and allow the power of the music and the trio, as a living-breathing unit, to guide the sessions.
Jerry Granelli cut his teeth on some of the best trios in the business; Vince Guaraldi, Denny Zeitland and Mose Allison, to name a few. Yes, Jerry has led and directed small and large ensembles over the years but this is the first time that he has stepped up to lead his own trio.
Granelli looks at the concept of the trio and is amazed. Everything fits together perfectly. No one gets a free ride.
Jerry Granelli's story is one that follows the evolution of the San Francisco Hard Bop jazz scene. Born in 1940 in San Francisco, the boy recognized his passion in 1948 when he spent a day with Gene Krupa. Hanging out during the 50s in San Francisco nightclubs like the Blackhawk, The Jazz Workshop and Jimbo's Bop City, gave him a direct connection to what was happening in New York City. Soaking in the sounds of Miles, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones and Monk. His passion grew, eventually leading him to Dave Brubeck drummer Joe Morello. After two years as Morello's
star pupil, Granelli became a highly sought-after session player, eventually playing, recording and touring with the Vince Guaraldi Trio. He provides the unmistakable steady swing beats for the classic Charlie Brown "Peanuts" theme song. In
1978, Jerry stepped up and began releasing recordings under his own name, Let Go will be his sixteenth. It follows three records with the dual guitar sound of V16 and his first solo recording, 1313 (2010).
Jazz Times magazine calls Granelli "one of those uncategorizable veteran percussionists who's done it all." A Canadian citizen since 1999, Granelli burns with an intensity fuelled by a passion for "the pursuit of the spirit of spontaneity which drives the player." A veteran of the San Francisco jazz scene, Granelli's recent flourish of recordings has documented remarkable collaborations between the generations.
Jerry has known Danny Oore and Simon Fisk for years. A little over a year ago when he began to think about the trio form for his next project it was their artistry and their sound that seemed to fit what he heard. Jerry had been toying with how to
create using the structure of the trio but without it sounding like a trio. The two musicians bring something new to the trio palate, Simon: bass and cello, Danny: tenor, soprano and baritone saxophone. The result is effortless and multi layered.
There is also one anomaly: Jerry met Mary Jane Lamond a few years ago. Her use of the Gaelic language kept haunting him. In some small way he knew she had to play a part in his new recording. She lent her voice to two tracks on Let Go.
This recording captures the beginning of a new direction, a new sound and a new partnership in music. Live, it will grow and move forward. The trio are following the music to where it leads.