Artist: Jimmy Garrison


James Emory Garrison was an American jazz  double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. 

Garrison grew up in Philadelphia and came of age in the 1950s Philadelphia jazz scene, which included fellow bassists Reggie Workman and Henry Grimes, pianist McCoy Tyner and trumpeter Lee Morgan.

Between 1957 and 1962, Garrison played and recorded with trumpeter Kenny Dorham; clarinetist Tony Scott; drummer Philly Joe Jones; and saxophonists Bill Barron, Lee Konitz, and Jackie McLean, as well as Curtis FullerBenny Golson, Lennie Tristano, and Pharoah Sanders, among others. 

In 1961, he recorded with Ornette Coleman, appearing on Coleman's albums Ornette on Tenor and The Art of the Improvisers. He also worked with Walter Bishop, Jr. and Cal Massey during the early years of his career. 

He formally joined Coltrane's quartet in 1962, replacing Workman. The long trio blues "Chasin' the Trane" is one of his first recorded performances with Coltrane and Elvin Jones. Garrison performed on many Coltrane recordings, including A Love Supreme.  After John Coltrane's death, Garrison worked and recorded with Alice Coltrane, Hampton Hawes, Archie Shepp, Clifford Thornton and groups led by Elvin Jones

Garrison also worked with Ornette Coleman during the 1960s, first recording with him in 1961 on Ornette on Tenor. He and Elvin Jones recorded with Coleman in 1968, and have been credited with eliciting more forceful playing than usual from Coleman on the albums New York Is Now! and Love Call. 

Further information about Jimmy Garrison is found here and here.

Photography credit: Ornettedolphy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

This content was excerpted from the Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Garrison, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

Jimmy Garrison's bass solo on "Impressions"

Jimmy Garrison: Videos

Elvin Jones Trio 1968 Copenhagen Joe Farrel Jimmy Garrison

Elvin Jones, Joe Farrell and Jimmy Garrison Live in Suffolk, England 1968