Larry Grenadier

Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966, in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist.

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.

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 (a collaborative project with Jack DeJohnette, John Medeski, and John Scofield), 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.