Joe Turner, Piano, 1907, Baltimore, MD
When Joe was five years old he began taking piano lessons from his mother. These lessons and playing with local bands prepared him to move to New York in about 1925. He fell right in with the crowd in Harlem and enjoyed a great deal of popularity. He worked with people like Benny Carter, June Clark, Adelaide Hall, and Louis Armstrong. With Hall and Carter he toured Europe in 1931. During most of the '30s he spent much of his time touring throughout Europe, and during the first half of the '40s Joe was in the army where he played in a military band with Sy Oliver. He later worked in Europe with Rex Stewart. In 1962 he settled in Paris and performed in Great Britain, Switzerland, and Hungary. Turner, a true stride pianist, was influenced by James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, ArtTatum, and Erroll Garner.
Henry Grimes, Bass, 1935, Philadelphia, PA
While in his teens, Henry studied the violin, tuba, and the double bass, all with private teachers, and eventually he attended the Juilliard School. His first touring was with Arnett Cobb, and Willis "Gator" Jackson, and in the mid '30s he played with Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan, and Al Heath in Philadelphia. He also worked with Anita O'Day, Sonny Rollins, and Gerry Mulligan during the late '50s, and in1958 he performed with Benny Goodmn at the Newport Jazz Festival. He appeared with Monk in the film "Jazz on a Summer's Day", which was made at the festival. Over the next few years he became a leading free-jazz player, performing and recording with Cecil Taylor, Rollins, and Albert Ayler. For unknown reasons, Grimes abandoned his musical career in 1967. Grimes's playing owed something to the work of Paul Chambers and Charles Mingus.
