Henry "Skipper" Franklin (born Henry Carl Franklin on October 1, 1940) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

double bassist.

Career

Franklin played on

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

's 1968 number one single, "Grazing in the Grass," as well as with Masekela's band at the

Monterey International Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

in June 1967. In addition, Franklin played and recorded with

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

and the Three Sounds,

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on ...

, Freddie Hubbard,

Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer who plays jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. She has recorded twelve albums and founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records. In 1971, she was the first ...

Willie Bobo William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Willie Bobo,Biography ''AllMusic'' was an American Latin jazz percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of Lat ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, O.C. Smith,

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau,

Curtis Amy Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Amy was born in Houston, Texas, United States. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the teno ...

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and the ...

, and

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography William Criss wa ...

. Franklin's recording—composed by Sanifu Al Hall, Jr.— "Soft Spirit" was featured on the Breakbeat compilation '' Tribe Vibes'' as it had been sampled by the musical group A Tribe Called Quest. Encouraged by his father, Sammy Franklin, a jazz trumpeter and bandleader, he studied with

Al McKibbon Al McKibbon (January 1, 1919 – July 29, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz. In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced ...

and George Morrow, while listening to

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. ...

and

Doug Watkins Douglas Watkins (March 2, 1934 – February 5, 1962) was an American jazz double bassist. He was best known for being an accompanist to various hard bop artists in the Detroit area, including Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean. Biography Watkins ...

. While attending the

Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sch ...

in Los Angeles, he played with his first professional band – the

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

Latin Jazz Quintet. About that time, Franklin worked with

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffo ...

and

. Years later, he toured Europe with Hawes and recorded five albums with him. In Los Angeles, Franklin also played with

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

, and

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...

. In 1968, after Henry's year-long tour of the East Coast playing with

and working gigs with

Lamont Johnson Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockto ...

, Beaver Harris and

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

on his days off, Hugh Masekela heard him play and made him an offer. Three and a half years later, the two collaborated on ''Grazing in the Grass''. In 1972, Franklin released his debut album ''The Skipper'' through Black Jazz Records. Music critic, Tom Hull, described it as "adventurous postbop." He continued touring during the next several years, working internationally with O.C. Smith,

The Three Sounds The Three Sounds (also known as The 3 Sounds) were an American jazz piano trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The band formed in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, as the Four Sounds. The original line-up consisted of Gene Harri ...

, Freddie Hubbard, and

. Franklin collected a gold record with Stevie Wonder on '' Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants.'' Collaborating with John Carter and Bobby Bradford, Franklin produced two albums: ''Self-Determination Music'' and ''Secrets''. He performed on five albums with Dennis Gonzales, John Purcell and William Richardson and also played extensively with Pharoah Sanders, Joe Williams, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Hutcherson,

Sonny Fortune Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939 – October 25, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist. Fortune played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute. Biography He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...

and Milt Jackson. For over a decade until 2011, Franklin played a regular, five-night-per-week gig at The Mission Inn, in Riverside, CA. In the summer of 2009, the director of the summer program and the provost of

La Sierra University La Sierra University (La Sierra or LSU) is a private, Seventh-day Adventist university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1922 as La Sierra Academy, it later became La Sierra College, a liberal arts college, and then was merged into Loma Lin ...

in Riverside partnered with Franklin to provide some on-campus, summer jazz concerts. These continued in the fall, eventually becoming a regular campus concert series, "Pierce Street Jazz" (PSJ). Still organized and headlined by Franklin, PSJ continues to feature well-known local and national jazz musicians as guests performing with the regular house trio. Throughout his career, Franklin has appeared on more than 160 albums, many of which he produced. He also published a bass player's method book entitled, ''Bassically Yours''.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Skipper'' ( Black Jazz, 1972) * ''The Skipper at Home'' ( Black Jazz, 1974) * ''Tribal Dance'' (

Catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

, 1977) * ''We Came to Play'' (Daagnim, 1985) * ''Bassic Instincts'' (Skipper Productions, 1996) * ''The Hunter'' (Skipper Productions, 1998) * ''Bass Encounters'' (Skipper Productions, 2000) * ''Sakura'' with Steve Katsuyama, Tony Austin ( WJ3, 2002) * ''Ears Wide Open'' with Marc Seales, Steve Clover (Beezwax, 2003) * ''Colemanology'' with Marc Seales, Steve Clover (Beezwax, 2004) * ''Three Card Molly'' (Resurgent, 2004) * ''All God's Children'' (Skipper Productions, 2005) * ''Music to the 5th Power'' (Skipper Productions, 2006) * ''If We Should Meet Again'' (Skipper Productions, 2007) * ''O, What a Beautiful Morning!'' (Skipper Productions, 2008) * ''Home Cookin' '' (Skipper Productions, 2009) * ''Shanghai'' with Bob Mocarsky (Skipper Productions, 2011) * ''The Soul of the World'' (Skipper Productions, 2011) * ''June Night'' (Skipper Productions, 2012) * ''Two Views'' (Skipper Productions, 2015) * ''Showers of Blessings'' (Skipper Productions, 2021) * ''Daggerboard and the Skipper'' (Daggerboard, 2021) * ''Showers of Blessings'' (Skipper Productions, 2021) * ''Karibu'' (Jazz Is Dead, 2022)

With 3 More Sounds (group)

* ''The Happiness of Pursuit'' (Skipper Productions, 2015) * ''High Voltage (Tribute to

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

)'' (Skipper Productions, 2016) * ''Ghetto Princes (Tribute to

)'' (Skipper Productions, 2019) * ''3 More Sounds Play Ray Charles'' (Skipper Productions, 2022)

As sideman

With John Carter and Bobby Bradford *'' Self Determination Music'' (Flying Dutchman, 1970) *''Secrets'' (Revelation, 1972) With Daggerboard *''Daggerboard & The Skipper'' ( Wide Hive, 2022) With

Dennis González Dennis González, often credited Dennis Gonzalez (August 15, 1954March 15, 2022), was an American jazz trumpeter, artist, and educator from Texas. He hosted ''Miles Out'' on KERA-FM for over twenty years. Early life González was born in Abil ...

*''Little Toot'' (Silkheart, 1986) *'' Stefan'' (Silkheart, 1987) *''Debengi Debengi'' (Silkheart, 1988) With

*''A Little Copenhagen Night Music'' (Freedom, 1971) *''Live at the Montmartre'' (Black Lion, 1971) *''Live in Montreux'' (JAS, 1971) *''This Guy's in Love with You'' (Freedom, 1971) *'' Blues for Walls'' (Prestige, 1973) With

*''Bobbi Humphrey Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux'' (Blue Note, 1973) With Calvin Keys *''Proceed with Caution'' (Black Jazz, 1971) *''Shawn-Neeq'' (Black Jazz, 1973) *''Blue Keyes'' (Daggerboard, 2022) With

*'' Hugh Masekela Is Alive and Well at the Whisky'' (Uni, 1967) *'' The Promise of a Future'' (Uni, 1968) *'' Masekela'' (uncredited) (Uni, 1969) With

Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. B ...

*''

Love, Love ''Love, Love'' is an album by American jazz trombonist and composer Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto recorded in 1973 and released on the ECM label.Freddie Redd Freddie Redd (May 29, 1928 – March 17, 2021) was an American hard-bop pianist and composer. He is best known for writing music to accompany '' The Connection'' (1959), a play by Jack Gelber. According to Peter Watrous, writing in ''The New Y ...

*'' Straight Ahead!'' (Interplay, 1977) With Sonny Rollins *''Live in New York at Philharmonic Hall'' (1972) With

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

*'' Song of Songs'' (Contemporary, 1972) With

*'' Soul Symphony'' (Blue Note, 1969) *''Live at the It Club, Volumes 1 and 2'' (Blue Note, 1971) With

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

*''Phil Woods Quartet'' (1974)

References

External links

Henry FranklinWide Hive Records Henry Franklin PageWide Hive Records "Perseverance" Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Henry 1940 births Living people Jazz musicians from California Jazz fusion double-bassists American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Black Jazz Records artists Ovation Records artists 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians WJ3 Records artists