JYMIE MERRITT

Jymie Merritt (born 3 May 1926) is an American hard bop double-bassist, and a father of a bassist, Mike Merritt, from Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Biography

Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he received early training as a classical bassist (double bass), but he credits the following experiences, which took place in the 1940s, as proving more significant musically: (1) his early gigs in Philadelphia, PA with pianist Hassan Ibn Ali (duo) and (2) jam sessions, often conducted at his own house, with his mother as hostess, that included such local notables at the time as Jimmy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Smith, John Dennis and Benny Golson. Other early experiences included gigs with the Jimmy Campbell Quintet and the Ernie Hopkins Quartet. Jymie's first touring experience in the 1950s was with the Bull Moose Jackson Orchestra under the musical direction of Tadd Dameron. He toured also with Chris Powell and the Blue Flames (1952-55), one of the first rock groups; with blues great B.B. King; and later with Red Prysock. Jymie's early jazz instrument was the acoustic double bass. His performing instrument as a rock bassist and blues bassist was a Fender electric bass.

Jymie is perhaps best known for his years touring and recording as an acoustic bassist with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1958-62).
A number of sources have credited Jymie Merritt with inventing the Ampeg bass, but this information is incorrect. Jymie explains his association with the Ampeg bass as follows: While he was touring with Bull Moose Jackson in the 50s, he met Everett Hull, bassist and developer of the Ampeg system for acoustic bass, and the two developed a friendship. Some years later, Hull sent Jymie a prototype of his latest product, the Ampeg five-string upright bass, which Jymie performed on from 1960 to 1985. Recordings that Jymie made with the Max Roach Quintet (1965-68) and Lee Morgan Quintet (1970-72), including Morgan's Live at the Lighthouse, employ the Ampeg bass. He also used the Ampeg with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and Quintet and with a number of other groups, including groups led by Lee Shaw, Al Haig, and Archie Shepp.

In periods between touring, Merritt started the Forerunner movement in Philadelphia and served as its artistic guide. The Forerunners--later called Forerunner--brought together performing artists linked by ideas of community and creative exploration.

From 1998 through 2005, Merritt performed weekly on the acoustic bass in a jazz duo at The Prime Rib restaurant in Philadelphia, PA.

To quote reviewer Devin Leonard, "Merritt is also an interesting modern composer with a penchant for odd meters and rhythmic patterns." Merritt's newest compositions explore these patterns in a computer-driven context in which he performs on a six-string upright bass.

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Jymie Merritt Biography

A classically trained player with a surging style characterized by the frequent use of triplet figures and putting notes ahead of the beat, Jymie Merritt made a successful switch from jazz to R&B and blues and back to jazz again in the '50s. Merritt played with John Coltrane, Benny Golson and Philly Joe Jones in 1949, but worked with Bull Moose Jackson and B.B. King playing electric bass in the early and mid-'50s. He returned to jazz when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late '50s, and also went back to the acoustic. He later invented his own instrument, the Ampeg, sort of a modification hybrid of both. Merritt stayed with Blakey until 1962, then recorded with Chet Baker in 1964. Merritt played with Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie and Lee Morgan from the mid-'60s to the early '70s. He'd helped form an organization comprised of musicians and performers from other disciplines known as The Forerunners in 1962. This became Forerunner, a cooperative organization that was active in Philadelphia's cultural and community activities into the late '80s. He's never recorded as a leader, but Merritt can be heard on CD reissues by Morgan, Roach, and others. 

Source: Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

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Jymie Merritt By Ron Wynn

A classically trained player with a surging style characterized by the frequent use of triplet figures and putting notes ahead of the beat, Jymie Merritt made a successful switch from jazz to R&B and blues and back to jazz again in the '50s. Merritt played with John Coltrane, Benny Golson and Philly Joe Jones in 1949, but worked with Bull Moose Jackson and B.B. King playing electric bass in the early and mid-'50s. He returned to jazz when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late '50s, and also went back to the acoustic. He later invented his own instrument, the Ampeg, sort of a modification hybrid of both. Merritt stayed with Blakey until 1962, then recorded with Chet Baker in 1964. Merritt played with Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie and Lee Morgan from the mid-'60s to the early '70s. He'd helped form an organization comprised of musicians and performers from other disciplines known as The Forerunners in 1962. This became Forerunner, a cooperative organization that was active in Philadelphia's cultural and community activities into the late '80s. He's never recorded as a leader, but Merritt can be heard on CD reissues by Morgan, Roach, and others. 
 
Source: All Music Group

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Discography

As sideman

With Art Blakey

Moanin' (1958)
The Big Beat (1960)
Like Someone in Love (1960)
Mosaic (1961)
A Day with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1961)
Pisces (1961)
The Freedom Rider (1961)
Roots & Herbs (1961)
Three Blind Mice (1962)