Jymie Merritt

Jymie Merritt (born 3 May 1926) is an American jazz double-bassist.

Biography

Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he has worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues. He has worked with Bull Moose Jackson, B. B. King, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach, among others.^[1]

In 1962, an unknown ailment forced him to stop touring with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. For the next decade, he recorded sparingly notwithstanding the help and support of family, friends and fellow musicians.^[1]

He was an early adopter of the Ampeg bass (a hybrid acoustic-electric instrument) and founded Forerunner, a community organization in Philadelphia.^[1]

He is the father of a bassist Mike Merritt from Conan.

Discography

As sideman

With Art Blakey

• Moanin' (Blue Note, 1958)
• 1958 - Paris Olympia (Fontana, 1958)
• Des Femmes Disparaissent (Soundtrack) (Fontana, 1958)
• At the Jazz Corner of the World (Blue Note, 1959)
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (Fontana, 1959) - Original Soundtrack with Barney Wilen
• Africane (Blue Note, 1959)
• Paris Jam Session (1959)
• The Big Beat (Blue Note, 1960)
• Like Someone in Love (Blue Note, 1960)
• A Night In Tunisia (Blue Note, 1960)
• Mosaic (Blue Note, 1961)
• A Day with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1961)
• Pisces (1961)
• The Freedom Rider (1961)
• Roots & Herbs (1961)
• Three Blind Mice (1962)

With Sonny Clark

• Standards (Blue Note, 1959)

With Curtis Fuller

• South American Cookin' (Epic, 1961)
• Soul Trombone (Impulse!, 1961)

With Benny Golson

• The Other Side of Benny Golson (Riverside, 1958)

With Lee Morgan

• Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note, 1969)

With Max Roach

• Drums Unlimited (Atlantic, 1965)
• Members, Don't Git Weary (Atlantic, 1968)

References