1. Jymie Merritt was an American jazz bassist, bandleader, and composer.
14 Facts About Jymie Merritt
1. 2.
In 1957, Jymie Merritt moved to Manhattan, New York, to work with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
3.
The Messenger ensemble Jymie Merritt joined featured his friend Benny Golson as well as Bobby Timmons and Lee Morgan.
4.
Jymie Merritt's touring and recording with Blakey extended until 1962, when an unknown ailment forced him to stop touring.
5.
From 1965 to 1968, Jymie Merritt worked with the drummer, composer and activist Max Roach, not only in the rhythm section but as a composer, recording "Nommo" on Roach's Atlantic album Drums Unlimited.
6.
In 1962, Jymie Merritt formed and fronted the Forerunners in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
7.
Forerunner was on and off periodically from the 1960s through the 1980s, depending on what band Jymie Merritt was playing with at the time as well as how his health was.
8.
Jymie Merritt joined the Bull Moose Jackson band in 1949, and was an early adopter of the Ampeg Baby bass.
9.
Jymie Merritt recalls when he first bought a Fender bass guitar:.
10.
In November 2013, along with friend and fellow bassist Reggie Workman, Jymie Merritt received the Clef Club of Philadelphia's Living Legend, Jazz Award.
11.
Jymie Merritt's award was presented to him by another great Philadelphia bassist, the late Charles Fambrough.
12.
Jymie Merritt had a younger brother, LeRoy Jymie Merritt, an amateur artist and arts and crafts enthusiast who lived in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
13.
Jymie Merritt lived in Center City, Philadelphia, with his wife Ave and his cat Jazzie.
14.
Jymie Merritt died on April 10,2020, of liver cancer in Philadelphia, aged 93.