For one University professor, the end goal is for all of his students to find a job and career that embraces their passion.
After a lengthy career at the University, E. & D. White Professor of Jazz Studies and bassist Bill Grimes has decided to retire at the end of the school year.
Grimes has been with the LSU School of Music since 1984. Outside of his career at the University, Grimes has had an extensive career in music, teaching, performing and composing.
“I started studying the piano in 1960, and immediately found an intense curiosity for music,” Grimes said.
Around the time that he started playing the piano, Grimes’ parents gave him a guitar. Grimes enjoyed playing his guitar, but not in the way most guitarists do.
“Much to my mother’s surprise, she noticed that I was playing along with my records, but I was only playing the bass lines on the bottom strings of the guitar,” Grimes said. “I was destined to be a bass player.”
Grimes’ career as a performer has seen him recording music and working with people such as Joe Pass, Bobby Shew, Terrance Blanchard and Bill Dobbins. Grimes said that the key to working alongside well-known musicians is the connections he’s made along the way.
“Attending the Eastman School put me in touch with many famous people and others who could steer me to other performers, agents and managers,” Grimes said. “After you build a network, other people will start calling.”
Grimes has worked with musicians Frank Vincent and Rich Thompson. Together they released an album titled Dream Dancing.
Although retiring from LSU, Grimes is not giving up music, as he will soon be recording another album with Thompson and Grimes’ former teacher, Dobbins. The trio will hold a performance on April 27, consisting of jazz standards from the 1980s. Another aspect of Grimes’ career has been his time as a composer and a conductor.
“The high point of my orchestral career was in 2008 when I conducted members of the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Music Festival,”Grimes said. “I was working with jazz trumpeter Terrance Blanchard, performing his film score to the Spike Lee film When The Levees Broke. It was an overwhelming experience.”
Grimes was first offered a job in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but turned it down to come to LSU in 1984, a decision that he said he is proud he made.
“I was brought here to build the jazz program, but as it turned out, I also was asked to teach classical bass, which divided my time somewhat,” Grimes said.
During his time at LSU, Grimes has had a wide variety of responsibilities, including conducting the Baton Rouge Youth Symphony, serving as the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and serving as the Orchestrator for the Beach Boys.
At the end of the semester, Grimes will be stepping down from his professorship for three reasons. The first is to spend more time with his wife, Jan. The second is to pursue his desire to spend more time composing, arranging and practicing the bass. Grimes also believes that it is time for fresh blood to come into the LSU Jazz Program.
The final reason, as Grimes puts it, “I’m convinced that there are young jazz artists out there who have a more current outlook and knowledge than I do. The program needs some new energy.”
