The Skipper’s record label (Skipper Productions) is a great place to check for some great music from LA area jazz musicians. Some albums feature amazing artists with decades-long backgrounds in the Jazz genre, other albums feature artists that may not necessarily be main-stream, but deserve attention and support to help keep JAZZ alive.
Any available albums and official Skipper T-Shirts can be found on the Skipper Productions website.
After many, many years, Skipper’s book, “Bassically Yours” has been re-released digitally (physical copies are not for sale) and is available for purchase.
Skipper has been recording on the Jazz Is Dead label with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. They released JID014 last year and won the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album (Instrumental)! This is a great honor considering the other nominees!
We highly recommend that you take time to listen and purchase the album
3 More Sounds is now promoting the purchase of digital albums through Bandcamp! It’s a great site to learn about other groups and it really supports the ARTIST! Thanks for sharing the link below with anyone you can. Their latest album, 3 More Sounds Play Ray Charles is outstanding and features some of the great tunes made popular by our dear, departed friend, Ray Charles!
For a limited time you can buy 3 More Sounds entire catalog of 5 CDs at 20% off at Bandcamp!
Watch Emily Vu on saxophone perform with Skipper on YouTube from October 7, 2022 (Promoting young talent!)
Watch Teodross Avery perform at the World Stage on YouTube from September 23, 2022 (John Coltrane Tribute)
Watch 3 More Sounds perform at the World Stage on YouTube from October 1, 2021 (The Skipper’s 81st birthday!)
HENRY FRANKLIN invites you to enjoy Guitarist Bob Boss on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 7:00PM at La Sierra University.
Pierce Street Jazz is back and featuring the talents of guitarist Bob Boss along with Henry Franklin, bass, Theo Saunders, piano, and Yayo Morales, drums. Free admission. Registration is required for attendance at Troesh Conference Center, Zapara School of Business. The event will also be live-streamed on Pierce Street Jazz Facebook. University Covid-19 protocol in effect, noted under Public Events/Spectator Sports at https://lasierra.edu/covid-19/campus-operations/.
HENRY FRANKLIN invites you to enjoy TROMBONIST Steve Turre on Friday, February 11, 2022 8:00PM.
HENRY FRANKLIN meets with Cathy Segal-Garcia on Facebook for her NoonTime Hang.
We will post an archive link afterwards!
3 More Sounds featuring: Henry Franklin (bass); Robert Turner (piano); Carl Burnett (drums) performs October 1 at 8PM at the World Stage!
Check out the World Stage YouTube channel for more!
The Skipper is performing LIVE on KJZZ 91.5 (Sunday, September 5, 2021 from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm)
Mark your calendars cause this is radio! No streaming afterwards!
The Phil Ranelin Quintet includes: Phil Ranelin (trombone); Keith Fiddmont (alto sax); Henry Franklin (bass); Theo Saunders (piano); Donald Dean (drums).
The Skipper is featured on “Night Journey Rewind” podcast (September 5, 2021 at 6:00 pm)
The Skipper is playing virtually at “The World Stage” (July 23, 2021 at 8:00 pm)
The Skipper is featured on “Art & Jazz” (May 9, 2021) brought to you from Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center
Join Henry tonight (April 15, 2021 for a Tribute performance to James Leary (1946-2021).
The newest album in the catalog is 3 More Sounds Play Ray Charles”! This album is loaded with some of his most memorable tunes. Featuring Robert Turner on keys, Carl Burnett on drums and The Skipper on low notes! This is another album not to miss!
Many years ago, Henry developed a book to help with playing melodic bass. “Bassically Yours” has returned in a digital format with 235 pages of standards. For each piece, you will find the melody line along with chord changes to allow accompaniment. This is a must-have!
Click the picture to order YOURS
Henry Franklin (The Skipper) is a legendary jazz bass player who was a prominent artist on the Black Jazz record label. One of the more popular albums on the label was humbly titled “The Skipper.” This t-shirt commemorates that album and proceeds are used to keep the artist and the SPRecords label up and running. You can order yours today and help keep JAZZ alive!
Click the picture to order YOURS
Be sure to check out Skipper’s greatest hits 3-volume set! There are over 50 years of tunes (some composed by Skipper) with outstanding musicians: Azar Lawrence, Theo Saunders, Chuck Manning, Carl Burnett, Ramone Banda, Nolan Shaheed, Donald Dean, Calvin Keys and many, many more!
Henry Franklin (The Skipper), jazz bass
Henry Franklin (The Skipper), jazz bassist, was born in 1940, the son of West Coast jazz trumpeter and band leader Sammy Franklin. Henry Franklin began his own career while he was still in high school, playing with his contemporary, Roy Ayers, in the latter’s Latin jazz quintet. This experience put Franklin on the path to his work with Latin jazz bandleader and percussionist Willie Bobo. His work with Bobo in New York also led to Franklin’s playing with Archie Shepp.
Franklin later played with Hugh Masekela, appearing on the latter’s number one single, “Grazing in the Grass,” and the album Promise of a Future (1968), which was among Franklin’s earliest official recording credits (and was one of the bigger-selling jazz albums of 1968). He got further exposure from his work with Masekela when Franklin played in the band that the South African-born trumpet player brought to the Monterey International Pop Festival in June of 1967 — their appearance there was immortalized in the D.A. Pennebaker documentary film of the event, Monterey Pop.
In the decades since, Franklin — often referred to as “The Skipper” — has played and recorded with Gene Harris & the Three Sounds, Freddie Hubbard, Bobbi Humphrey, Hampton Hawes, et al., as well as releasing a brace of albums by his own band right into the 21st century.
Skipper on double bass
Skipper at World Stage
Skipper at LACMA
3 More Sounds Live