Henry Kaiser (born September 19, 1952) is an American guitarist and composer, known as an idiosyncratic soloist, a sideman, an ethnomusicologist, and a film score composer. Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "second generation" of American free improvisers. He is married to Canadian artist Brandy Gale. He is the son of Henry J. Kaiser Jr. and the grandson of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.

Biography

In 1977, Kaiser founded Metalanguage Records with Larry Ochs (Rova Saxophone Quartet) and Greg Goodman.

Since 1998, Kaiser has been collaborating with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith in the "Yo Miles!" project, releasing a series of tributes to Miles Davis's 1970s electric music. This shifting aggregation has included musicians from the worlds of rock (guitarists Nels Cline, including Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World (2007).

In 2001, Kaiser spent two and a half months in Antarctica on a National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program grant.

Discography

As leader

  • Ice Death (Parachute, 1977)
  • Protocol with Andrea Centazzo and Toshinori Kondo (Metalanguage, 1979)
  • With Friends Like These with Fred Frith (Metalanguage, 1979)
  • Outside Pleasure (Metalanguage, 1980)
  • Aloha (Metalanguage, 1981)
  • Who Needs Enemies? with Fred Frith (Metalanguage, 1983)
  • Invite the Spirit (Celluloid, 1984)
  • It's a Wonderful Life (Metalanguage, 1984)
  • 164 Spooky Pooch (Spooky Pooch, 1985)
  • Re-Marrying for Money (SST, 1986)
  • Devil in the Drain (SST, 1987)
  • Crazy Backwards Alphabet (SST, 1987)
  • With Enemies Like These Who Needs Friends? with Fred Frith (SST, 1987)
  • Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (Rhino, 1987)
  • Those Who Know History Are Doomed to Repeat It (SST, 1988)
  • Popular Science with Sergey Kuryokhin (Rykodisc, 1989)
  • Heart's Desire (Reckless, 1989)
  • Invisible Means (Demon, 1990)
  • Hope You Like Our New Direction (Reckless, 1991)
  • Tomorrow Knows Where You Live (Victo, 1991)
  • A World Out of Time with David Lindley (Shanachie, 1992)
  • The Five Heavenly Truths (FOT, 1993)
  • The Psychedelic Guitar Circus with Steve Kimock, Harvey Mandel, and Freddie Roulette (Sky Ranch/Virgin, 1994)
  • Acoustics (Victo, 1994)
  • The Mistakes (Third Venture, 1995)
  • The Siamese Stepbrothers (Cuneiform, 1995)
  • The Sweet Sunny North with David Lindley (Shanachie, 1994)
  • Eternity Blue (Shanachie, 1995)
  • The Sweet Sunny North Vol. 2 with David Lindley (Shanachie, 1996)
  • Second Sight (Shanachie, 1996)
  • Yo Miles! with Wadada Leo Smith (Shanachie, 1998)
  • Through (Materiali Sonori, 1999)
  • Passwords with Paul Plimley, (Spool, 1999)
  • Guitar Party (Gaff Music, 2003)
  • Upriver (Cuneiform, 2005)
  • Invite the Spirit 2006 (Tzadik, 2006)
  • A Tribute to John Stevens and the SME (Balance Point Acoustics, 2006)
  • Domo Arigato Derek-Sensei! (Balance Point Acoustics, 2006)
  • Where Endless Meets Disappearing (Balance Point Acoustics, 2009)
  • Buddhist Stories for Awakening (Dharma Radio, 2009)
  • Plane Crash (ugEXPLODE, 2009)
  • Ultraviolet Licorice (BLove Music, 2009)
  • Ninja Star Danger Rock (ugEXPLODE, 2011)
  • Can't Stop to Boogie (P-Vine, 2011)
  • Teuffel Tesla Duets (H(i)nds(i)ght, 2012)
  • Kamura (ZA Discs, 2012)
  • Encounters at the End of the World with David Lindley (Fractal Music, 2013)
  • Requia and Other Improvisations for Guitar Solo (Tzadik, 2013)
  • The Celestial Squid with Ray Russell (Cuneiform, 2015)
  • Echoes for Sonny (Musso Music, 2015)
  • Relations with Damon Smith (Balance Point Acoustics, 2015)
  • Plane Crash Two (New Atlantis, 2015)
  • Nearly Extinct (Balance Point Acoustics, 2016)
  • A Rainbow for Riley (Fractal Music, 2016)
  • Nazca Lines (Fractal Music, 2016)
  • Indestrucible Fantasy (Fractal Music, 2016)
  • Skip to the Solo (Public Eyesore, 2016)
  • We Call All Times Soon (Split Rock, 2018)
  • The Deep Unreal (Metalanguage, 2018)
  • Wild Courses (Iluso, 2018)
  • Five Times Surprise (Cuneiform, 2019)
  • More Requia (Metalanguage, 2019)
  • Problems Are Only Opportunities in Work Clothes (Fractal Music, 2020)
  • The Lenoir Investigation (2022)
  • Mahalo Nui (Metalanguage, 2023)

As sideman

With Andrea Centazzo

  • Infinity Squared (Ictus, 2006)
  • Guitars (Ictus, 2009)
  • Ghidorah (Fractal Music, 2017)
  • Above & Beyond Protocol (Metalanguage, 2020)

With Eugene Chadbourne

  • Vol. Three: Guitar Trios (Parachute, 1977)
  • School (Parachute, 1978)
  • The Acquaduct (Rectangle, 1996)
  • The Guitar Lesson (Victo, 1999)
  • Wind Crystals: Guitar Duets by Wadada Leo Smith (Relative Pitch, 2019)

With Weasel Walter

  • Revolt Music (ugEXPLODE, 2006)
  • Apocalyptik Paranoia (ugEXPLODE, 2009)
  • Large Group Performances 2007-2009 (ugEXPLODE, 2009)
  • Invasion (ugEXPLODE, 2010)

With others

  • Morgan Agren, Invisible Rays (7d Media, 2011)
  • Derek Bailey, Wireforks (Shanachie, 1993)
  • Bob Bralove, Positively Space Music (Fractal Music, 2017)
  • Olie Brice, Binker Golding, N. O. Moore, Eddie Prévost, The Secret Handshake With Danger (Vol. One) (577, 2021)
  • Brise-Glace, When in Vanitas (Skin Graft, 1994)
  • Tania Chen, Megasonic Chapel (Fractal Music, 2015)
  • Tania Chen, Ocean of Storms (Fractal Music, 2016)
  • Nels Cline, Jazz Free (There 2012)
  • Tom Constanten, Nightfall of Diamonds (Relix, 1992)
  • The Flying Luttenbachers, Imminent Death (ugEXPLODE, 2019)
  • Jim French, If Looks Could Kill (Metalanguage, 1979)
  • John French, Waiting On the Flame (Demon, 1994)
  • Fred Frith, Friends & Enemies (Cuneiform, 1999)
  • The Golden Palominos, Omaha (Celluloid, 1985)
  • The Golden Palominos, Visions of Excess (Celluloid, 1985)
  • Vinny Golia, Healing Force (Cuneiform, 2007)
  • Vinny Golia, Astral Plane Crash (Balance Point Acoustics, 2018)
  • Ivar Grydeland, Into the Arctic Dreamtime (Rune Grammofon, 2020)
  • Herbie Hancock, Hardrock (CBS, 1984)
  • Herbie Hancock, Sound-System (Columbia, 1984)
  • Jin Hi Kim, Sargeng (Ear-Rational 1990)
  • Jin Hi Kim, KomunGuitar (What Next? 1993)
  • Toshinori Kondo, Moose and Salmon (Music Gallery Editions, 1978)
  • Henry Kuntz, Cross-Eyed Priest (Humming Bird, 1979)
  • Sergey Kuryokhin, Popular Science (Rykodisc 1989)
  • Lukas Ligeti, Lukas Ligeti & Beta Foly (Intuition, 1997)
  • Material, Memory Serves (Elektra Musician, 1982)
  • Material, For a Few Dollars More (Carrere, 1983)
  • Tisziji Munoz, Auspicious Healing! (Anami Music, 2000)
  • John Oswald, Improvised (Music Gallery Editions, 1978)
  • John Oswald, Discosphere (ReR, 1991)
  • Knut Reiersrud, Sub (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 1999)
  • Zoogz Rift, Island of Living Puke (SST, 1986)
  • Zoogz Rift, Water II: At Safe Distance (SST, 1987)
  • Terry Riley, 25th Anniversary Concert (New Albion, 1995)
  • Rossy, One Eye On the Future One Eye On the Past (Shanachie, 1993)
  • Rova Saxophone Quartet, Daredevils (Metalanguage, 1979)
  • Rova Saxophone Quartet, Steve Lacy's Saxophone Special Revisited (Clean Feed, 2017)
  • John Russell, The Dukes of Bedford (Fractal Music, 2020)
  • Elliott Sharp, Electric Willie (Yellowbird, 2010)
  • Everett Shock, Ghost Boys, (SST, 1988)
  • Wadada Leo Smith, Dreams and Secrets (Anonymous, 2000)
  • Wadada Leo Smith, Najwa (TUM, 2017)
  • Richard Thompson, Watching the Dark (Hannibal, 1993)
  • Michiyo Yagi, Decayed (Idiolect, 2017)
  • John Zorn, Lacrosse (Tzadik, 1997)

References

  • Interview at Innerviews, 2016
  • Sketches of Miles with Henry Kaiser - The Music Box, July 2004, Vol. 11, #7
  • Psychedelic Guitar Circus collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
  • Yo Miles! collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive