Nicknamed "The Skipper," bassist Henry Franklin first garnered widespread attention playing on South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela's 1968 hit "Grazin' in the Grass" before establishing himself as a leading West Coast funk and modal jazz player. He released two cult albums for the legendary Black Jazz Records label, including 1971's The Skipper, and has recorded with such luminaries as Woody Shaw, Julian Priester, Freddie Hubbard, and Hampton Hawes. Franklin eventually founded his own label and continued to release albums, including 2009's Home Cookin', 2015's Two Views, and his 2016 McCoy Tyner tribute, High Voltage. He has also collaborated on projects including Daggerboard and the Skipper, with trumpeter Erik Jekabson and percussionist Gregory Howe, and JID014, with Adrian Younge and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, both in 2022.