Jerry Grundhoefer

Jerry "Grundy" Grundhoefer (born July 22, 1930 in St Paul, Minnesota - died June 10, 1997 in Birmingham) was a jazz musician and nightclub owner.

Grundhoefer grew up in St Paul and graduated from Cretin High School. A talented musician he played jazz on the clarinet, piano, saxophone, xylophone and flute. He also played the organ at St Paschal Catholic Church where he met his wife, Bernie Fitch.

They were married in 1950 and Grundhoefer took a job with American Hoist & Derrick, and later as a salesman for Hobart. He opened Hobart offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Raleigh, North Carolina before settling in Birmingham in 1965. He and Bernie had 11 children together.

Grundhoefer opened Grundy's Music Room downtown in 1979 with nightly live music performances. He became known for solid jazz bookings and for leading disciplined jam sessions. The bar closed in 1992 when Grundhoefer was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, later, multiple myeloma. He continued to run a weekly jazz night at Marty's on Southside until his death in 1997.

Grundhoefer was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980.

References

• Reynolds, Ed (June 2008) "The night owl." Black and White
• "Jerry Grundhoefer" (December 22, 2009) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia - accessed January 17, 2010