Henry Kaiser (born 1952 in Oakland, California) 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. Beyond his solo work, Kaiser has collaborated with some of the world's most important musical visionaries, including
Derek Bailey,
Eugene Chadbourne, Nels Cline, John French,
Fred Frith, Trey Gunn, Mike Keneally,
Bill Laswell, David Lindley,
Jim O'Rourke, Wadada Leo Smith, and Richard Thompson—just to name a few.
