Education
Grundhoefer graduated from Cretin High School, (now Cretin-Derham Hall High School).
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Jerry Grundhoefer
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Career
In 1980, Grundhoefer was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on July 22, 1930. Fitch and Grundhoefer were married at Saint Croix River in 1950.
Subsequently, he worked for American Dereck machines.
Approximately one year later, Grundhoefer was working as a salesman for Hobart Sales and Services, playing music on the side. Due to job transfers, the family moved from Saint Paul to Atlanta to Raleigh, North Carolina, while Grundhoefer opened offices for Hobart in these cities.
They finally settled permanently in Birmingham, Alabama in 1965. By this time, they had 9 children and Bernie was expecting another.
They had 2 more children together after the move.
Grundhoefer opened Grundy’s Jazz Music Hall in 1979 in Birmingham, a bar where jazz musicians played live music daily. Grundy’s later changed locations in 1980 to a larger venue with tapas restaurant with the bar in order to expand for bigger musical acts. Among those musicians who performed at Grundy’s were Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Johnny O"Neal, Royce Campbell, Clark Terry, Ray Reach and many others
Grundy’s closed in 1992.
After the closing of Grundy"s, Grundhoefer continued to play in other Birmingham venues including Marty’s Bar and Grill. Marty Eagle, the owner of Marty’s, said of Grundhoefer in the Black and White City Paper, “I had Grundy in here on Sundays after Grundy"s went out of business.
He ran the jazz night, and nobody else could hold it together like he could. Somebody had to be the disciplinarian.
And none of the others wanted to discipline any of the other people.
But Jerry wanted a good show, and he did it right.”
In 1992, Grundhoefer was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He received a second diagnosis in 1993 of multiple myeloma. He died June 10, 1997.
