Henry Kaiser, born in Oakland, California, on 19 September 1952, is a widely-recorded experimental guitarist and frequent collaborator with other musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area. His grandfather was the industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. He is considered a member of the "first generation" of American free improvisors, reflecting influences from European free players including, among others, Derek Bailey and Evan Parker. In 1978, Kaiser founded the Metalanguage Records label with Larry Ochs (Rova Saxophone Quartet) and Greg Goodman.