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Larry Goldings
Background information
Birth nameLawrence Sam Goldings
Born (1968-08-28) August 28, 1968 (age 55)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • composer
Instrument(s)
  • Piano
  • organ
Labels
Websitelarrygoldings.com

Lawrence Sam "Larry" Goldings (born August 28, 1968) is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. His music has explored elements of funk, blues, and fusion. Goldings has a comedic alter ego known as Hans Groiner.[1]

Life and career

Goldings was born in Boston. His father was a classical music enthusiast, and Goldings studied classical piano until the age of twelve.[2] Through his father he met pianist Dave McKenna and studied with pianists Ran Blake and Keith Jarrett.[2] Among his other influences were and Bill Evans, Red Garland, Erroll Garner, and Oscar Peterson.[2] He studied at The New School with Fred Hersch and Jaki Byard.[2] In college he performed with Roland Hanna and Jon Hendricks.[2] A collaboration lasting almost three years with jazz guitarist Jim Hall followed.

After receiving his degree, he led a trio with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart.[2] His debut album Intimacy of the Blues was released in 1991.[2] Over the course of his career, he has worked with Joshua Redman, Maceo Parker, Idris Muhammad, Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Sanborn, Ben Allison, Matt Wilson, Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, and John Mayer[2]

Record producers he has worked with include Russ Titelman, Larry Klein, Steve Jordan, Tommy LiPuma, Dave Grusin, Joe Henry, Blake Mills, Mike Viola, and T Bone Burnett. One of Goldings' first collaborations with Larry Klein includes the Madeleine Peyroux recording of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" with Goldings on Wurlitzer piano, pump organ, Hammond B3 organ, celeste, and piano solo.

Goldings is known for his gifts as a bass player on the Hammond organ, integral to his collaboration with Michael Brecker and Pat Metheny on Time is of the Essence and evident in the Pat Metheny composition "Extradition" during their 1999–2000 world tour. James Taylor's One Man Band 2007 live album and world tour draws heavily on Goldings' bass playing abilities, making the one man band concept possible. The album and tour also include Goldings' composition "School Song". Larry Goldings' Hammond organ is heard on John Mayer's song "Gravity", on the Grammy award-winning album, Continuum.

In 2007, Larry Goldings, Jack DeJohnette and John Scofield received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Album Individual or Group for their live album, Trio Beyond – Saudades. In 2017, Goldings with the Steve Gadd Band received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Way Back Home.

In 2012 and 2013, Goldings was chosen to participate in both the Sundance Institute Documentary Film and Sundance Feature Film Composer Fellowship Programs. At the Documentary Film Lab in Sundance, Utah, Goldings scored scenes from filmmaker Johanna Hamilton's "1971". Goldings continued to work with the Sundance Institute in 2013, at the feature film lab held for the first time at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. There he collaborated with filmmaker Pamela Romanowsky, scoring scenes from her film The Adderall Diaries. Goldings' advisors in that program included noted film composers Mark Isham, Heitor Pereira, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Thomas Newman.

Style and influences

Goldings' melodic style of organ playing has often been compared to that of Larry Young. On organ Goldings cites as his first inspirations the solo piano style of Dave McKenna "who walks his own bass lines better than anyone" and Billy Preston accompanying Aretha Franklin on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Other musical influences cited by Goldings include the Wes Montgomery records which feature Mel Rhyne and Jimmy Smith; Shirley Scott; Chester Thompson; Joe Zawinul; and Jack McDuff. Goldings' 1990s collaborations with Maceo Parker provided an authentic understanding of the language of funk music, and the voicings and rhythmic comping on the Hammond B3 organ as passed down by James Brown to Parker.

Awards and honors

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year recorded Title Label Personnel
1991 Intimacy of the Blues Verve Most tracks trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums); three tracks quartet, with David "Fathead" Newman (tenor sax) added
1992 Light Blue Minor Music Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)
1993 Caminhos Cruzados Novus/RCA With Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums), Guilherme Franco (percussion); Joshua Redman (tenor sax) added on three tracks
1995 Whatever It Takes Warner Bros. With Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums); plus guests Fred Wesley (trombone), Joshua Redman (tenor sax), David Sanborn and Maceo Parker (alto sax), Richard Patterson (bass)
1996 Big Stuff Warner Bros. With Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums), Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Idris Muhammad (drums), Bashiri Johnson (percussion), Guilherme Franco (percussion), John McKenna (tenor saxophone)
1997 Awareness Warner Bros. With Larry Grenadier (bass), Paul Motian (drums)
1999 Moonbird Palmetto Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)
2000 Voodoo Dogs Palmetto With Bob Ward (guitarist)
2001 As One Palmetto Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)
2002 Sweet Science Palmetto Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)
2003 Hollywood Album Lucomo With Darek "Oleś" Oleszkiewicz (double bass); Adam Czerwiński (drums)

(re-issued in 2019 on vinyl by AC Records as "Hollywood Trio")

2004 Saudades ECM As Trio Beyond; trio, with John Scofield (guitar), Jack DeJohnette (drums); in concert
2006 Quartet Palmetto Most tracks quartet, with John Sneider (cornet, trumpet), Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums); one track quintet, with Madeleine Peyroux (vocals) added
2007 Long Story Short Sticky Mack Records With Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)
2009 The Carriage House Sessions Sweet Song Duo with Peter Salett (vocals)
2010 When Larry Met Harry Café Society Quartet, with Harry Allen (tenor sax), Doug Weiss and Neil Miner (bass; separately), Andy Watson (drums)[3]
2011 In My Room BFM Jazz Solo piano
2011 Live at Smalls Smallslive Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)[4]
2014 Music from the Front Room Sticky Mack Records Trio, with David Piltch (bass), Jay Bellerose (drums)
2014 Ramshackle Serenade Pirouet Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)[5]
2018 Radio Music Vol.1 Independent All music written and performed by Goldings
2018 Toy Tunes Pirouet Trio, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Stewart (drums)[6]
2018 Scary Goldings Scary Pockets With Scary Pockets
2019 Scary Goldings: The Ego Trap Scary Pockets With Scary Pockets
2020 Tie Me to You Monsoon With Kathleen Grace
2022 Perpetual Pendulum Smoke Sessions
2022 Earthshine Colorfield All music written and performed by Goldings

Main sources:[7][8]

As sideman

With Peter Bernstein

With Till Brönner

With Chris Minh Doky

With Sia

With Robben Ford

With Steve Gadd

With Melody Gardot

With Jesse Harris

With Jim Hall

With Colin Hay

With Adam Levy

With John Mayer

With Jessica Molaskey

With James Moody

With Maceo Parker

With Rebecca Pidgeon

With Madeleine Peyroux

With John Pizzarelli

With Tim Ries

With Lee Ritenour

With John Scofield

With Mark Sholtez

With Bill Stewart

With Curtis Stigers

With Dave Stryker

With James Taylor

With Matt Wilson

With Lazlo Bane

With Pomplamoose

With others

Film and TV credits

References

  1. ^ Jarenwattananon, Patrick (20 February 2012). "The Man Who Makes Monk Better". NPR Jazz. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Collar, Matt. "Larry Goldings Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  3. ^ Simmons, Greg (January 30, 2011). "Larry Goldings and Harry Allen: When Larry Met Harry". AllAboutJazz. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "Live at Smalls". AllMusic.
  5. ^ "Ramshackle Serenade - Peter Bernstein, Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "Toy Tunes". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1996). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (3rd ed.). Penguin. p. 508. ISBN 978-0-14-051368-4.
  8. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. pp. 564–565. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

External links

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