Gordon Goodwin

For the British athlete, see Gordon Goodwin (athlete).

Gordon L. Goodwin (born 1954) is an American studio pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger and conductor. He now lives in Southern California. He has won Grammy and Emmy awards.

Early years

Gordon Goodwin was born in Wichita, Kansas.

Gordon Goodwin wrote his first big band chart, called "Hang Loose", when he was in the 7th grade. He continued his musical education at Cal State Northridge with Joel Leach and Bill Calkins. Following graduation from college, Goodwin was employed as a musician at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. Subsequently, Disney approached him to write a musical show featuring past and present Mouseketeers, including Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.[1] Goodwin was later recruited by Louie Bellson's big band, where he played with the likes of Pete Christlieb and Don Menza. He went on to play under Les Hooper and Grant Geissman.

Big Phat Band

Since then, Goodwin has risen to prominence in the American studio music scene with his big band, The Big Phat Band.[2] In the band, Goodwin plays piano and occasionally both the soprano and tenor saxophone. This band brings together players such as Wayne Bergeron, Eric Marienthal and Andy Martin. These detailed music charts are all written or adapted by Gordon Goodwin. Several of his songs are plays on old jazz tunes: a prime example is "Sing, Sang, Sung" which mimics the famous Louis Prima song "Sing, Sing, Sing". Under Goodwin's direction, the band has released six albums: Swingin' for the Fences, which received two Grammy nominations, and XXL, which received three. The Phat Pack was released on June 13, 2006, and Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) was also released in 2006. Act Your Age, was released on September 30, 2008. That's How We Roll was released on April 12, 2011. Goodwin won the 2012 Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for his Arrangement of George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue. Their most recent album, Life in the Bubble was released on May 13, 2014.

Gordon Goodwin's music with the Big Phat Band is distributed by Telarc International and Silverline Records.

Popular culture

As a film scorer, Goodwin has worked on such films as The Majestic, Glory Road, National Treasure, Remember the Titans, Armageddon, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Incredibles, Hot Rod, Get Smart, Snakes on a Plane, Race to Witch Mountain, Coach Carter, Bad Boys II, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, the classic cult film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and Enemy of the State. His work in television includes music for the TV series Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Tom and Jerry, Histeria, Road Rovers, and Freakazoid. His recording history includes performances with artists as diverse as Mel Tormé, Ray Charles and Christina Aguilera. Goodwin himself has received many individual awards, including a recent Grammy for Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for his work on the feature film The Incredibles.[2] He is also a three time Emmy winner.

Goodwin has also been a guest conductor for such groups as the London Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Goodwin composed the original soundtrack for the Haunted Mansion Holiday, a Nightmare Before Christmas inspired twist on the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. That was later replaced by a soundtrack composed by John Debney, but some of his score remains there today.

Sheet music

His music is published by companies such as Hal Leonard, Alfred Publishing, and Walrus Music.

Discography

The Big Phat Band has eight albums currently released:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sandler, Eric. "Gordon Goodwin Pt. 1: The Musician, The Composer". www.revive-music.com. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Gordon Goodwin: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Julian Lennon, Tin Cup Gypsy, Donna Burke, Mark Ballas, Maxi Priest, Wendy Parr, Monday Michiru, Amber Lily, Tierney Sutton, Rie Fu and Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band – Shine On! Songs Volume One". Discogs. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.

External links

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