By Chris Hovan
A native of Boston, pianist and organist Larry Goldings boasts a resume that takes in formative training with the likes of Ran Blake and Keith Jarrett, plus gigs with a WhoÃÂs Who of jazz greats that would have to include Jim Hall, Leon Parker, John Scofield, Michael Brecker, James Moody, and Carla Bley. He has recorded eight albums of his own as a leader, including the eclectic Voodoo Dogs and the newly issued, As One. Part of the flourishing organ jazz revitalization, Goldings can be counted among one of its most unique practitioners. In addition, his stellar piano work helps make him a resourceful and precious sideman capable of crossing any variety of stylistic boundaries. Recently, Goldings sat down to chat with All About Jazz about his early development and his most recent activities.
AAJ: Tell me about your exposure to music while still a child.
Larry Goldings: I was very attuned to pop music of the time (late 70's, early 80's), some of which made a lasting impression, if only sub-consciously. Billy Joel was a big one. I think I was already aware that he was harmonically ahead of 1-4-5 based pop songs, and that attracted me. He's also a great melodist, and understands shape and form. I used to learn his songs by ear fairly early on, say 10 or 11 yrs old. I remember my brother and I listening to The Beatles, whom I now consider geniuses. I have vivid memories of my father playing tapes of Brahms symphonies in the car; this is something that stayed with me, definitely. Aside from that, there was a hell of a lot of crap that a kid listens to, but I would say that the most MELODIC "crap" I heard has probably stuck with me on some level, because a good melody makes a big impression.
AAJ: Were there any records that tipped your ears to jazz early on?
LG: Yes. Oscar Peterson 6- Live at Montreux, Miles Davis with Red Garland (some sort of "best of" thing), Stan Getz- The Dolphin (with the late Lou Levy), Dave McKenna- Giant Strides, Erroll Garner (my mom liked him), and Bill Evans at The Vanguard (this was a little later). These were the important early ones.
AAJ: Do you consider yourself a pianist who also plays organ or an organist who also plays piano?
LG: I consider myself a pianist-organist-keyboardist-composer, I guess.
AAJ: What spawned your interest in taking up the B-3 and who are some of the organists that have influenced you?
LG: A few seemingly unrelated experiences came into play. Early on, I had been trying to emulate the solo piano style of Dave McKenna, who walks his own bass lines better than anyone. When I was still in my early teens I used to play parties with a drummer friend of mine (Chad Fischer) playing piano with my right hand and a Korg synth with my left, walking bass lines. I got pretty good at that. I've only recently realized the direct relation between that experience and the present, where I'm playing organ. Simultaneously, I always loved Aretha Franklin, where organ was dominant, in particular, Billy Preston on "Bridge Over Troubled Water.ÃÂ That might have been the single track that inspired me to say, "I think I want to try that.ÃÂ I mean, it touched me, and it still does.
Shortly after that I was exposed to Wes Montgomery records featuring Mel Rhyne and later Jimmy Smith. But it wasn't until the late 80's, when I was living in New York, that by a fluke percussionist Leon Parker called me to play with him up at Augie's (now Smoke). His bass player had cancelled and Leon wanted me to walk bass lines. I found a slightly cruddy B3 sound on my DX7, and that was the beginning of a still ongoing career of SCHLEPPING crap from gig to gig. Thanks, Leon.
Aside from the influences I mentioned, I must name Larry Young, Shirley Scott, Chester Thompson, Joe Zawinul (not an organist, but he might as well be), and Jack McDuff.
AAJ: What were some of the early gigs that put you squarely on the New York scene?
LG: Clearly the first one was as ringleader for the Village Gate jam session every Sunday afternoon when I was 18 years old. I would play my own set with a trio and people would listen (sometimes) and then the army of tenor players would line up to play "Oleo" or "There Will Never Be Another You." But, it was a great experience for a while because people heard me, I met excellent musicians (some terrible ones, too), and gigs came out of it, and it was a chance to play.
Directly out of that experience I was hired to play solo piano there- at The Gate every Friday and Saturday from 6-10. I'm indebted to Raphael D'Lugoff for giving me that opportunity because it led to a lot of growth and it was great exposure.
The other gigs were at Augie's, which went through many transformations. The group with Bill [Stewart] and Peter [Bernstein] grew out of this. We also played frequently at The Village Gate, as did I in a piano trio.
AAJ: How did you hook up with Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart?
LG: I met Peter the summer of ÃÂ84 at a summer program for high school students at The Eastman School in Rochester. I met Bill later, through Pete.
AAJ: The Voodoo Dogs project was an interesting departure, any other plans to do more things along that line?
LG: Yes, I intend to experiment more and more in the studio to create something that is original, sonically satisfying, soulful, but not necessarily jazz. I'm tired of categories because my musical personality doesn't really fit into one, at least not anymore. I also intend to play more piano in the upcoming years.
AAJ: How about giving us some insight into As One?
LG: It features the same astounding players, Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart. I wrote some tunes that I'm pretty happy with and they come to life with this band. There are also some covers: Carla Bley's "CallsÃÂ (an eccentric blues where we take it a bit out), a Zombie's hit, ("Time of The Season," which we suited to our personalities), a tune by Bill called "Mynah" (Bill's a great writer, as is Peter), and an improvised solo organ piece called "Glass" where I tried to find some not so familiar sounds on the organ. I like this record. It's honest. And it's highly listenable. And it's recorded well.
AAJ: Well, Larry, thanks for taking the time to chat. Are there any other projects youÃÂd like to quickly mention before we go?
LG: I'm working with the organ trio in the spring (L.A.) and some other places, as well as this summer in Europe with the trio. As a sideman, I'm going to Brazil with John Pizzarelli (I'm playing piano) in May. As far as recordings, I'm playing piano on the upcoming Matt Wilson record, I'm playing piano on some of the new James Taylor record (now I'm just dropping names), and for whatever else, you can find it at my website: www.larrygoldings.com.
