Results for "Gordon Goodwin"

Musician

Gordon Goodwin

Born: December 30, 1954

Even for a successful composer and arranger in Hollywood, Gordon Goodwin’s numbers are impressive: A 2006 GRAMMY Award for his Instrumental Arrangement of “Incredits” from the Pixar film The Incredibles, three Emmy Awards, and thirteen GRAMMY nominations.

Here’s another impressive number to add to the list: eighteen. As in the number of musicians in Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, one of the most exciting large jazz ensembles on the planet. Populated by L.A.’s finest players, the Big Phat Band takes the big band tradition into the new millennium with a contemporary, highly original sound featuring Goodwin’s witty, intricate, and hard-swinging compositions in a veritable grab bag of styles: swing, Latin, blues, classical, rock and more.

Video

Hit the Ground Running

Featuring the music of Gordon Goodwin
Duration: 06:32
January 18, 2026

Listening to Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band is like opening a cool birthday gift – it’s wrapped shiny on the outside, with just enough rattle when you shake it, and you want to play with it for hours. In terms of "shiny," Goodwin’s 18-piece big band tends to explode from beat one. They combine traditional, up-tempo swing feels with funk, R&B and rock beats. The "rattling" inside comprises the technically demanding runs and sweet solos highlighted in his pieces. Finally, the band’s four Grammy awards and 20 nominations testify to the lasting power of the big phat sound. Goodwin was also known for collaboration with many giants in jazz, his efforts in jazz education, scores for film and daytime animation TV, and his funky sound on keyboards and sax. He passed away on December 8, 2025.

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Remembrance 2025, part II: Gordon Goodwin, Al Foster, Jack DeJohnette, Hal Galper & Ray Drummond

by Larry Slater
January 9, 2026

This is the second installment of a tribute to jazz masters who left us in 2025.The composer, arranger, pianist and bandleader Gordon Goodwin lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in December of 2025, just shy of his 71st birthday. Goodwin's Big Phat Band, an 18-member ensemble consisting of some of L.A.'s finest jazz musicians, ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Holiday Music By Nicole Zuraitis, Darius de Haas, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Maud Hixson, New Releases From Jeff Dingler, Sacha Boutros & More

by Mary Foster Conklin
December 29, 2025

This broadcast celebrates Winter Solstice with holiday music from Nicole Zuraitis, Darius de Haas, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Maud Hixson and new releases from Jeff Dingler and Sacha Boutros, plus birthday shoutouts to Edith Piaf, Susie Arioli, Jamile and Kerry Politzer, among others. Happy listening and please support the artists you hear--see them live, buy their music so ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Improvising the Classics: Interpreting Mozart

by Larry Slater
December 12, 2025

Mozart is one of those true musical geniuses revered as one the classical gods. Why are jazz musicians drawn to his music? The combination of his deceptively simple melodies and logical harmonic progressions allows jazz artists to mold these classic pieces into music that is recognizably jazz, yet still recognizably Mozart. Whether ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band, Carmen Bradford, Michika Fukumori, Jonathan Karrant, Franck Amsallem Trio & More

by Mary Foster Conklin
September 29, 2025

This broadcast includes new releases from The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band, Carmen Bradford, Michika Fukumori, Jonathan Karrant and Franck Amsallem, with birthday shoutouts to Jazz Foremother Lovie Austin, Vi Redd, Marlena Shaw, Emily Remler, Catherine Russell, Kait Dunton and Wesla Whitfield, among others, with remembrances for Joyce Breach and Akiko Tsuruga. Happy listening and ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Enrique Thompson, Artemis, and Mehmet Ali Sanlikol

by Jerome Wilson
May 28, 2025

This wide-ranging program of modern jazz features work from Enrique Thompson, Gerry Gibbs, Artemis, Marc Ribot, Houston Person, and Mehmet Ali Sanlikol. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextet “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Houston Person “Minton's" from The Melody Lingers ...

Album

Aim High/The 2024 Jazz Heritage Series

By The Airmen of Note

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2024
Track listing: Don’t Blink; Second Chances; Hunting Wabbits; A Mother’s Cry; Darr Niles; Woman Child; Hey Lalo!; Waltz for My Fathers and Brothers; Things to Come.

Article: Album Review

USAF Airmen of Note: Aim High/The 2024 Jazz Heritage Series

by Jack Bowers
November 15, 2024

Aim High, recorded as part of the 2024 Jazz Heritage Series, is the forty-sixth album by the U.S. armed services' premier jazz ensemble, the Airmen of Note, founded in 1950 to honor the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band, which entertained the troops during World War II until Miller's untimely death in ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Lakecia Benjamin, Bobby Naughton, and Raymond Scott

by Jerome Wilson
September 4, 2024

This show features some reimaginings, Lakecia Benjamin reworking her own music, and two contemporary groups revisiting Raymond Scott's novelty pieces. The program also contains work by Bobby Naughton, Josh Berman, and Lena Bloch, among others. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of ...