The musician Larry Goldings recorded a piano trio performance when he played at the Los Angeles Club, Sam First , back in October of 2023. The Album, I Will, was released by Sam First Records on Valentine's Day February 14, 2025 and features Goldings on piano, Karl McComas-Reichl on upright bass and Christian Euan on drums. This "live" album was excellently recorded and a superb capture of Goldings at some of his most creative on piano. Careful listening of his piano work make clear that Goldings, despite his reign as one of the time's most revered player of electronic keyboards and particularly the B3 organ, is also one of the most eclectically inspired and harmonically imaginative piano minds of this era.
Larry Goldings, Karl McComas-Reichl, Christian Euman (photo credit unknown)
Interestingly, I last heard Larry Goldings within days of his recording of this album in Los Angeles back in October of 2023. In the performance I attended at Portland's 1905 jazz club, Goldings was on organ and playing with his excellent long-time organ trio mates Peter Bernstein on guitar and Bill Stewart on drums. The show was fantastic and for those who have an interest you can read that review by clicking here.
Goldings' has a sterling reputation as an innovative organ and keyboard master who has worked with such diverse artists as Rickie Lee Jones, Maceo Parker, James Taylor, Norah Jones, John Scofield and Steely Dan to name just a few. He developed his fascination with the organ from his additional interest in playing a walking, left-handed piano bass line, vis-à-vis his influence from the pianist Dave McKenna- with the man's facility to left-hand walking bass like no other.
I am familiar with Goldings' solo piano work from his excellent piano solo album from 2011, In My Room. Goldings' unique ability to mine such expressiveness from slightly obscure gems like Brian Wilson's beautifully reflective "In My Room," Rod Argent from the Zombie's haunting "A Rose for Emily," and even the well worn Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" among others are fertile material for the pianist to open up other musical revitalizing possibilities.
On I Will, Goldings has brought together another astute selection of songs that reinforce the artists eclectic taste in music. The album starts off with his own composition "Roach," which he reprised from his previous solo album In My Room. The song is a homage of sorts to the style of drummer icon Max Roach. In comparing the two versions, one can hear Goldings predominant left handed bass line that drives the song in the original recording. In the latest take, Goldings reintroduces this slightly skewed bluesy composition and opens with that groove, this time accentuated by what sounds like some creative abrasion of the cymbal rim by Euman for percussive effect. Goldings pianistic walking bas line is now reinforced by McComas-Reichl's probing upright bass and Euman's exploring percussion. The freedom of having this intuitive rhythm section carry the groove load seems to release the inventive Goldings to his own devices. He adds more dissonant surprises, adds interesting harmonic possibilities to his playing and adds rhythmic variations to spice things up. This version adds interesting embellishments by Goldings and creative accompaniment by his talented bandmates that make the set more adventurous, unpredictable and rewarding.
Goldings' chosen repertoire for this album is another peek into just how diverse this man's musical background has been, He takes Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" from the famous folk-opera "Porgy and Bess," and he and his trio use the melody almost like an artist uses a pencil sketch on empty canvas that is transformed into a colorful masterpiece. These guys have a symbiotic relationship and it is most clearly demonstrated on this particular performance. The communication is almost telepathic and the trio injects a modern perspective and some vital energy into this weathered classic. Goldings' Shearing-like block chording and his musical humor at the coda is a treat.
The Beatles' compositions, in this case a McCartney tune, "I Will", are often vehicles that Goldings uses to see what can be further crafted. On this one, the pianist almost broods over the fetching melody. He extracts meaning from the essence of the love song's message, always being there for someone. His piano bobs and weaves around the melody as his is conversationally accompanied by the buoyant bass of McComas-Reichl.
The repertoire continues to throw you a curve ball, this time with Mario Bausa's "Mambo Inn." Opening this one with Euman's syncopated drum work, the group creates a breezy flow that immediately brings your feet into the action as the Afro-Cuban rhythm unfolds. There is a joy in the pianist's hands and it is pure delight. Bassist McComas-Reichl offers a plucky, facile bass solo that resonates with authority. Euman is equally rhythmically engaged in creating this musical vacation to the tropics. Grab an umbrella drink and enjoy.
"Embraceable You," another number from Gershwin, is a song that Goldings reprised from his Awareness album released in 1996. That album matched Goldings on piano with bassist Larry Grenadier and the iconic drum legend Paul Motian. On this latest take, Goldings meanders at the intro, probing, establishing direction and determining the right time before introducing the recognizable melody. McComas-Reichl and Euman find equal time to explore the rhythmic and harmonic possibilities along with Larry, a little outside but never too far from the structure of the music. Goldings' pianistic approach is like a wellspring of variations that he creates on stage and in real time and he has the chops to pull off anything that his mind can percolate. His music has an inherently organic feel to it, and his audience at Sam First were rewarded by his unfettered imagination.
"Jasus Was A Cross Maker" is a composition by singer/songwriter Judee Sill from back in 1971. The song was inspired by Sill having read a fictionized novel about Jesus being a carpenter who built crosses that the Roman's used for crucifixions. Despite the preposterous storyline the music has an Americana feel to it with Goldings using a honky-tonk-like piano approach that delves into a gospel influenced sound to great effect. McComas-Reichl offers an inventive bass solo that seems to support the redemptive aspects of the music.
Goldings preferences on music can sometimes include his love of pop and showtime music. On Leonard Bernstein's uplifting "Somewhere" from the maestro's musical hit West Side Story is wonderfully portrayed by the trio. There is pathos and hope in this music. Goldings mines the emotional aspects of this fetching tale with some gorgeous ornamentation and dramatic chordal work in his playing.
The closing composition is a Goldings' original titled "Sing Song." The music has a repeating, simple, sing-song melody that evokes a child-like fairy tale theme quality. But Goldings is also a humorist, just ask his alter-ego "Hans Groiner," an Austrian musicologist that sometimes raises his head at some of Goldings' appearances. The approach to this music is a bit misleading. Like the master of hip humor Thelonious Monk, who used to add his tongue-in-cheek lines to songs like his "Boo Boo's Birthday" or his "Little Rootie Tootie," Goldings is equally adept at inserting humorous lines into complex musical compositions. First with the repeating, simple melody, then he slowly reveals his skills as he builds a dynamic, multi-layered composition that is anything but pedestrian. The audience loves being let in on this inside joke.
I Will is the kind of album that really engages the listener. If you spend the time to really listen, you will be rewarded on multiple levels by the magical pianist's incredible inventiveness and joy.
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