Big Band music returns to Centrum October 26, as celebrated big band leader Gordon Goodwin leads the participants from Centrum’s Jazz Big Band Intensive in a high-energy concert at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park.
This concert will be the culmination of a 3-day big band workshop led by Gordon and attended by 18 dedicated jazz musicians from around the Northwest. They’ll be playing a full program of Gordon’s music, which is known for its wit, variety and originality.
Goodwin won a GRAMMY Award for his arrangement of ‘Incredits’ from the Pixar film The Incredibles, Gordon has also enjoyed twelve more Grammy nominations and picked up three Emmy Awards.
Legendary composer and big band leader Johnny Mandel says of Goodwin: “Gordon Goodwin has extended the possibilities of all the different kinds of music (all good) that can be played by a big band.”
A keyboardist and woodwind player, Goodwin has built a larger-than-life reputation throughout the music industry for his composing, arranging and playing skills. Ray Charles, Christina Aguilera, Johnny Mathis, Toni Braxton, John Williams, Natalie Cole, David Foster, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, Brian McKnight and Quincy Jones are just a few of the artists with whom he has worked. Goodwin has also conducted world-renowned symphony orchestras in Atlanta, Dallas, Utah, Seattle, Toronto and London.
Goodwin’s cinematic scoring and orchestration craft can be heard on such films as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Escape to Witch Mountain, Get Smart, Glory Road, National Treasure, The Incredibles, Remember The Titans, Armageddon, The Majestic, Con Air, Gone In 60 Seconds, Enemy of the State, Star Trek Nemesis and even the classic cult film Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes. Goodwin’s soundtrack to Looney Tunes’ Bah HumDuck! – a wacky Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck riff on the classic A Christmas Carol – also features the Big Phat Band’s patented sound.
JazzReview.com has a great interview with Gordon that we recommend.