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Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Gordon Goodwin knows that accolades can’t make his music better or worse.
(Photo: Joe Meyer)“It’s a musical outlet for me,” Bergeron said. “It’s a place for me to go explore the extremes of what I can do, within the music and the stylistic differences of the writing, compared to what I do at work every day. I go in to work and sometimes I get to use these skills, but most of the time I don’t.”
He continued, “Most of the time, it’s just music by the pound and I just play some notes. That’s my day job. My fun stuff is doing Gordon’s band. I love the music, and I believe in the music. That’s why I continue to do it.”
Goodwin is a wearer of many hats—pianist, saxophonist, bandleader, promoter, businessman—but has won his greatest acclaim as an arranger and a composer. He arranged the music for a new Christmas album by Frozen star Idina Menzel, and he recently arranged and orchestrated the score for the live-action version of Disney’s The Lion King. Thanks to his contributions, Goodwin’s fingerprints are quite visible on the soundtracks for two landmark animated movies: The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018). The films’ spy-jazz motifs were composed by Michael Giacchino and brought to life by Phat Band players, including Bergeron.
One of the tracks on The Gordian Knot, “The Incredibles,” moves Giacchino’s writing even further into Phat Band territory. The track is representative of the new album as a whole, in that it illustrates Goodwin’s consummation of his dual roles of commercial scorer and big band arranger. It’s harder than ever to distinguish between those two things on the new album. The title track adds a string orchestra, moving seamlessly between the two entities like a new Third Stream that might please the ghosts of Gunther Schuller and Leonard Bernstein. It’s a step beyond Goodwin’s earlier “jazzification” of classical themes, like Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue” and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, creating an entirely new hybrid vehicle with elements of both classical and jazz.
Another track, “Deja Moo,” pays tribute to two American inspirations, Aaron Copland and county & western music, à la “Hoe-Down.” Synowiec’s guitar work manages to capture the intricacies of the Copeland-esque themes, shifting gracefully into improvising over changes while never losing the twangy affectations of a seasoned blues guitarist. (The remarkably versatile Synowiec has recorded with Marc Anthony, Barbra Streisand and The Who.)
Goodwin also salutes Buddy Rich with a 10-minute piece he wrote in 2017 in honor of the legendary drummer/bandleader’s 100th birthday. “The Buddy Complex” is a mash-up of some of the Buddy Rich Big Band’s most memorable themes, including the Channel One Suite and Bill Reddie’s iconic West Side Story arrangement.
Goodwin, who cites Rich’s band as a major influence, recounted meeting the drummer as a young man. “He threw me out of Disneyland once,” he said, describing how he and his friends went to see the Buddy Rich Big Band at Carnation Plaza. From the stage, Rich caught them rolling their eyes in disappointment for not playing some new arrangements. Goodwin recalled, “He played a long drum solo, an amazing drum solo, and he came over after the set, and he grabs my friend by the shirt and says, ‘Did you learn something? Did you learn something?’”
While Goodwin might borrow musical elements from Rich, he certainly hasn’t emulated his hero’s mercurial personality, or his penchant for colorfully worded reprimands. Axt recognizes Goodwin’s ongoing humility and appreciation for his players, noting the rise in morale “when you have a leader who’s so sincere in expressing the gratitude for what the players give him. ... Gordon’s really conscientious about that.”
“I have a pretty positive worldview,” Goodwin intimated. “I’ve been able to retain my gratitude that I can do [this]. That’s why the music is always a little optimistic-sounding. Tempos are a little bit brighter. Harmonies and different things that convey those emotions are more on the proactive side than a dirge or a comment on the woes of our culture.”
Pushing back on negativity has been something Goodwin has had to do in response to critics of his large ensemble. Online discussions and comments reveal a few pointed criticisms of the Big Phat Band, accusing them of being too showy, too sterile, too produced, too “studio” and even too white. (There are several Latino players in the band, but currently no African Americans, Asian Americans or women in the lineup. However, female singer Vangie Gunn contributes vocals to the standard “Summertime” on the new album.) Regarding the issues of identity politics, Goodwin would prefer not to get into it at all. “I just wish that would happen in culture, as a rule, is that we don’t define ourselves by our tribes as much as we do,” he said. “I don’t have to identify myself as a male, or as a white guy, or as ‘this kind of musician,’ or by my age ... it all goes into who I am. But that’s a bit of an uphill climb these days.”
This non-tribal attitude is reflected in Goodwin’s writing. The genre-shifting that some find jarring is an indelible part of the bandleader’s aesthetic, and is vigorously defended by the musicians. “I think it will go down [in history] as one of the most eclectic, exploratory bands, in terms of stylistic range,” Axt said. “In terms of the level of execution, I honestly think that they’ve established the gold standard.”
“Gordon’s writing stretches the bounds of what a big band can do,” Bergeron said. “A jazz purist might look at some things we do and go, ‘That’s not jazz.’ Well, how can you say that? It’s all really jazz. If you listen to Mahler, you hear jazz chords. Not all jazz goes ding-ding-da-ding.”
Both Bergeron and Axt agree that the Phat Band operates like a well-oiled machine. “As a lead trumpet player,” Bergeron said, “it’s like driving a Rolls Royce. You don’t have to think about much, you just do it. Everything works.”
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