Larry Goldings: Learning To Breathe

By Allen Morrison I Sep. 4, 2024

“Just because I’m at the organ doesn’t mean I have to fall into the predictable traditional approach to the instrument,” says Goldings.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)

A funny thing happened to Larry Goldings on his way to pursuing a career as a jazz pianist: He became a jazz organ master.

He has “an arranging/orchestrational talent that is all his own,” according to Brad Mehldau, who also cites his “multidimensional sense of harmony.” Producer Larry Klein cites his humor, lyricism and “exceptional intuition.” Guitar icon John Scofield thinks Goldings is “the greatest comp-er, and I’m picky! I love playing with him.”

Goldings, 55, has played Hammond B-3 organ in the Goldings/Bernstein/Stewart trio for the last 30 years with his partners guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart. As their quirky groove-making and expansive repertoire has attracted a growing legion of international fans, especially in the U.S. and Europe, Goldings has often finished in the top three in the organ category of both the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls. But this is his first Critics Poll win. (For a full profile of Goldings, see “Larry Goldings: The Variety of Fun,” January 2024.)

The trio purveys a brand of hard-bop taken to the nth degree, bluesy but restlessly novel, hard-driving but subtle and intense, reaching beyond the time-honored clichés of the genre.

Goldings has also been increasingly recognized as one of the most versatile (if underappreciated) pianists around, as well as an A-list sideman to pop icons like James Taylor, John Mayer and, recently, Steely Dan, after the untimely passing of longtime keyboardist Jim Beard — not to mention his frequent forays into jazz comedy as his alter egos Austrian musicologist “Hans Groiner” and “The Guy with the Gig.”

Goldings recently chatted about his first Critics Poll win.

“There are a lot of great players out there, so I was very flattered,” he said. “I’m lucky that I’m still in people’s minds, that I can pick and choose the projects I’m on and play with the greatest players. And, of course, I instantly thought about Joey DeFrancesco. It made me sad all over again to think about that loss. He was one of the greats.”

Goldings had known DeFrancesco for years and even played side-by-side with him occasionally at festivals. He cited Joey’s deep knowledge of a particular style of organ playing, which he sums up as “the Jimmy Smith approach. But I also heard him play with John McLaughlin and other players, which made it apparent how sophisticated his ears were. He could play in multiple styles. He was kind enough to play me on his SiriusXM radio show — and wrote to me afterward to let me know.”

Goldings mused about their differences in style. “I think my interests may have been a little more out front and varied than Joey’s, who concentrated on a certain tradition and did it better than anybody. Whereas I’m coming at it from a bunch of different angles. … With the trio, we might play something that’s completely free.

“I remember I was playing in Trio Beyond with Jack DeJohnette and John Scofield (circa 2004), and Jack said to me one day, ‘You know, Larry, you don’t always have to walk the bass. You can do something else.’ And I love this idea that just because I’m at the organ doesn’t mean I have to fall into the predictable traditional approach to the instrument. There was something very freeing about Jack saying that. … Just listen and react, and find something different on the instrument. That’s kind of how I think more and more at the organ.”

One thing that distinguished Goldings’ development as an organ player was that he didn’t start on the Hammond. His love of synths led him to play various keyboards that had organ sounds.

“That’s how I developed as an organ player initially. Playing without pedals, not even worrying about it, but really concentrating on the musical quality and the feel on the left hand. That was an extension of my early obsession with Dave McKenna, because Dave was a great solo pianist, particularly. He played walking bass lines, and I just loved that. And that’s probably what led me into playing the organ, my interest in walking bass lines.”

He was gratified by the reaction to the G/B/S Trio’s recent European tour. “We don’t play the biggest venues — it’s more clubs than halls. But wherever we play it seems we have a strong audience, including more and more young adults in their 20s. Sometimes people come up to me and say, ‘We started our own organ trio because of you guys.’”

Has he ever thought about adding some piano tunes to the trio with Bernstein and Stewart? “It’s funny you ask, because we used to,” he said. “It’s been years since I put it in the rider to have a piano there, too. When we used to play (L.A.’s) Jazz Bakery, I used to go over to the piano and play a duet with Peter or a solo piece. But, on that note, I do have an L.A. piano trio with bassist Karl McComas-Reichl and drummer Christian Euman.”

A record of that trio is tentatively scheduled for release in fall 2025. DB