Jerry Goodman
Jerry Goodman (born March 16, 1949) is an American violinist known for playing electric violin with The Flock and the jazz fusion ensemble Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Jerry Goodman was born on March 16, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were both members of the string section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and his uncle was the noted composer and jazz pianist Marty Rubenstein. Jerry was trained in a conservatory before he began his musical career as The Flock's roadie and subsequently as a violinist.
After his 1971 appearance on John McLaughlin's album My Goal's Beyond, he became a member of McLaughlin's original Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup until the band broke up in 1973, and was viewed as a soloist of equal virtuosity to McLaughlin, keyboardist Jan Hammer and drummer Billy Cobham.
In 1974, after Mahavishnu, Goodman released the album Like Children with Mahavishnu keyboard alumnus Jan Hammer. Starting in 1985 he recorded three solo albums for Private Music -- On the Future of Aviation, Ariel, and the live album It's Alive with collaborators including Fred Simon and Jim Hines—and went on tour with his own band, as well as with Shadowfax and The Dixie Dregs. He scored Lily Tomlin's The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and is the featured violinist on numerous film soundtracks, including Billy Crystal's Mr. Saturday Night and Steve Martin's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. His violin can be heard on more than fifty albums from artists ranging from Toots Thielemans to Hall & Oates to Styx to Jordan Rudess to Choking Ghost to Derek Sherinian. Goodman has appeared on four of Sherinian's solo records - Inertia (2001), Black Utopia (2003), Mythology (2004), and Blood of the Snake (2006)
In 1993, Goodman joined the American instrumental band, The Dixie Dregs, fronted by guitarist Steve Morse. Goodman appeared on one studio recording Full Circle (1994), and the live album "California Screamin'" (2000). In 1996 Session violist and producer Ray Tischer featured Goodman on the award-winning CD Canciones del Sol/Britt Bossa Orchestra (band) on Tischer's original instrumental Toca del Angel.
After an absence from the public eye in live concert, he toured in 2004 and 2005 with Gary Husband in his group Gary Husband’s Force Majeure, and appeared on the DVD Gary Husband's Force Majeure - Live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Even more recently, he played with the San Diego-based fusion group Hectic Watermelon and with Dream Theater in their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings. Goodman has also been a part of Billy Cobham's Spectrum 40 tour.
As leader
1985 - On the Future of Aviation
1986 - Ariel
1987 - It's Alive
2016 - Violin Fantasy
With The Flock
1969 - The Flock
1970 - Dinosaur Swamps
With Mahavishnu Orchestra 1971–1974: First incarnation: Jerry Goodman, John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, Rick Laird, Billy Cobham
1971 - The Inner Mounting Flame
1973 - Birds of Fire
1973 - Between Nothingness and Eternity
1980 - The Best of Mahavishnu Orchestra
1999 - The Lost Trident Sessions
2011 - Unreleased Tracks from Between Nothingness & Eternity
With Jan Hammer
1974 - Like Children
With John McLaughlin
1971 - My Goal's Beyond
1979 - Electric Guitarist
With Dixie Dregs
1994 - Full Circle
2000 - California Screamin'
With Howard Levy, Oteil Burbridge, and Steve Smith
1999 - The Stranger's Hand
As a guest artist
1992 - Dave Uhrich by Dave Uhrich
1994 - Fret-no-tized by Dave Uhrich
1994 - El nervio del volcán by Caifanes
1995 - Canciones del Sol violinist Ray Tischer's the Britt Bossa Orchestra
1998 - Standing 8 with Choking Ghost
1999 - Encores, Legends & Paradox, A Tribute To The Music OF ELP - Various Artists - (Jerry Goodman, Peter Banks, Igor Khoroshev, John Wetton, Simon Phillips, Robert Berry, Marc Bonilla, Jordan Rudess) Magna Carta – MAX-9026-2
1999 - Brave New World by Styx
2001 - Amazing Ordinary Things by Anne McCue
2005 - Visions Of An Inner Mounting Apocalypse: A Fusion Guitar Tribute - Tone Center – TC 40402
2007 - School of the Arts – School of the Arts (featuring T Lavitz, Steve Morse, Frank Gambale, Dave Weckl, John Patitucci) Goodman contributes violin work on 3 tracks, "No Time Flat" "Like This" and "Dinosaur Dance"
2009 - Black Clouds & Silver Linings by Dream Theater
2009 - A Tribute To Zbigniew Seifert - Jarek Śmietana Band (featuring Mateusz Smoczyński, Didier Lockwood, Krzesimir Dębski, Christian Howes, Mark Feldman, Maciej Strzelczyk, Adam Bałdych, Pierre Blanchard: JSR Records – JSR 0011)
2018 - Night Manager - Strat Andriotis
2019 - 1000 Hands: Chapter One - Jon Anderson
2020 - Remember Me At Twilight - Strat Andriotis
2021 - Path To Light - Denis Krupin
Jerry Goodman with the Mahavishnu Orchestra - "You Know You Know" on YouTube
Jerry Goodman with The Flock (Duet, 1970) on YouTube
Jerry Goodman with the Dixie Dregs on YouTube
Video introduction from Jerry Goodman website on YouTube
L.A. Underscore with Jerry Goodman on YouTube
Mahavishnu Orchestra The Inner Mounting Flame CD booklet
Mahavishnu Orchestra The Lost Trident Sessions CD booklet
All Music Guide to Jerry Goodman
2010 interview with Jerry Goodman on Prog Sphere
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