June 2011

Dave Grusin – Jazz’s Definition of Achievement and Vision

Jazz great Dave Grusin boasts a career that spans over 50 years and encompasses virtually every aspect of the music industry.   He is a renowned composer, performer, arranger, director and recording executive.  The volume of work for which he is responsible is simply staggering, but factor in the quality and versatility of his music, and it adds up to nothing less than phenomenal.

Grusin was born to musical parents in 1934.  He grew up in Littleton, Colorado where he lived with his parents and younger brother Don; who became a successful musician in his own right.  Music was a focal point in the Grusin household, and the brothers were well versed in a wide range of classical music and what Dave Grusin referred to as the “literature of great orchestration.”   He took piano lessons for a few years as a child and then off and on as a teen.  When it came time for college, Grusin did not initially intend to pursue a degree in music but did eventually decide to enroll at the University of Colorado as a piano major.  It turned out to be the ideal beginning for the extraordinary career waiting just around the corner.

It was during his college years that he began to really discover the world of jazz.  He was listening to the great performers of the time, artists such as, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Shorty Rogers, and Dave Brubeck.  He also performed with local bands during this time and even had the opportunity to work with saxman Spike Robinson and singer Anita O’Day.  After graduating college, he found his way to New York City where he intended to pursue a graduate degree in music.  However, fate sent him in another direction when a friend from college advised him that singer Andy Williams was looking for an accompanist, and Grusin auditioned.  Williams knew a good thing when he heard it and hired the talented young pianist immediately.  What started out as a two- week commitment gradually turned into years and ultimately resulted in the relatively inexperienced Grusin becoming musical director for the Andy Williams Show.

The job of music director for a weekly network variety program was very demanding.  New music and arrangements were required every week.  For Grusin, it became a sort of laboratory where he could experiment and refine his skill.  Not only did Grusin excel in his job, he also pursued his personal musical interests and released three jazz albums of his own during his years with Williams. These were Subways are for Sleeping, Piano, Strings and Moonlight, and Kaleidoscope.  As if these weren’t accomplishment enough, a new idea was growing inside the mind of the budding legend, and in 1964, he left his job with Williams to explore new musical ventures.

Grusin had long been an admirer of Henry Mancini and Andre Previn and was anxious to try his hand at composing for motion pictures.   He found initial success composing for television series such as “The Wild Wild West” and “Gidget,” but his big break into Hollywood came from Norman Lear, who decided to hire the up and coming Grusin to write the score for his new motion picture, “Divorce American Style”.  Grusin has since composed the score for over 30 motion pictures with such titles to his credit as “Reds,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “Hope Floats ,““The Champ,” and “Bonfire of the Vanities” to name just a few, earning several Academy Award nominations along the way.  What is certainly some of his most acclaimed work is found in his compositions for “On Golden Pond,” and his ambitious exclusively piano score for “The Firm,” where Grusin served as the pianist for the project as well as composer.  His work in “Tootsie” and the heavily jazz-laced “The Fabulous Baker Boys” are also exceptional achievements as is “The Milagro Beanfield War” for which he won a much deserved Academy Award.

In 1972, Grusin’s already impressive career took another turn when he was contacted by his old friend from the Andy Williams show, Larry Rosen, to do some arrangements for an album he was producing for singer Jon Lucien.  Their collaboration was successful, and they worked together again on similar projects over the next few years.  The long- time friends began to discuss starting their own production company.  Grusin had begun to feel a little confined by his motion picture work.  The style and scope of his music were often dictated by others, and he was looking for an outlet where he could explore his own creativity without constraints.  So, when Grusin was approached to do some arranging for new talent Earl Klugh, he agreed to the project, and then proposed that he and Larry Rosen also produce the album.  A deal was reached, and Earl Klugh became the first client of the brand new production team GRP.

They were soon producing for artists such as violinist Noel Pointer, singer Patti Austin and guitarist Lee Ritenour.  Soon, a record deal with Polydor was made for Grusin himself.  But the duo was not entirely pleased with their lack of control once their projects completed the production phase.  They were particularly unhappy with the post production treatment Grusin’s own album, One of a Kind, was getting from Polydor.  Fortunately, they were able to make a deal with Clive Davis to work in conjunction with Arista records, and GRP productions became the Arista-GRP label.   The partners were subsequently able to buy the master of One of a Kind back from their former label, and it was released under the Arista-GRP banner.

Many artists breaking into contemporary jazz  found a home with  Arista- GRP, and the  label quickly claimed an impressive collection of artists such as  Tom Browne (whose album Funkin’ for Jamaica went gold)  Bernard Wright, and Jay Hoggard to its credit.  The label possessed a sound that was unique, and its effect on the jazz and fusion world is undeniable.  GRP’s contract with Arista ended in 1982, and Rosen and Grusin decided the time had come for their label to become independent.  The pair had been interested in new digital technologies for a number of years, but while contracted with Arista, they had not had the freedom to pursue these superior recording methods.   Their own independent label offered the advantage of purse strings which would be entirely in Grusin and Rosen’s control. They wanted the freedom to make the records they chose to make, and they also wanted to use the best technology possible to make them.

Both men believed strongly in digital technology even when the heavy hitters of the industry were invested in analog.  Grusin and Rosen believed that their small independent label was primed for the coming digital wave, and the pair resolved that GRP would release its material on CD.  They were sure that the jazz devotees to whom they catered would notice and embrace the vast improvement in sound.  They were absolutely right.  Sales the first year were impressive and continued to rise, and their catalog of jazz and fusion stars increased as well.  GRP was sold in 1990, but the pair continued to run the label until 1995.  One of the most significant things they did during this time was to rerelease, on CD, music from artists like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Coltrane, enabling a whole new generation of music lovers access to high quality recordings of these jazz icons.

Grusin has stayed predictably busy in the years since he left GRP.  A sampling of his post-GRP projects includes a Grammy for his work on James Taylor’s October Road ,and he has released two albums with Lee Ritenour.   He released Now Playing in 2004, his first solo acoustic piano album in decades.  He has also done concert arrangements for celebrated soprano Renee Fleming and made an album with his brother Don Grusin.   His beautiful score for HBO’s “Dinner with Friends” garnered him another Grammy nomination.

In 2010, fans were delighted with the release of the live album An Evening with Dave Grusin.  He is also appearing live with Lee Ritenour in the summer of 2011.

It certainly seems that Grusin has no intention of quitting the world of music any time soon, and we look forward to his continued presence.  We anxiously await any new contribution from this living legend. – Annette Olsen