Actor, jazz pianist and band leader Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra release Still Blooming on April 25.
Still Blooming, Goldblum’s fourth release with Decca Records and Verve Records in the US, offers a tasteful curation of beloved jazz standards from both the Golden Era of Broadway and the Great American Songbook. These collaborations underscore a delicious link between jazz and pop culture.
Goldblum, a Pittsburgh, PA native, spoke recently to WBGO's Doug Doyle about his Pittsburgh roots, the new album and his amazing career.
"You were raised in Pittsburgh. I was raised in Pittsburgh, behind you is that Clemente jersey. I saw Robert Clemente play at Forbes Field believe it or not, boy was he something. The Steelers, my heart goes up and down with every snap. I'm following the offseason with trepidation and bated breath, but we'll see what happens. With Still Blooming, we got some Pittsburgh stuff going on there because we do a tune by Sonny Clark, who is from Pittsburgh."
Goldblum plays the piano beautifully "The Best is Yet to Come" which the first single released from Still Blooming. The tune perhaps most famously recorded by Frank Sinatra accompanied by Count Basie, featured the vocals of Academy Award-nominated actress and singer Scarlett Johansson. Johansson met Goldberg when she was a young girl and eventually would co-star with him in a couple of films including Asteroid City. It was during the filming of that movie that the subject of performing together on the new Goldblum album.
"I said you sing fantastically. She said I'll sing something with your band. She said let's do "The Best is Yet to Come" in a bossa nova style. I said that's a great idea. So we, guitarist Alex Frank and bassist Joe Bagg, worked it up. I'm crazy about that track. There's nobody's voice like hers. You know it's her immediately. It's intelligent, talented, mystical, romantic and sensual."
Goldblum, who portrays the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the recently released Wicked movie, has become great friends with his co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. His great respect for Grande and Erivo resulted in the mega stars joining him on Still Blooming. Goldblum opens the record featuring the incandescent artistry and phenomenal range of Grande with "I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)." Tony Award winner and Academy Award-nominated Cynthia Erivo infuses the wartime-era classic "We’ll Meet Again" with her emotion, hope, and truth. Goldblum admits he gets choked up just talking about the new "Glinda" and "Elphaba" in Wicked.
"First of all, I've got a creative crush on both of them. Their 8th degree Black Belt Masters of the craft of music and singing, the gift they have in their throats and bodies and the sounds they are able to make and they way they're able to act those songs just kills me. Ariana is just so funny, brilliant and deep in that part. Cynthia's character is complicated, very beautiful and nuanced. They are just out of this world."
The second part of the movie titled Wicked for Good will be released on November 21 of this year.
Goldberg got the opportunity to sing in Wicked, performing the short but emotional tune "Sentimental Man". The versatile actor also sings on Still Blooming. He graces us with his version of the classic “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.”
"I love that song. I loved the chord changes and the melody. A lot of people have done that song. We try to pick something that we can contribute to the ongoing evolution of these songs."
The Wizard isn't done yet. The second part of the movie titled Wicked for Good will be released on November 21 of this year.
Meanwhile, the collaborations continue on Still Blooming with Maiya Sykes, a veteran of everything from swing to soul, taking the jazz standard "Stella By Starlight" to another level with her improvisational scat stylings.
Jeff Goldblum. fresh of playing the Greek God "Zeus" in the Netflix series KAOS, is best known for his roles in the Big Chill, The Fly, and playing Dr. Ian Malcom in the Jurassic Park movies.
Jeff Goldblum will perform at Cafe Carlisle in New York City in late May.
