Don Grolnick
Don Grolnick ( born September 23, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York City; † June 1, 1996 in New York City ) was an American jazz, fusion and pop pianist, keyboardist, composer and producer.
Life and work
Grolnick grew up in Levittown, New York and first started the accordion, but later switched to the piano. His interest in jazz was awakened by a Count Basie concert, took him to his father; shortly thereafter, he saw Erroll Garner at Carnegie Hall. He studied philosophy at Tufts University, but his interest in music remained. At university he met Michael Brecker; shortly thereafter he became a member of the fusion band Dreams, later he also worked with John Abercrombie ) and the funk-fusion band Brecker Brothers and Steps. He also dealt with pop music; 1974 began his long musical partnership with singer James Taylor, whose albums he produced. In the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most creative figures of the American studio scene with varied interests, from jazz and pop to South American music.
Don Grolnick worked during his career as a pianist and composer with artists such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, as well as jazz and fusion musicians Gato Barbieri, Billy Cobham, Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Eddie Gomez, Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, David Sanborn, Mike Stern, Bob Mintzer, Dave Holland and Steely Dan together. Particularly his role in John Scofield's album Still Warm ( Gramavision, 1985) stands out.
In addition, Grolnick took in the 1980s and 1990s a number of albums under his own name, among which his recordings stand out for the Blue Note label (Weaver of Dreams, 1989 and Nighttown, 1992), where except Mintzer, Erskine and the brothers Brecker still Steve Turre, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Marty Ehrlich participated. 1995 Grolnick was similarly cast on tour in England, recorded on the album The London Concert and appeared on Erskine's Fuzzy Music label.