July 31, 2008
Some LACO lovers may have met Alan Goldman at LACO concerts. Others may recognize him as the gracious host of Music & Conversations concerts; the audio-engineered music room in his lovely Mount Washington home has superb acoustics, and anyone who has experienced the exquisite music and warm hospitality of these environs is likely to remember the occasion. Music & Conversations, produced by Jane Brockman, is announcing its fourth season in 2008-9, with three Saturday concerts during the academic year. In 2007-8, its concerts included such imminent musicians as pianist Delores Stevens, violinists Ida Levin, Mark Menzies, and Alyssa Park, violist Evan Wilson, cellists Antonio Lysy, John Walz, and Tim Loo, saxophonist Doug Masek, and LACO’s own flutist Susan Greenberg, along with jazz musicians of the stature of pianists Alan Broadbent, Roger Kellaway, and Larry Karush, multi-reedman Billy Kerr, and bassist Putter Smith.
Still other LACO enthusiasts, members of Sound Investment, may recognize that Alan Goldman is the music aficionado who has hosted, in the same delightful room, Sound Investment meetings with composers commissioned to write music for LACO over the past several years. On three occasions during each year, these composers have met with investors to share the compositional process and provide a stepwise preview of each new composition from earliest conception to finished product.
Yet other LACO friends and fans may not recognize Alan Goldman at all.
But what none of these folks realize is that Alan Goldman is himself a musician of no small renown, perhaps a legend in his own mind. He has (almost) singlehandedly composed, written lyrics for, produced, performed, sung, recorded and marketed a CD containing 14 of his own songs. Music from this CD, The King of Romance, is available through Amazon.com and iTunes; you can hear samples of 13 of the songs here. Before sampling it, however, be advised that Alan told me, “I hope you’re still speaking to me after you hear that CD. Some people have deemed it slightly irreverent…” On the other hand, I also have Alan’s assurance that “it is supposed to be funny…”
And funny it is, not in the least what I expected from this gracious, proper, initially shy individual. Each tune features a somewhat off-kilter assumption, wry twist, or surprise ending; think Dave Frishberg or Bob Dorough with a dash of bitters. Titles include “The King of Romance,” “Things Are Never So Bad (They Can’t Get Worse),” “Margin Call,” “Rent Control Blues,” “Should I Take My Dress Off Now?” and “You Just Can’t Make This Sh_t Up,” among others.
When I say that Alan has created this CD “almost” singlehandedly, I am referring to the fact that, on two of the selections, Alan has the collaboration of a woman vocalist, Susan Stangl, MD. Dr. Stangl is retiring from UCLA this year, having taught in the Family Medicine Department for about 15 years. Alan says, “She made me promise [to aver] that ‘Great Relationship’ (‘We’d Have a Great Relationship’) was not about her.”
The CD was “years in the making,” according to Alan. “The saxophones and clarinet are real instruments” (and he plays them), “but I did everything else with a controller board and virtual instruments. I still had to play all the notes, but I didn’t have to bring in drums and strings and the Take Six vocal group. It was a riot learning to use all the virtual instruments like guitar, fiddle, bass, etc, and the piano and organ sounds worked fine, too. So [apart from Dr. Stangl] I’m the lone musician on the CD.”
“The whole thing is just a fun project for me, so I would love it if more people got to hear it and enjoy it. I think I need to publish some liner notes, though, so that people can understand the genesis of some of the material. Please feel free to share this stuff with all your friends.”
So, I’m sharing it with all of you. It’s not all jazz (in fact, the tunes are delightfully eclectic and touch on many musical genres), but a number of them are and are quite well played. For a non-professional, Alan’s voice is pleasant and his control is good; his delivery fits the mood of the music perfectly. And Alan’s mastery of the virtual orchestra is quite remarkable; sound quality is surprisingly good.
The LACO family is multi-faceted and multi-talented, and I’m tickled to provide you with examples that illustrate that variety.
3 comments
Excellent article on Alan Goldman. I've known Alan Goldman since we were teen musicians back in the St.Louis area. He has a genuine appreciation for the arts. When he invites you to play a duet, take him up on it. It's fun! His song that features the blender sfx in the background where the poor musician has to compete over the extraneous stuff that happens in clubs during a performance is the best! It's what we love and hate about the business. Alan is a true talent and has a great sense of humor! Wishing him much success on the release of his CD.
Rita Pardue, Owner
Angel Wings Productions
Los Angeles, CA
You go, Alan!
Alan was a fellow musician and great friend to my late husband for over 30 years. He was always richly talented, very irreverent, brilliantly sarcastic and an interested and interesting musician. He has entertained us with some of these songs over the years and I'm delighted they will now find a larger audience. You can't make this sh-- up!