Dave Grusin
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Robert David Grusin (born June 26,Template:Efn 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, including an Academy Award and 10 Grammy Awards. Grusin was also a frequent collaborator with director Sydney Pollack, scoring many of his films like Three Days of the Condor (1975), Absence of Malice (1981), Tootsie (1982), The Firm (1993), and Random Hearts (1999). In 1978, Grusin founded GRP Records with Larry Rosen, and was an early pioneer of digital recording.<ref name="Blim"/><ref name="Adams"/><ref name="GA">Template:Cite web</ref>
Early life
Grusin was born in Littleton, Colorado, to Henri and Rosabelle (née de Poyster) Grusin. His family originates from the Gruzinsky princely line of the Bagrationi dynasty, the royal family that ruled the Kingdom of Georgia in the ninth to 19th centuries. In Slavic languages, "Grusin" is an ethnonym for Georgians. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Grusin's father, Henri, was a violinist of Jewish ancestry who was born and raised in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire, from where he emigrated to the United States in 1913.<ref>Template:Cite web High Fidelity, vol. 27 (1977), n° 7, p. 27.</ref> Grusin's mother, Rosabelle, was a pianist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is the older brother of fellow jazz keyboardist, composer, and producer Don Grusin.
Grusin studied music at the University of Colorado at Boulder and graduated in 1956.<ref name=amrc>Template:Cite web</ref> His teachers included Cecil Effinger, and Wayne Scott, a pianist, arranger, and professor of jazz.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Grusin produced his first single in 1962, "Subways Are for Sleeping", and his first film score, for Divorce American Style, in 1967. Other scores followed, including The Graduate (1967), Winning (1969), The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), The Midnight Man (1974), and Three Days of the Condor (1975).<ref name=amrc/>
In 1978, Grusin founded GRP Records with his business partner Larry Rosen, and began producing some of the first commercial digital recordings. Grusin was the composer for On Golden Pond (1981), Tootsie (1982), and The Goonies (1985). In 1988, he won the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Milagro Beanfield War. Grusin composed the musical signatures for the 1984 TriStar Pictures logo (which was credited at the end of Look Who's Talking Too) and the 1993 Columbia Pictures Television logo.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 1998, Grusin ranked #5 and #8 on BillboardTemplate:'s Top 10 Jazz Artists, at mid-year and at year's end, respectively, based on sales of his album "Dave Grusin Presents West Side Story."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
From 2000–11, Grusin concentrated on classical and jazz compositions, touring and recording with collaborators including jazz singer and lyricist Lorraine Feather<ref name=nyt>Template:Cite news</ref> and guitarist Lee Ritenour. Their album Harlequin won a Grammy Award in 1985. Their classical crossover albums, Two Worlds and Amparo, were nominated for Grammys.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Grusin has a filmography of about 100 titles. His many awards include an Oscar for best original score for The Milagro Beanfield War, as well as Oscar nominations for The Champ, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Firm, Havana, Heaven Can Wait, and On Golden Pond.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Grusin received a Best Original Song nomination for "It Might Be You" from the film Tootsie. Six of the 14 cuts on the soundtrack from The Graduate are his. Other film scores Grusin has composed include Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?, Three Days of the Condor, The Goonies, Tequila Sunrise, Hope Floats, Random Hearts, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Mulholland Falls, and The Firm. He composed the original opening fanfare for film studio TriStar Pictures.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Grusin composed theme music for the TV programs Good Morning World (1967), It Takes a Thief (1968), The Name of the Game (1968), Dan August (1970), The Sandy Duncan Show (1971–72), Maude (1972), Good Times (1974), Baretta (1975), St. Elsewhere (1982), and, for Televisa in Mexico, Tres Generaciones (1987). He composed music for individual episodes of each of those shows. Grusin's other TV credits include The Wild Wild West (1966), The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), and Columbo: Prescription: Murder (1968). He composed and performed the 1984-1991 theme music for One Life to Live (1968).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Grusin wrote the music for the This Is America, Charlie Brown episode "The Smithsonian and the Presidency", and two of the cues from the episode "History Lesson" and "Breadline Blues" (the latter covered by Kenny G) appear on the tribute album Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown. "History Lesson" also appears in the Amiga CDTV version of Snoopy: The Cool Computer Game.
In 1994, GRP was in charge of MCA's jazz operations. Founders Grusin and Rosen left in the following year and were replaced by Tommy LiPuma. In 1997, Grusin and Rosen founded N2K Encoded Music, which was renamed N-Coded Music.<ref name=amrc/>
Grusin received honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music in 1988 and University of Colorado, College of Music in 1989. He was initiated into the Beta Chi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at the University of Colorado in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
Grusin has been married to Nan Newton for many years and they have three adult sons: Scott, Michael, and Stuart. He is also the stepfather of Nan's adult daughter, Annie Vought. Grusin is the subject of a 2018 feature-length documentary, “Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time.”Template:Citation needed
Awards and honors
Over a 15-year period from 1979–1994, Grusin won an Academy Award, and received seven more nominations.<ref name="Burlingame">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Kinn">Template:Cite book</ref> He has been nominated for 38 Grammy Awards and won 10.<ref name="GA"/>
Academy Awards
Dates given are those of the relevant Awards ceremony, not when the films were released.
- Winner, Music (Original Score): The Milagro Beanfield War (1989)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Nomination, Music (Original Score): Heaven Can Wait (1979),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Champ (1980),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On Golden Pond (1982),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Fabulous Baker Boys (1990),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Havana (1991),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Firm (1994)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Nomination, Music (Original Song): "It Might Be You" (1983), with Alan and Marilyn Bergman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Grammy Awards
- Winner, Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special: The Graduate (1968), shared with Paul Simon.<ref name="O'Neil">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Winner, Best Arrangement on an Instrumental: Summer Sketches '82 (1982), "Early A.M. Attitude" (1986), "Suite" for The Milagro Beanfield War (1990), "Bess You Is My Woman/I Loves You Porgy" (1991), "Mood Indigo" (1993), "Three Cowboy Songs" (1994)<ref name="GA"/>
- Winner, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals: "My Funny Valentine" by Michelle Pfeiffer (1989), "Mean Old Man" by James Taylor (2002)<ref name="GA"/>
- Winner, Best Album Original Score Written for Motion Picture or Television: The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
- Nomination, Best Original Score: Selena<ref name="GA"/>
Golden Globe Awards
- Nomination, Best Original Score: The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Havana (1990), For the Boys (1991)
Other
- Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, 1991
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores (Best American Film Scores of all Time voted by the American Film Institute): #24 for On Golden Pond
Discography
As leader
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- Subways Are for Sleeping (Epic, 1962)
- Piano, Strings, and Moonlight (Epic, 1962)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
- Kaleidoscope (Columbia, 1964)
- Divorce American Style (United Artists, 1967) – soundtrack
- The Graduate (Columbia, 1968) – soundtrack recorded in 1967
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Film Score Monthly, 1968) - soundtrack
- The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968 - 1970) – TV series
- The Name of the Game (1968 - 1971) – TV series theme<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Candy (Epic, 1969) – soundtrack
- Three Days of the Condor (DRG/EMI, 1975) – soundtrack
- Discovered Again! (Sheffield Lab, 1976)
- Don't Touch (Versatile, 1977)
- One of a Kind (GRP, 1977)
- Heaven Can Wait (Kritzerland, 1978) - soundtrack
- The Champ (Varèse Sarabande, 1979) – soundtrack
- Mountain Dance (GRP, 1979) - AUS #100<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref>
- The Electric Horseman (Varèse Sarabande, 1979) – soundtrack
- Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Stars Live in Japan (JVC, 1980)
- On Golden Pond (Varèse Sarabande, 1981) - soundtrack
- Out of the Shadows (Arista-GRP, 1982)
- Tootsie (Film Score Monthly, 1982) - soundtrack
- Night-Lines (GRP, 1983)
- Dave Grusin and the NY-LA Dream Band (GRP, 1984)
- Racing with the Moon (Kritzerland, 1984) - soundtrack
- The Pope of Greenwich Village (Quartet Records, 1984) - soundtrack
- Harlequin (with Lee Ritenour) (GRP, 1985)
- The Goonies (Varèse Sarabande, 1985) - soundtrack
- Lucas (Varèse Sarabande, 1986)
- Cinemagic (GRP, 1987)
- GRP Live in Session (GRP, 1988)
- Sticks and Stones (with Don Grusin) (GRP, 1988)
- Migration (GRP, 1989)
- The Fabulous Baker Boys (GRP, 1989) - soundtrack
- A Dry White Season (Kritzerland, 1989) - soundtrack
- The Bonfire of the Vanities (Atlantic, 1990) - soundtrack
- Havana (GRP, 1990) - soundtrack
- The Gershwin Connection (GRP, 1991)
- GRP Super Live in Concert (GRP, 1992)
- Homage to Duke (GRP <GRD-9715>, 1993)
- The Firm (MCA-GRP <MGD-2007>, 1993) - soundtrack
- Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Star Big Band Live! (GRP 97402, 1993)
- The Orchestral Album (GRP, 1994)
- The Cure (GRP, 1995) - soundtrack
- Two for the Road (GRP, 1996)
- Mulholland Falls (Cinerama, 1996) - soundtrack
- Selena (Angel, 1997) - soundtrack
- West Side Story (N-Coded, 1997)
- Hope Floats (RCA Victor, 1998) - soundtrack
- Random Hearts (Sony, 1999)
- Two Worlds (with Lee Ritenour) (Decca, 2000)
- Dinner with Friends (Jellybean, 2001) - soundtrack
- Portrait of Bill Evans (JVC, 2002) [2 tracks]
- Now Playing (GRP, 2004)
- Amparo (with Lee Ritenour) (Decca, 2008)
- The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (Varèse Sarabande, 2008) - soundtrack
- An Evening with Dave Grusin (Heads Up, 2010)
- One Night Only! (C.A.R.E./Intergroove, 2011)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Brasil (Candid, 2024)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As sideman
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 With Patti Austin
- Havana Candy (CTI, 1977)
- Love Is Gonna Getcha (GRP, 1990) – rec. 1989
With the Brothers Johnson
- Look Out for#1 (A&M, 1976)
- Right on Time (A&M, 1977)
With Tom Browne
- Browne Sugar (GRP, 1979)
- Love Approach (GRP, 1980) – rec. 1979-80
- Magic (Arista, 1981)
With Don Grusin
- 10k-LA (JVC, 1981)
- Native Land (GRP, 1993)
- The Hang (Sovereign, 2004)
With Quincy Jones
- You've Got It Bad Girl (A&M, 1973)
- Body Heat (A&M, 1974)
- Mellow Madness (A&M, ,1975)
- I Heard That!! (A&M, 1976)
- Roots (A&M, 1977)
With John Klemmer
- Touch (ABC, 1975)
- Barefoot Ballet (ABC, 1976)
With Earl Klugh
- Earl Klugh (Blue Note, 1976)
- Living Inside Your Love (Blue Note, 1976)
- Finger Paintings (Blue Note, 1977)
With Jon Lucien
- Rashida (RCA, 1973)
- Mind's Eye (RCA, 1974)
- Song for My Lady (Columbia, 1975)
With Harvey Mason
- Marching in the Street (Arista, 1976)
- Funk in a Mason Jar (Arista, 1977)
- With All My Heart (Bluebird, 2004)
With Carmen McRae
- I Am Music (Blue Note, 1975)
- Can't Hide Love (Blue Note, 1976)
With Sergio Mendes
- Homecooking (Elektra, 1976)
- Sergio Mendes & the New Brasil '77 (Elektra, 1977)
With Gerry Mulligan
- Little Big Horn (GRP, 1983)
- Dragonfly (Telarc Jazz, 1995)
With Lee Ritenour
- First Course (Epic, 1976)
- Gentle Thoughts(JVC 1977)
- Captain Fingers (Epic, 1977)
- Friendship (Jasrac, 1978)
- The Captain's Journey (Elektra, 1978)
- Rio (JVC, 1979)
- Feel the Night (Discovery, 1979)
- On the Line (GRP, 1983)
- "Harlequin" (GRP, 1985)
- Earth Run (GRP, 1986)
- Festival (GRP, 1988)
- World of Brazil (GRP, 2003)
- Overtime (Peak, 2005)
- Smoke 'N' Mirrors (Peak, 2006)
- Rhythm Sessions (Concord, 2012)
- A Twist of Rit (Concord, 2015)
With Diane Schuur
- Deedles (1985)
- Timeless (1986)
With James Taylor
- October Road (Columbia, 2002)
- A Christmas Album (Hallmark Cards, 2004)
- James Taylor at Christmas (Columbia, 2006)
With Dave Valentin
- Legends (Arista GRP, 1978)
- The Hawk (GRP, 1979)
- Flute Juice (GRP, 1983)
- Kalahari (GRP, 1984)
With Sarah Vaughan
- A Time in My Life (Mainstream, 1972)
- Sarah Vaughan with Michel Legrand (Mainstream, 1972)
With Sadao Watanabe
- My Dear Life (Flying Disk, 1977)
- California Shower (Flying Disk, 1978)
- Morning Island (Flying Disk, 1979)
- How's Everything (Columbia, 1980)[2LP] – live
- Orange Express (CBS/Sony, 1981)
- Encore! (Victor, 2016)
Template:Col-2 With others
- George Benson, 20/20 (Warner Bros., 1985) – rec. 1984
- Angela Bofill, Angel of the Night (Arista, 1979)
- Ray Brown, Brown's Bag (Concord Jazz, 1976)
- Bobby Broom, Clean Sweep (Arista GRP, 1981)
- Judy Collins, Home Again (Elektra, 1984)
- Eddie Daniels, Blackwood (GRP, 1989)
- Kevin Eubanks, Face to Face (GRP, 1986)
- Art Farmer, Crawl Space (CTI, 1972)
- Eric Gale, Part of You (Columbia, 1979)
- Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, Act Your Age (Immergent, 2008)
- Lesley Gore, Love Me by Name (A&M, 1976)
- Jay Hoggard, Days Like These (GRP, 1979)
- Al Jarreau, We Got By (Reprise, 1975)
- Billy Joel, 52nd Street (Columbia, 1978)
- Chaka Khan, ck (Warner Bros., 1988)
- Peggy Lee, Let's Love (Atlantic, 1974)
- Bette Midler, For the Boys (Atlantic, 1991) – soundtrack
- Melba Moore, Peach Melba (Buddah, 1975)
- Alphonse Mouzon, The Man Incognito (Blue Note, 1976) – rec. 1975
- Noel Pointer, Phantazia (Blue Note, 1977)
- The Rippingtons, Curves Ahead (GRP, 1991)
- Howard Roberts, Equinox Express Elevator (Impulse!, 1972)
- Phoebe Snow, Against the Grain (CBS, 1978)
- Donna Summer, Donna Summer (Geffen, 1982) – rec. 1981–82
- Grover Washington Jr., A Secret Place (Kudu, 1976)
- Nancy Wilson, This Mother's Daughter (Capitol, 1976)
- Bill Withers, Making Music (Columbia, 1975)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
Notes
References
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- Music video sampler: Template:YouTube
- Dave Grusin on Sound of Cinema, interviewed by Matthew Sweet. BBC Radio, 21 November 2020
- Performances of Dave Grusin's piano music
Template:Commons category Template:Dave Grusin Template:Navboxes Template:Authority control
- Dave Grusin
- 1934 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American composers
- 20th-century American conductors (music)
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century American pianists
- 21st-century American composers
- 21st-century American conductors (music)
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American pianists
- American film score composers
- American jazz pianists
- American male conductors (music)
- American male film score composers
- American male jazz pianists
- American male songwriters
- American male television composers
- American music arrangers
- American people of Latvian descent
- American television composers
- Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners
- Epic Records artists
- Grammy Award winners
- GRP All-Star Big Band members
- GRP Records artists
- Jazz musicians from Colorado
- Jewish American film score composers
- American jazz composers
- Jewish American composers
- Jewish jazz musicians
- Jewish American television composers
- People from Littleton, Colorado
- Smooth jazz pianists
- Songwriters from Colorado
- University of Colorado Boulder alumni
- 20th-century American male composers