Hollywood’s Jeff Goldblum Makes Jazz Piano Debut With ‘The Capitol Studio Sessions’

The actor is accompanied by his longtime band the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra and guests including Imelda May.

Published on

September 5, 2018

Hollywood icon Jeff Goldblum and his longtime band the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra will release the actor’s debut album as a jazz pianist, The Capitol Studio Sessions, on 9 November.

Goldblum has played piano since he was a child and has explored his love of jazz with shows in Los Angeles and New York in recent years. When not filming, he hosts a weekly jazz variety show at Rockwell Table & Stage In Los Angeles, which showcases both his musical dexterity and improv comedy talent, and has become a favourite event with both locals and A-listers.

The album recreates the atmosphere of those Rockwell shows, with the famed Capitol Studios transformed into a jazz club for the recording, with food and drink served to an invited live audience of Rockwell regulars, friends and family. The Capitol Studio Sessions was produced by the esteemed Larry Klein, widely respected for his work with Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Madeleine Peyroux and others.

“I love improvising and that feeling of communication and interplay,” says Goldblum. “It’s one of the cornerstones of my acting technique. I see my music in the same way.”

The repertoire for the album includes the 1960s jazz favourites ‘Cantaloupe Island’ and ’I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)’ and Nat ‘King’ Cole’s 1940s original ‘Straighten Up & Fly Right,’ which features guest vocals by Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May.’

Also guesting on the record are American vocalist Haley Reinhart, on a version of the evergreen ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me,’ and US comedian-actress Sarah Silverman, on the 1920s copyright ‘Me And My Shadow.’ The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra are joined by Grammy-nominated trumpeter Till Brönner.

Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra will be in London in November for their first ever UK live shows, which have sold out immediately. They will perform, as part of the ESG London Jazz Festival, at Cadogan Hall on 17 November and Ronnie Scott’s on the 22nd, with shows in between in Paris and Berlin.

The Capitol Studio Sessions is released on 9 November. The tracklist is as follows:

1. Cantaloupe Island

2. Don’t Mess With Mister T (feat. Till Brönner)

3. My Baby Just Cares For Me (feat. Haley Reinhart)

4. Straighten Up And Fly Right (feat. Imelda May & Till Brönner)

5. Jeff Introduces Sarah Silverman (feat. Sarah Silverman)

6. Me And My Shadow (feat. Sarah Silverman & Till Brönner)

7. Nostalgia In Times Square

8. It Never Entered My Mind (feat. Till Brönner)

9. Gee Baby (Aint I Good To You) (feat. Haley Reinhart)

10. I Wish I Knew (How It Could Feel To Be Free)

11. This Bitter Earth (feat. Imelda May & Till Brönner)