Jerry Goodman

Jerry Goodman (born March 16, 1949) is an American violinist known for playing electric violin with The Flock and the jazz fusion ensemble Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Career Jerry Goodman was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His parents were both members of the string section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and his uncle was the noted composer and jazz pianist Marty Rubenstein. Jerry was trained in a conservatory before he began his musical career as The Flock's roadie and subsequently as a violinist.

After his 1971 appearance on John McLaughlin's album My Goal's Beyond, he became a member of McLaughlin's original Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup until the band broke up in 1973, and was viewed as a soloist of equal virtuosity to McLaughlin, keyboardist Jan Hammer and drummer Billy Cobham.

In 1974, after Mahavishnu, Goodman and Mahavishnu alum Hammer released the jazz fusion album Like Children. Starting in 1985 he recorded three solo albums for Private Music—On the Future of Aviation, Ariel, and the live album It's Alive with collaborators including Fred Simon and Jim Hines—and went on tour with his own band, as well as with Shadowfax and The Dixie Dregs. He scored Lily Tomlin's The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and is the featured violinist on numerous film soundtracks, including Billy Crystal's Mr. Saturday Night and Steve Martin's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. His violin can be heard on more than fifty albums from artists ranging from Toots Thielemans to Hall & Oates to Styx to Jordan Rudess to Choking Ghost to Derek Sherinian. Goodman has appeared on four of Sherinian's solo records—Inertia (2001), Black Utopia (2003), Mythology (2004), and Blood of the Snake (2006)

In 1993, Goodman joined the American instrumental band, The Dixie Dregs, fronted by guitarist Steve Morse. Goodman appeared on one studio recording Full Circle (1994), and the live album "California Screamin'" (2000). In 1996, session violist and producer Ray Tischer featured Goodman on the award-winning CD Canciones del Sol/Britt Bossa Orchestra on Tischer's original instrumental "Toca del Angel".

After an absence from the public eye in live concert, he toured in 2004 and 2005 with Gary Husband in his group Gary Husband’s Force Majeure, and appeared on the DVD Gary Husband's Force Majeure - Live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Even more recently, he played with the San Diego–based fusion group Hectic Watermelon and with Dream Theater in their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings. Goodman has also been a part of Billy Cobham's Spectrum 40 tour.

Discography As leader 1985 – On the Future of Aviation 1986 – Ariel 1987 – It's Alive 2016 – Violin Fantasy

With The Flock 1969 – The Flock 1970 – Dinosaur Swamps

With Mahavishnu Orchestra 1971–1974: First incarnation: Jerry Goodman, John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, Rick Laird, Billy Cobham 1971 – The Inner Mounting Flame 1973 – Birds of Fire 1973 – Between Nothingness and Eternity 1980 – The Best of Mahavishnu Orchestra 1999 – The Lost Trident Sessions 2011 – Unreleased Tracks from Between Nothingness & Eternity

With Jan Hammer 1974 – Like Children

With John McLaughlin 1971 – My Goal's Beyond 1979 – Electric Guitarist

With Dixie Dregs 1994 – Full Circle 2000 – California ScreaminWith Howard Levy, Oteil Burbridge, and Steve Smith 1999 – The Stranger's HandAs a guest artist''' 1992 – Dave Uhrich by Dave Uhrich 1994 – Fret-no-tized by Dave Uhrich 1994 – El nervio del volcán by Caifanes 1995 – Canciones del Sol violinist Ray Tischer's the Britt Bossa Orchestra 1996 - Friend of the Moon (album) Jerry appears on two tracks of San Diego based singer/songwriter, John Katchur's album. 1998 – Standing 8 with Choking Ghost 1999 – Encores, Legends & Paradox, A Tribute To The Music OF ELP – Various Artists – (Jerry Goodman, Peter Banks, Igor Khoroshev, John Wetton, Simon Phillips, Robert Berry, Marc Bonilla, Jordan Rudess) Magna Carta – MAX-9026-2 1999 – Brave New World by Styx 2001 – Amazing Ordinary Things by Anne McCue 2005 – Visions Of An Inner Mounting Apocalypse: A Fusion Guitar Tribute - Tone Center – TC 40402 2007 – School of the Arts – School of the Arts (featuring T Lavitz, Steve Morse, Frank Gambale, Dave Weckl, John Patitucci) Goodman contributes violin work on 3 tracks, "No Time Flat" "Like This" and "Dinosaur Dance" 2009 –Black Clouds & Silver Linings by Dream Theater 2009 – A Tribute To Zbigniew Seifert – Jarek Śmietana Band (featuring Mateusz Smoczyński, Didier Lockwood, Krzesimir Dębski, Christian Howes, Mark Feldman, Maciej Strzelczyk, Adam Bałdych, Pierre Blanchard: JSR Records – JSR 0011) 2018 – Night Manager – Strat Andriotis 2019 – 1000 Hands: Chapter One – Jon Anderson 2020 – Remember Me At Twilight – Strat Andriotis 2021 – Path To Light – Denis Krupin

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