Photograph of Dave Grusin.
Dave Grusin

Overview

David Grusin (born June 26, 1934 in Littleton, Colorado) is an American composer, arranger and pianist. Grusin has composed many scores for feature films and television, and he has won numerous awards for his soundtrack work. Although he has worked in many musical styles, Grusin is often thought of as a jazz artist.

Grusin has a filmography of about 100 credits. 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. He also received a best original song nomination for "It Might Be You" from the film Tootsie. Six of the fourteen cuts on the soundtrack from The Graduate are his. Other film scores he has composed include Three Days of the Condor, The Goonies, Tequila Sunrise, Hope Floats, Random Hearts and his timeless classic The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

For television, he was the conductor for The Andy Williams Show (1963–1965) and the composer of the theme songs for such series as Dan August (1970), Maude (1972), Good Times (1974), Baretta (1975), and St. Elsewhere (1982). He also composed music for individual episodes of each of those shows. His other TV credits include It Takes a Thief, The Wild Wild West, and Columbo - Prescription: Murder (1968). He also did the theme song for One Life to Live (1968) from 1984–92.

About 35 Dave Grusin CD titles are currently available including soundtracks, originals, collections, and homages to jazz greats George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Henry Mancini.

Grusin and Larry Rosen co-founded GRP Records in 1982. In 1994, GRP was in charge of MCA's (soon to be renamed Universal Music Group) jazz operations. Founders Grusin and Rosen left in 1995 and were replaced by Tommy LiPuma. In 1997, Grusin and Rosen co-founded N2K Encoded Music (after renamed N-Coded Music).

Dave is the father of music editor Stuart Grusin, music editor and musician Scott Grusin, engineer Mike Grusin, artist Annie Vought, and elder brother of keyboardist Don Grusin and sister Dee Grusin.

Awards and recognition

*Academy Award Nominee, 1978 "Best Original Score" for Heaven Can Wait *Academy Award Nominee, 1979 "Best Original Score" for The Champ *Academy Award Nominee, 1981 "Best Original Score" for On Golden Pond *Academy Award Nominee, 1982 "Best Original Song" for "It Might Be You", from Tootsie *Golden Globe Nominee, 1988 "Best Original Score" for The Milagro Beanfield War *Academy Award Winner, 1988 "Best Original Score" for The Milagro Beanfield War *Academy Award Nominee, 1989 "Best Original Score" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Golden Globe Nominee, 1989 "Best Original Score" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Grammy Award Winner, 1989 "Best Album, Original Background Score for a Motion Picture or Television" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Grammy Award Winner, 1989 "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals" for "My Funny Valentine" *Academy Award Nominee, 1990 "Best Original Score" for Havana *Golden Globe Nominee, 1990 "Best Original Score" for Havana *Grammy Award Winner, 1990 "Best Album of Original Instrumental Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Grammy Award Winner, 1990 "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" Suite for The Milagro Beanfield War *Grammy Award Winner, 1991 "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" for "Bess You Is My Woman/I Loves You Porgy" *Golden Globe Nominee, 1991 "Best Original Score" for For The Boys *Academy Award Nominee, 1993 "Best Original Score" for The Firm *Grammy Award Winner, 1993 "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" for "Mood Indigo" *Grammy Award Winner, 1994 "Best Instrumental Arrangement" for "Three Cowboy Songs" * Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), 2002 for "Mean Old Man", from the album October Road by James Taylor

Discography

* Subways are for Sleeping - 1962 * Piano, Strings, and Moonlight - 1963 * Kaleidoscope - 1964 * One of A Kind - 1977 * Mountain Dance - 1979 * Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Stars Live In Japan - 1980 * Out of the Shadows - 1982 * Night Lines - 1983 * NY/LA Dream Band - 1984 * Harlequin (w/ Lee Ritenour) - 1985 * Cinemagic - 1987 * Collection - 1988 * Little Big Horn (w/ Gerry Mulligan) - 1988; GRP Records * Sticks and Stones (w/Don Grusin) - 1988 * The Fabulous Baker Boys (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1989 * Migration - 1989 * Havana (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1990 * The Gershwin Connection - 1991 * The Firm (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1993 * Dave Grusin and the GRP All-Star Big Band - 1993 * Homage to Duke - 1993 * The Orchestral Album - 1994 * The Cure (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1995 * Two For the Road - 1996 * Mulholland Falls (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1996 * Dave Grusin Presents: West Side Story - 1997 * Random Hearts (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1999 * Two Worlds (w/ Lee Ritenour) - 2000 * The Very Best of Dave Grusin - 2002 * Now Playing: Movie Themes - Solo Piano - 2005

Quotes

*"In my career I've found that "thinking outside the box" works better if I know what's inside the box." In music (as in life) we need to understand our pertinent history...and moving on is so much easier once we know where we've been."

External links

* * YouTube music video sampler: Mountain Dance * Dave Grusin Archive
Who is Dave Grusin connected to?
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This biography says:

* Subways are for Sleeping - 1962 * Piano, Strings, and Moonlight - 1963 * Kaleidoscope - 1964 * One of A Kind - 1977 * Mountain Dance - 1979 * Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Stars Live In Japan - 1980 * Out of the Shadows - 1982 * Night Lines - 1983 * NY/LA Dream Band - 1984 * Harlequin (w/ Lee Ritenour) - 1985 * Cinemagic - 1987 * Collection - 1988 * Little Big Horn (w/ Gerry Mulligan) - 1988; GRP Records * Sticks and Stones (w/Don Grusin) - 1988 * The Fabulous Baker Boys (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1989 * Migration - 1989 * Havana (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1990 * The Gershwin Connection - 1991 * The Firm (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1993 * Dave Grusin and the GRP All-Star Big Band - 1993 * Homage to Duke - 1993 * The Orchestral Album - 1994 * The Cure (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1995 * Two For the Road - 1996 * Mulholland Falls (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1996 * Dave Grusin Presents: West Side Story - 1997 * Random Hearts (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1999 * Two Worlds (w/ Lee Ritenour) - 2000 * The Very Best of Dave Grusin - 2002 * Now Playing: Movie Themes - Solo Piano - 2005

That biography says:

...Clients over the years have included: Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Miles Davis, Carly Simon, The Doors, Herb Alpert, Jackie DeShannon, Brazil '66, Ricky Nelson, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Macy Gray, Bee Gees, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Dave Grusin, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Lee Ritenour, Fourplay, Richard Thompson, Yes, Brian Wilson, Beach Boys, Annette Funicello, Louis Armstrong, The Bangles, Fishbone, Randy Newman, Sly and The Family Stone, Tom Petty, Sheena Easton, Patti Austin, Aaron Neville, Sam Cooke, The Turtles, Lovin' Spoonful, Buffalo Springfield, Janis Joplin, Genesis, Kenny Loggins, Jackson Browne, Led Zeppelin, Smashing Pumpkins, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Celine Dion, Earl Klugh, Alanis Morissette, Toto, Robert Palmer, Aretha Franklin, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Holliday, Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, Rick James, Andy Williams, and many, many more...

This biography says:

*Academy Award Nominee, 1978 "Best Original Score" for Heaven Can Wait *Academy Award Nominee, 1979 "Best Original Score" for The Champ *Academy Award Nominee, 1981 "Best Original Score" for On Golden Pond *Academy Award Nominee, 1982 "Best Original Song" for "It Might Be You", from Tootsie *Golden Globe Nominee, 1988 "Best Original Score" for The Milagro Beanfield War *Academy Award Winner, 1988 "Best Original Score" for The Milagro Beanfield War *Academy Award Nominee, 1989 "Best Original Score" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Golden Globe Nominee, 1989 "Best Original Score" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Grammy Award Winner, 1989 "Best Album, Original Background Score for a Motion Picture or Television" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Grammy Award Winner, 1989 "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals" for "My Funny Valentine" *Academy Award Nominee, 1990 "Best Original Score" for Havana *Golden Globe Nominee, 1990 "Best Original Score" for Havana *Grammy Award Winner, 1990 "Best Album of Original Instrumental Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television" for The Fabulous Baker Boys *Grammy Award Winner, 1990 "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" Suite for The Milagro Beanfield War *Grammy Award Winner, 1991 "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" for "Bess You Is My Woman/I Loves You Porgy" *Golden Globe Nominee, 1991 "Best Original Score" for For The Boys *Academy Award Nominee, 1993 "Best Original Score" for The Firm *Grammy Award Winner, 1993 "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" for "Mood Indigo" *Grammy Award Winner, 1994 "Best Instrumental Arrangement" for "Three Cowboy Songs" * Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), 2002 for "Mean Old Man", from the album October Road by James Taylor

That biography says:

...Briggs also made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1994, performing with pianist Dave Grusin. She has also performed with a number of other artists over the years, including Stanley Clarke, the Wu Tang Clan, En Vogue and Chaka Khan, Wynton Marsalis, Stanley Clarke, Benise, Marla Gibbs, Kenny Loggins, Ashley Maher, Taliesin Orchestra, and Diana Ross, just to name a few...

This biography says:

* Subways are for Sleeping - 1962 * Piano, Strings, and Moonlight - 1963 * Kaleidoscope - 1964 * One of A Kind - 1977 * Mountain Dance - 1979 * Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Stars Live In Japan - 1980 * Out of the Shadows - 1982 * Night Lines - 1983 * NY/LA Dream Band - 1984 * Harlequin (w/ Lee Ritenour) - 1985 * Cinemagic - 1987 * Collection - 1988 * Little Big Horn (w/ Gerry Mulligan) - 1988; GRP Records * Sticks and Stones (w/Don Grusin) - 1988 * The Fabulous Baker Boys (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1989 * Migration - 1989 * Havana (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1990 * The Gershwin Connection - 1991 * The Firm (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1993 * Dave Grusin and the GRP All-Star Big Band - 1993 * Homage to Duke - 1993 * The Orchestral Album - 1994 * The Cure (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1995 * Two For the Road - 1996 * Mulholland Falls (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1996 * Dave Grusin Presents: West Side Story - 1997 * Random Hearts (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - 1999 * Two Worlds (w/ Lee Ritenour) - 2000 * The Very Best of Dave Grusin - 2002 * Now Playing: Movie Themes - Solo Piano - 2005

That biography says:

...In 1985, he recorded his first album for GRP with Dave Grusin, entitled Harlequin. It featured Lee primarily on his classical acoustic guitar and also featured Brazilian singer/songwriter Ivan Lins...

That biography says:

...He has recorded as a sideman with Johnny Mathis, Gloria Estefan, Kenny G, Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra, and Dave Grusin. He has also played in concerts with Woody Herman, Herbie Hancock, Woody Shaw, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Céline Dion, and Tito Puente...

That biography says:

...King, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, Joanne Brackeen, Harvest (a little-known Christian music group popular in the 1970s and 1980s), Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Was Not Was, Dave Grusin, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah, Sting, and Carly Simon....

That biography says:

...Eric went on to perform with artists such as Elton John, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Aaron Neville, Johnny Mathis, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, David Benoit, The Rippingtons, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, Patti Austin, Lou Rawls, David Lee Roth, The Yellowjackets, B.B...

That biography says:

...For most of the next 30 years he lived and worked in Colorado, eventually taking up music again, this time playing tenor saxophone and working nights at local clubs. A constant musical companion of these times was Dave Grusin. In 1981 Robinson recorded for the first time since his London sessions, in a band led by Feldman. Encouraged to visit the UK by a British fan, in 1984 Robinson began a series of tours which were so successful that he took early retirement from his engineering job to turn to a fulltime career in music...

That biography says:

...The arrangements were by Marty Paich and the orchestra would be augmented by established jazz artists Dave Grusin on piano, Ray Brown on double bass, drummer Shelly Manne and saxophonists Bill Perkins and Pete Christlieb...

That biography says:

...As a songwriter, she collaborated with her late husband Dave Barbour, Sonny Burke, Victor Young, Francis Lai, Dave Grusin, John Chiodini, and Duke Ellington who stated, "If I'm the Duke, then Peggy's the Queen." As an actress, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Pete Kelly's Blues...

This biography says:

...About 35 Dave Grusin CD titles are currently available including soundtracks, originals, collections, and homages to jazz greats George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Henry Mancini....

That biography says:

...In 1977, he made his recording debut with Ricardo Marrero's group and he appeared also on a Noel Pointer album. Discovered by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, Valentin was the first artist signed to GRP and he has been a popular attraction ever since...

That biography says:

...She worked under most of the leading producers and musical directors in Los Angeles during that era, including David Axelrod, Brian Wilson, Michel Legrand, Phil Spector, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, David Rose, Dave Grusin, Ernie Freeman, Hugo Montenegro, Leonard Rosenman, John Williams, Alfred and Lionel Newman. Kaye was also responsible for the bass tracks on several Monkees hits, did soundtrack work (including sound effects on bass guitar) for a young Steven Spielberg and tracks for Quincy Jones whose 2001 autobiography Q noted, "...women like ...Fender bass player Carol Kaye ...could do anything and leave men in the dust."...

That biography says:

...His first brush with Hollywood films was as a pianist playing on film scores for film luminaries such as Thomas Newman, Dave Grusin, Alan Silvestri, and Carmine Coppola in box office hits such as Finding Nemo, Erin Brockovich, The Godfather III, A Bug's Life, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me...

That biography says:

...His jazz classics have been recorded by many notable international artists including Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, George Benson, The Manhattan Transfer, Diane Schuur, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Eliane Elias, Patti Austin, Toots Thielemans, Take 6, Lee Ritenour, David Benoit, Carlos do Carmo, Mark Murphy, Dave Grusin, Sergio Mendes, Michael Buble and countless others.

That biography says:

...Trademarks of the show include his character's pet cockatoo, the proverbial sentence "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time," and a memorable theme song "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow" written by Dave Grusin and Morgan Ames and performed by Sammy Davis, Jr....

That biography says:

...He has been involved (recording and performing) with great international figures such as Jaz Colman, Vanessa Mae, bond, Talvin Singh, Don Grusin, Dave Grusin, Alex Acuna, Abraham Laboriel, Fairuz,and a world tour with Sarah Brightman "REM" in 2004...

That biography says:

...In 1991, Collier released his instrumental album Pacific Aire, in which he collaborated with Bud Shank on alto saxophone and flute and Don Grusin (Dave Grusin's brother) on keyboards. Jazz writer Scott Yanow appreciated the level of musicianship evident in the album, but he criticized the music as "lightweight...as if no one is taking any real chances." He continued that "Collier's eight originals are pleasing if not memorable, and there is no stretching taking place." Collier's job at the University of Washington has also allowed him the chance to connect with a younger generation of college students eager to take his beloved "American Popular Song" class...

That biography says:

...From here he played with Sonny Fortune and Lonnie Smith and was later introduced to Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen at GRP Records via Earl Klugh. Grusin and Rosen signed him to GRP (via Arista) and Tom broke onto the music scene in 1979 with a highly acclaimed instrumental jazz fusion album 'Browne Sugar', not released in the UK...