American composer, arranger, producer, and pianist
Dave Grusin
Grusin in 2008
Birth name Robert David Grusin Born (1934-06-26 ) June 26, 1934 (age 89)
Littleton, Colorado , U.S.Genres Occupation(s) Instrument(s) Years active 1962–present Labels
GRP
Musical artist
Robert David Grusin (born June 26,
[a] 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 . He is 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 .
[1]
[3]
[4]
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 9th to 19th centuries. In Slavic languages, "Grusin" is an
ethnonym for
Georgians .
[5] Grusin’s father, who was a violinist, was born and raised in
Riga ,
Latvia , then part of
the Russian Empire , from where he emigrated to
the United States in 1913. Grusin's mother was a pianist.
[6]
[7] Grusin’s father was of
Jewish ancestry.
[8] He is the brother of fellow jazz keyboardist, composer, and producer
Don Grusin .
Grusin studied music at the
University of Colorado at Boulder and received his degree in 1956.
[9] his teachers included
Cecil Effinger ; and Wayne Scott, a pianist, arranger and professor of jazz.
[10]
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).
[9]
In 1978, Grusin founded
GRP Records with his business partner
Larry Rosen , and began producing some of the first commercial digital recordings. He 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 . He 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.
[11]
In 1998, Grusin ranked #5 and #8 on
Billboard ' 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 ".
[12]
[13]
From 2000–11, Grusin concentrated on classical and jazz compositions, touring and recording with collaborators including jazz singer and lyricist
Lorraine Feather
[14] 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.
[15]
[16]
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 .
[17] He 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 he 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 .
[18]
Grusin composed theme music for the TV programs
Good Morning World (American TV series) (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).
[19] 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 1995 and were replaced by
Tommy LiPuma . In 1997, Grusin and Rosen founded
N2K Encoded Music , which was renamed
N-Coded Music .
[9]
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.
[20]
Personal Life
Dave Grusin has been married to Nan Newton for many years and has three adult sons: Scott, Michael and Stuart Grusin. 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.”
[21]
Awards and honors
Over a 15-year period from 1979–1994, Grusin won one
Academy Award , and received a further 7 nominations.
[22]
[23] He has been nominated for 38
Grammy Awards , and won ten.
[4]
Academy Awards
[b]
Grammy Awards
Winner,
Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special :
The Graduate (1968), shared with
Paul Simon .
[32]
[33]
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)
[4]
Winner, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals: "My Funny Valentine" by Michelle Pfeiffer (1989), "Mean Old Man" by James Taylor (2002)
[4]
Winner, Best Album Original Score Written for Motion Picture or Television: The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Nomination, Best Original Score:
Selena
[4]
Golden Globe Awards
Nomination, Best Original Score: The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Havana (1990),
For the Boys (1991)
Other
Discography
As leader
Subways Are for Sleeping (
Epic , 1962)
Piano, Strings, and Moonlight (Epic, 1962)
[34]
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
[35]
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
[36]
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)
A Dry White Season (Kritzerland, 1989) - soundtrack
The Bonfire of the Vanities (
Atlantic , 1990)
Havana (GRP, 1990)
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)
Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Star Big Band Live! (GRP 97402, 1993)
The Orchestral Album (GRP, 1994)
The Cure (GRP, 1995)
Two for the Road (GRP, 1996)
Mulholland Falls (Cinerama, 1996) - soundtrack
Selena (
Angel , 1997)
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)
Now Playing (GRP, 2004)
Amparo (Decca, 2008)
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (Varèse Sarabande, 2008)
An Evening with Dave Grusin (
Heads Up , 2010)
One Night Only! (C.A.R.E./Intergroove, 2011)
[37]
As sideman
With
Patti Austin
With
the Brothers Johnson
With
Tom Browne
With
Don Grusin
10k-LA (JVC, 1981)
Native Land (GRP, 1993)
The Hang (Sovereign, 2004)
With
Quincy Jones
With
John Klemmer
Touch (ABC, 1975)
Barefoot Ballet (ABC, 1976)
With
Earl Klugh
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
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
With
Dave Valentin
Legends (Arista GRP, 1978)
The Hawk (GRP, 1979)
Flute Juice (GRP, 1983)
Kalahari (GRP, 1984)
With
Sarah Vaughan
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)
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)
[38]
Filmography
See also
Notes
^ Some sources give Grusin's date of birth as June 24,
[1] although most agree on June 26.
[2]
[3]
^ Dates given are those of the relevant
Awards ceremony , not when the films were released.
References
^
a
b Blim, Dan (2014) [2013].
"Grusin, Dave" .
Grove Music Online . Oxford University Press.
doi :
10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2262383 . Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^ Bordowitz, Hank (2001).
"Grusin, Dave" . In
Slonimsky, Nicolas & Kuhn, Laura (eds.).
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians . Vol. 2 (Centennial ed.). New York: Shirmer Books. pp. 1383–1384.
ISBN
0028655273 . Retrieved December 20, 2022 .
^
a
b Adams, Michael (2009).
"Grusin, Dave" . In Cramer, Andrew W. (ed.).
Musicians & Composers of the 20th Century . Vol. 2. Pasadena: Salem Press. pp. 543–546.
ISBN
9781587655142 . Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
"Dave Grusin" . Grammy Awards . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
"It's A Small World After All" . georgianjournal.ge . March 15, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2023 .
^
"Dave Grusin Page" (PDF) . Soul Walking . Retrieved January 9, 2018 .
^
"Dave Grusin Biography" . Film Reference . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^ Lees, Gene.
"The Jewish Contribution" (PDF) . World Radio History . Retrieved September 26, 2022 .
High Fidelity , vol. 27 (1977), n° 7, p. 27.
^
a
b
c
"The Dave Grusin manuscripts An inventory of holdings at the American Music Research Center" (PDF) . American Music Research Center. Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^
"Cecil Effinger Interview with Bruce Duffie" . Bruce Duffie . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^
"Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen. Behind the scenes, they're ahead of their times" (PDF) .
Billboard . Vol. 91, no. 42. New York. October 20, 1979.
ISSN
0006-2510 . Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^
"Year-to-Date Jazz Charts" (PDF) . Billboard . Vol. 110, no. 26. New York. June 27, 1998. p. 44.
ISSN
0006-2510 . Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^
"The Year in Music 1998 – Top Jazz Artists / Top Jazz Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . Vol. 110, no. 52. New York. p. YE79. Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^ Kaufman, Joanne (March 2, 2018).
"When Your Home Has a History" .
The New York Times . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^ Daniels, Melissa (June 20, 2008).
"Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin to Return with 'Amparo' " .
JazzTimes . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^ Soergel, Brian (October 1, 2008).
"Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin: Amparo" . JazzTimes . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^ On Golden Pond (Main Theme) Sheet Music . Hal Leonard Corporation. October 1986.
ISBN
978-1-4950-4316-1 .
^
"Tri-Star Logo Theme by Dave Grusin - Most Popular Songs" . Archived from
the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014 .
^
"One Life To Live" . Daytime Soap Opera Theme Songs and Main Titles . Retrieved March 7, 2022 .
^
"Charles E. Lutton Man of Music" . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^ Bentree, Barbara (Director).
"Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time" . jindojazz. Retrieved April 5, 2022 .
^ Burlingame, Dave (November 6, 2020).
"At 86, Oscar-Winning Composer Dave Grusin Is Ready to Tour Again When the COVID-19 Pandemic Subsides" .
Variety . Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 20, 2022 .
^ Kinn, Gail & Piazza, Jim (2014).
The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History (Revised ed.). New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
ISBN
9781579129866 – via
Internet Archive .
^
"The 61st Academy Awards, 1989" .
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 51st Academy Awards, 1979" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 52nd Academy Awards, 1980" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 54th Academy Awards, 1982" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 62nd Academy Awards, 1990" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 63rd Academy Awards, 1991" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 66th Academy Awards, 1994" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^
"The 55th Academy Awards, 1983" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved December 19, 2022 .
^ O'Neil, Thomas (1999).
The Grammys: The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to Music's Highest Honor (Revised ed.). New York: Perigree. p. 146.
ISBN
0399524770 . Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
^ McPhate, Tim (May 15, 2017).
" 'Mrs. Robinson,' 'The Graduate' Soundtrack: 3 GRAMMY facts" . Grammy Awards . Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^
"The Key is Versatility" (PDF) . Billboard . Vol. 74, no. 48. New York. December 1, 1962. p. 47. Retrieved December 18, 2022 .
^
"Dave Grusin Work Chronology" .
^
Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 130.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6 .
^
"Dave Grusin | Album Discography | AllMusic" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
^
"Dave Grusin | Credits | AllMusic" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 22, 2019 .
External links
Studio albums Compilation albums Collaboration albums Soundtrack albums Live albums
Awards for Dave Grusin
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
The Empire Strikes Back –
John Williams (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark –
John Williams (1981)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial –
John Williams (1982)
Flashdance –
Michael Boddicker ,
Irene Cara ,
Kim Carnes ,
Doug Cotler ,
Keith Forsey , Richard Gilbert,
Jerry Hey , Duane Hitchings,
Craig Krampf , Ronald Magness, Dennis Matkosky,
Giorgio Moroder ,
Phil Ramone ,
Michael Sembello &
Shandi Sinnamon (1983)
Purple Rain –
Prince and
the Revolution (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop – Marc Benno,
Harold Faltermeyer ,
Keith Forsey ,
Micki Free , John Gilutin Hawk,
Howard Hewett , Bunny Hull, Howie Rice,
Sharon Robinson ,
Danny Sembello , Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen &
Allee Willis (1985)
Out of Africa –
John Barry (1986)
The Untouchables –
Ennio Morricone (1987)
The Last Emperor –
David Byrne ,
Cong Su &
Ryuichi Sakamoto (1988)
The Fabulous Baker Boys –
Dave Grusin (1989)
1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
International National Artists Other