Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Friends for 30 years, new album “Chinwag” marks first duo recording from Grammy®-nominated pianist Larry Goldings and trumpeter John Sneider.

Chinwag explores classic American repertoire (Eubie Blake, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thelonious Monk) via free improvisation, spontaneous composition.

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(L-R): Larry Goldings and John Sneider as photographed by David Poe

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Larry Goldings & John Sneider | “Laugh Clown Laugh”



[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6RMclLeGdE

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About | Larry Goldings & John Sneider | “Laugh Clown Laugh”


A 30 year long friendship between musicians is not necessary to make intimate, creative music together, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Chinwag, the first duo record by Grammy®-nominated pianist Larry Goldings and trumpeter John Sneider, is just such a project; a debut three decades in the making. It might seem like a simple undertaking — a small format album of piano and trumpet — but under the hood there is a lot more going on than meets the eyes (or ears).

The project was still taking shape even up to the final moments of recording, “We already had all this material amassed and then we decided to do the old tune ‘Laugh Clown Laugh,’” says Sneider. “We did it in one take. A lot of the stuff on the record is one take. We decided to just play some tunes for fun.

“Laugh Clown Laugh,” featuring Goldings on pocket piano, Wing upright and organ, became the opening track on Chinwag and sets the tone for the project. “It's got all the elements of the record, and it instantly tells you that it's gonna be different. I wanted to make that point in the beginning,” says Goldings.

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Chinwag, which literally means “a conversation between friends,” is the most recent expression of the long and ongoing friendship between Goldings and Sneider. Massachusetts natives of the same generation, both grew up with a love of bebop and electronic music. By the time they began playing together on the early 90s New York music scene — working regularly at clubs like Augie’s and the Village Gate — each had become a devotee of hard bop and had developed a common musical language.

“We go way back,” says Goldings. “John was certainly the first great trumpet player I ever played with regularly.” Today Goldings, who eventually moved to Los Angeles, has become one of the most iconic keyboard players of his generation, due in large part to his diversity and flexibility both on stage and in the studio. Sneider has also spent his fair share of time in recording studios and on stages and in recent years has been releasing regular hard bop statements, including 2021’s The Scrapper which also featured Goldings on organ.

Goldings and Sneider flirted with the idea of making a duet record for years. On Goldings’ 2009 Quartet record, for example, they played a haunting duo version of “We Shall Overcome”, and before that, on Curtis Stigers’ 2005 album I Think It’s Going To Rain Today, they recorded a duo version of the title track. In fact, it was during the Stigers recording sessions that the idea of doing a full fledged duet project first appeared. As Goldings explains, “The impetus of us playing duo came out of that experience.”

Chinwag by friends of 30 years, Larry Goldings & John Sneider, is out now. Goldings and Sneider are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Larry Goldings & John Sneider
Chinwag
Out Now
(Sticky Mack Records)

Streaming Link:


Track Listing:

01. Laugh Clown Laugh (Fiorito, Lewis, Young) (STREAM)
02. The Great Zamboni (L. Goldings)
03. The Veldt (L. Goldings, J. Sneider) (STREAM)
04. Love Will Find A Way (E. Blake)
05. Sweet and Lovely (G. Arnheim) (VIDEO)
06. Hesitation Blues (W.C Handy)
07. Diary Of A Lost Girl (L. Goldings, J. Sneider)
08. In Walked Bud (B. Powell)
09. Beautiful Dreamer (S. Foster)
10. Sepia (J. Sneider)
11. Salad Days (L. Goldings)
12. Berkshire Dawn (L. Goldings)
13. Chinwag (L. Goldings, J. Sneider)
14. Briar Rose (J. Sneider)
15. Napoleon Contest (L. Goldings, J. Sneider)
16. If I Loved You (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

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Larry Goldings & John Sneider | Links

FACEBOOK (Larry Goldings) : INSTAGRAM (Larry Goldings) : INSTAGRAM (John Sneider) : SPOTIFY : APPLE

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

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