“Self-Made: Based On The Life Of Madame C.J. Walker” is a new Netflix series, and it stars Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish and Carmen Ejogo. Its score was commercially released by WaterTower Music by last month, as helmed by Grammy-nominated composer, keyboardist, and songwriter Larry Goldings. But “Self-Made” is far from Goldings’ first major credit.
A bandleader and former Warner Bros. recording artist in his own right, Los Angeles-based musician Larry Goldings has been touring as James Taylor’s keyboardist for around 20 years. His touring and/or recording credits also include John Mayer, Lea Michele, Beck, Elton John, Norah Jones, Sia, and Maceo Parker. His first foray into film scoring with the 2013 Jeff Garlin film “Dealin’ With Idiots.”
I had the pleasure of speaking with Larry Goldings by phone on May 12, 2020 about “Self-Made: Based On The Life Of Madame C.J. Walker,” his multi-faceted career as a simultaneous composer, session player, touring musician and the leader of a jazz trio, whether he has ever played on a metal album, and even Jews in jazz. The full interview is embedded below for your listening pleasure – the Judaism-related jazz question starts around the 15:00 mark of the recording – while a link to his new Patreon page is linked below our chat’s audio.
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