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Randy Waldman
Randy Waldman with Beyoncé in 2004
Background information
Born	September 8, 1955 Chicago, Illinois
Genres	Jazz Pop
Occupations	Pianist Arranger Conductor Composer
Instrument	Piano
Years active	1966–present
Website	The Jazz Pilot

Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor. He has frequently collaborated with Barbra Streisand, serving as her pianist and conductor since 1984. Waldman has worked with notable artists including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. His 2018 album Superheroes garnered the award for Best Arrangement at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Waldman is also an aviation pilot and instructor, holding a 2003 flight speed record in a Bell OH-58 helicopter.

Early life

Waldman was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 8, 1955. Waldman began playing piano at age five at which time he was considered a child prodigy. He was hired to demonstrate pianos at a local piano store at age 12. While in high school, he performed with the Northwestern University Jazz band.

Career

At the age of 21, Waldman was hired to go on tour as the pianist for Frank Sinatra. He was then hired by The Lettermen to go on tour from Chicago to Los Angeles. After the tour, Waldman relocated to Los Angeles and, within a year, he toured with Minnie Riperton, Lou Rawls, Paul Anka, and George Benson, the last of whom kept Waldman around as his pianist, musical director, and arranger for the following seven years.

Eventually, Waldman began a session career in Los Angeles that would go on to span 40 years. He has performed on hundreds of albums, motion picture soundtracks, television shows, and jingles. In the 1980s, Waldman worked on soundtracks such as Ghostbusters, Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future, Nuts, Beetlejuice, Salsa, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Abyss, and Weekend at Bernie's.

Waldman was nominated for a Grammy for Best Vocal Arrangement for "Code of Ethics" from The Manhattan Transfer 1983 album Bodies and Souls. Two years later, Waldman's co-arrangement of the West Side Story song "Somewhere", recorded by Barbra Streisand for The Broadway Album, won a Grammy. Waldman has contributed to many Streisand albums, films, and live concerts.

In the 1990s, Waldman worked on the soundtracks for numerous films including Forrest Gump, The Bodyguard, Mission: Impossible, and Titanic. He also worked with numerous artists over the course of his career including Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Olivia Newton-John, Barry Manilow, Ray Charles, The Stylistics, Michael Bublé, Quincy Jones, Johnny Mathis, Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli, John Travolta, Kenny G, Katey Sagal, and others.

Waldman released Wigged Out, his first solo album, on his own WhirlyBird Records in 1998. Featuring bassist John Pattitucci and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, the album consisted of a collection of classical songs reworked with jazz arrangements. His second album, UnReel, was released in 2001 and featured a variety of soundtrack and theme music from many different films and television shows. He worked on the soundtrack for Ice Age in 2002 before releasing Timing is Everything in 2003.

Waldman appeared on the 2017 Seal album Standards, featuring the songs of Frank Sinatra. He was also Barbra Streisand's pianist, music director, and conductor for her Barbra: The Music, The Mem'ries, The Magic tour. A filmed version of one of the shows was released on Netflix in November 2017. In September 2018, he released the studio album, Superheroes, with Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Carlitos Del Puerto on bass. The album also featured guest appearances from artists like Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, Take 6, Chris Potter, and several others. Waldman's arrangement of the album's "Spiderman Theme" would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019. His arrangement of the "Batman Theme" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.

Selected discography

Studio albums

Songwriting, instrumental, and production

Nominations and awards

References

1. ^ "Randy Waldman". Discogs. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
2. World and United States Aviation & Space Records, © 2004, National Aeronautic Association of the USA
3. ^ Santella, Jim (October 1, 2001). "Randy Waldman: UnReel". All About Jazz. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
4. ^ Huey, Steve. "Randy Waldman | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
5. "Seal sets new Standards with album of timeless classics and premieres I've Got You Under My Skin". The Telegraph. September 28, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
6. "Seal recruited for Frank Sinatra Christmas duets album". Music News. October 21, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
7. Bishop, Pete (July 12, 1979). "George Benson Hits Right Note". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
8. ^ "Randy Waldman". IMDb. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
9. ^ Hauser, Christian V.; Tomal, Daniel R.; Rajan, Rekha S. (September 14, 2017). Songwriting: Strategies for Musical Self-Expression and Creativity (3rd revised ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781475829426.
10. ^ Chaves Espinach, Fernando (November 1, 2014). "Pianista Randy Waldman se presentará". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved February 6, 2018.
11. "Randy Waldman, Dreamstreet, Vince DiCola, Jeremy Lubbock – The Artful Balance Collection - Volume 1". Discogs. 1986. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
12. ^ "Randy Waldman". Grammy Awards. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
13. "Bodies and Souls". MusicBrainz. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
14. ^ "Pianist Randy Waldman Finds PM40 The Piano Miking Solution". Earthworks Audio. March 12, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
15. Vitello, Barbara (August 10, 2016). "Streisand returns to Chicago solo, and she sure can deliver a song". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
16. ^ "Randy Waldman - Credits". Discogs. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
17. ^ "Randy Waldman - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
18. "Exclusive Interview with Suzi Carr in Concert". LAEXTV. November 18, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
19. Gans, Andrew (October 3, 2012). ""Grease" Stars Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta Reunite for Holiday CD; Barbra Streisand Among Guest Vocalists". Playbill. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
20. O'Malley, Kathy; Collin, Dorothy (August 26, 1990). "In your face Philip Knight, chairman of Nike..." Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
21. "Jazz Times, Volume 28, Issues 6-10". JazzTimes. 1998. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
22. Lanham, Tom (November 28, 2017). "Seal gets back to basics, and up close and personal". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
23. Hetrick, Adam (October 23, 2017). "Barbra: The Music ... The Mem'ries ... The Magic! Will Premiere on Netflix". Playbill. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
24. Hynes, Jim (28 September 2018). "Randy Waldman Leads Colaiuta, Del Puerto, Corea, Marsalis & More On 'Superheroes' TV & Movie Theme Re-imagining". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
25. Rivera, Joshua (10 February 2019). "Here Are the 2019 Grammy Winners". GQ. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
26. ^ "Barbra Streisand - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
27. ^ "George Benson - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
28. ^ "Michael Jackson - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
29. ^ "Vanessa Williams - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
30. ^ "Ray Charles - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
31. ^ "Kenny G - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
32. ^ "Billy Joel - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
33. ^ "Bette Midler - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
34. "Neil Diamond - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
35. "Johnny Mathis - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
36. "Whitney Houston - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
37. ^ "Michael Bublé - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
38. "Billboard 200: The Week of December 2, 2006". Billboard. 24 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
39. ^ "Andrea Bocelli - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
40. "John Travolta - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
41. ^ "Josh Groban - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2018.

External links

• Randy Waldman's Official Website
• Randy Waldman at IMDb

• American session musicians
• Musicians from Chicago
• Living people
• 1955 births
• Helicopter pilots
• American aviation record holders
• Rotorcraft flight record holders
• 20th-century American pianists
• American male pianists
• Grammy Award winners
• 21st-century American pianists
• 20th-century American male musicians
• 21st-century American male musicians