User:Lizalan1/Gabrielle goodman

Gabrielle Goodman is an American singer, songrwiter and educator who is noted for her wide range and chameleon-like versatility. Goodman sings jazz, gospel, R&B and classical music. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland the classically trained singer grew up singing gospel and listening to jazz.

Goodman's JMT/Verve jazz recordings include "Travelin' Light" released in 1993, which features her with Kevin Eubanks, Gary Thomas, Buddy Williams and brothers David (piano) and Tony Bunn (bass). Her second CD,"Until We Love" was released in 1995 with a line up of Christian Mcbride, Gary Bartz, Gary Thomas, Terri Lyne Carrington and a host of jazz greats. Goodman's third CD entitled,"Angel Eyes" is a sultry smooth jazz CD that was released on the Goodness label in 2004 and features her with Walter Beasley, Andre Ward and Armsted Christian.

Prior to embarking on a solo career the singer toured as a backing vocalist with legendary singers, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Freddie Jackson, Brian Ferry and others. Goodman also toured and recorded with famed R&B and jazz producer, Norman Connors in the late 1980s. She appears on six songs on Connors "Passion" CD on the Capitol label.On this CD Goodman did a remake of Minnie Riperton's a"Loving You", "Private Stock","Welcome To My Life", and "Heaven In Your Eyes" among others. It was Connors who began to promote her as a solo artist.

Goodman is not only a singer, she is a songwriter, educator and author. As a songwriter, she co-wrote the smash hit "You Can Make The Story Right for Chaka Khan with writer/producer Wayne Brathwaite. The song appears on Khan's "The Woman I Am" CD. In recognition for the success of the recording Goodman received an ASCAP top ten hit award. Goodman's songs also appear on other CDs. She wrote the rap intro for Roberta Flack's "A Prelude To A Kiss" and she penned many of the songs on her own CDs including the title track to "Until We Love". Goodman is currently an Associate Professor of Voice at the Berklee college of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, Goodman where continues to educate up and coming singers.

Early Years:

Born Gabrielle Bunn in Baltimore, Maryland (1964) the singer grew up surrounded by music. Her father was a jazz trombonist, her mother, a singer and her brothers are all musicians. Her brothers: David Bunn is the foremost musical director for "Ain't Misbehavin'" including the 2009 tour with Ruben Studdard, Tony bunn (bassist) who toured with Sun Ra, Michael Urbaniak, Ursula Dudziak, The Miracles and others, and Jeff Bunn who occupied the bass chair for Parliament Funkadelic for many years.It seems that music is in their genes. Around the house Goodman heard the recordings of Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and West Montgomery. She says that she heard these artists as a child. In her teenage years she sang in the gospel choirs in church and in school. She also started her formal classical training in voice and piano at the Peabody Preparatory at the age of sixteen. By age seventeen she was already performing in night clubs in the Baltimore /Washington area with her brothers. It was at that time that Goodman began to do local recordings. By age nineteen Goodman had studied briefly at Oberlin College in Ohio on scholarship and quickly returned to Baltimore to study at Peabody Conservatory. It was at that time Gabrielle met and married Duane Goodman. (Thus the name change).The ill-fated marriage lasted only 3 years. However, Goodman a native New Yorker, would introduce the singer to artists and producers in New York who would change her life.

International Touring

In the mid-1980's (drummer/producer) Howard King introduced Gabrielle to Roberta Flack.King was the best friend of the singer's then husband. Goodman was still a student at the conservatory when Flack asked her to do the first tour which consisted of performances at Radio City Music Hall with Marcus Miller and a whirlwind tour of Japan with Miles Davis, The Crusaders and Larry Graham. That was Goodman's introduction to touring. She continued to tour with Flack over the next eights performing for President Bush, Jessie Jackson, various other dignitaries, kings and fans all over the world. In the late 80's she also toured and recorded with Norman Connors. She also continued to perform with her own band in New York, Baltimore and Washington. In the early 1990's Goodman toured with both Flack and Chaka Khan after co-writing "You Can Make The Story Right".

JMT/Verve records then signed the young singer to a jazz deal and she began her solo recording career. Longtime friend Gary Thomas connected her with German producer Stefan Winter who produced her first two recordings for the label."Travelin' Light" and "Until We Love" were recorded under the direction of Winter on the JMT label in Germany and Verve in the U.S. Goodman enjoyed success with both recordings and did subsequent tours of Germany, and Switzerland, as well as performances in the U.S. She performed at major European festivals including Montruex, the North Sea and others with her band.

Goodman continued to tour in the 1990's and 2000's appearing with Dee Dee Bridgewater in "Ain't Misbehavin" Montreal in Canada, and doing educational lectures, master classes and private lessons in addition to performing. Berklee College was one of the colleges where Goodman conducted master classes. Not long after teaching a class at the college Goodman was invited to join the faculty in 1998. Goodman is currently a tenured professor at Berklee. In addition to teaching, her tours and performances include "Forever Swing" co-starring with Michael Buble, guest performances with The Boston Pops, the Akron Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and her third CD entitled "Angel Eyes" among other guest appearances and recordings.