George Coleridge Emerson Goode (29 November 1914 – 2 October 2015) was a British Jamaican-born

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

best known for his long collaboration with

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriott ...

. Goode was a member of Harriott's innovatory jazz

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

throughout its eight-year existence as a regular unit (1958–65). Goode was also involved with the saxophonist's later pioneering blend of jazz and

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...

in Indo-Jazz Fusions, the group Harriott co-led with composer/violinist

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

Biography

Goode was born in Kingston, Jamaica. His father was a choirmaster and organist who promoted classical choral music in Jamaica and his mother sang in the choir. As Goode recalled: "My name comes from my father putting on a performance of Samuel Coleridge Taylor's '' Hiawatha's Wedding Feast'' as a tribute to him.... I was born a year after.""Coleridge Goode, double-bass player - obituary"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 15 October 2015. Goode came to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1934 as a 19-year-old student at the Royal Technical College in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

(later the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

), and then went on to read for a degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He was already proficient as an amateur classical

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist but turned to jazz and took up the bass after hearing the music of such stars as

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

and

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

. Abandoning his plans to return to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

to work as an engineer, Goode decided to embark upon a musical career. Martin Taylor and Coleridge Goode at launch of the Stephane Grappelli DVD, London, 2002

Martin Taylor and Coleridge Goode at launch of the Stephane Grappelli DVD, London, 2002

His primary early influences as a bassist were

Walter Page Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchestr ...

Slam Stewart Leroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart (September 21, 1914December 10, 1987) was an American jazz double bass player, whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass (arco) and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher. He was a violinist before swi ...

and

Jimmy Blanton James Blanton (October 5, 1918 – July 30, 1942) was an American jazz double bassist. Blanton is credited with being the originator of more complex pizzicato and arco bass solos in a jazz context than previous bassists. Nicknamed "Jimmie," Blan ...

. Moving to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1942, Goode subsequently worked with

Johnny Claes Octave John Claes (11 August 1916 – 3 February 1956) was an English-born racing driver who competed for Belgium. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a jazz trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain. Early life and jazz ...

Eric Winstone Eric Winstone (born 1 January 1913 in London, died 2 May 1974 in Pagham, Sussex) was an English big band leader, conductor and composer. Biography and career Playing piano in his spare time from a job as Westminster Gas and Coke Company led hi ...

Lauderic Caton Lauderic Caton (31 August 1910 – 19 February 1999) was a Trinidadian guitarist who settled in Britain in 1940. He was an early proponent of the use of electric guitar in Britain, particularly in jazz music. According to Val Wilmer, "he exercis ...

and

Dick Katz Richard Aaron Katz (March 13, 1924 – November 10, 2009) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and record producer. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with O ...

, became a founder member of the

Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...

Quartet and recorded with

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

in 1946, alongside

Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece * Stephane (Paphlagonia) Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arr ...

.John Stevenson
"Coleridge Goode obituary"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 11 October 2015. Later Goode played in

Tito Burns Tito Burns (born Nathan Bernstein, 7 February 1921 – 23 August 2010) was a British musician and impresario, who was active in both jazz and rock and roll. Biography Early life The son of a cabinet maker, he was the sixth and youngest chil ...

' sextet and led his own group, before being invited to join Harriott's new band in 1958. In 1967 he recorded with Chris McGregor,

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing). Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, S ...

, Ronnie Beer, and

Laurie Allan Laurie Allan (born 19 February 1943, London) is an English drummer, best known for stints in Delivery and Gong. Biography Allan started drumming when he was 12. His professional career got going in the early 1960s. He was in The First Real Poe ...

on Gwigwi Mrwebi's ''Mbaqanga Songs''. During the 1960s and 1970s, Goode worked extensively with pianist/composer

Michael Garrick Michael Garrick MBE (30 May 1933 – 11 November 2011)Peter VacheObituary: Michael Garrick ''The Guardian'', 15 November 2011 was an English jazz pianist and composer, and a pioneer in mixing jazz with poetry recitations and in the use of jazz ...

. Goode was still performing in the house band at Laurie Morgan's Sunday jam sessions at the King's Head in

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

into his 90s. One of the finest jazz bassists who has worked in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, Goode is an important link to a proud heritage of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

contributions to the music. His achievements through a long career have been an important inspiration for some leading contemporary black British jazz musicians. In 2002, his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

''Bass Lines: A Life in Jazz'', co-authored with his friend, the academic and jazz writer

Roger Cotterrell Roger B. M. Cotterrell is the Anniversary Professor of Legal Theory at Queen Mary University of London and was made a fellow of the British Academy in 2005. Previously he was the Acting Head of the Department of Law (1989–90), Head of the D ...

, not only told his own story but provided poignant and vivid memories of the brilliant and tragic Harriott and of the birth of

free form jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians durin ...

in Britain.John Stevenson
"Coleridge Goode: Bassist and singer who played with Grappelli and Reinhardt"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 23 October 2015.

Awards and recognition

On 18 May 2011, Goode was honoured with the Services to Jazz Award at the

Parliamentary Jazz Awards The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK politica ...

, held at the House of Commons. In 2014, the year Goode celebrated turning 100, a special performance was organised for him at the

London Jazz Festival The London Jazz Festival is a music festival held every November. It takes place in London venues such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall and in smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and the Vortex Jazz Club. It is produced by Ser ...

, led by Gary Crosby. Goode died the following year, on 2 October 2015."RIP Coleridge Goode"
, Marlbank, 5 October 2015.

Personal life

In 1944, Goode married Gertrude Selmeczi, a Jewish refugee from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, of Hungarian origin; the marriage, lasting 70 years until her death aged 96 in June 2015, produced a daughter Sandy and son James.

Discography

With

* ''Promises'' (Argo, 1965) * ''Anthem'' (Argo, 1965) * ''October Woman'' (Argo, 1965) * ''Jazz Praises'' (Airborne, 1968) * ''A Jazz Cantata'' (Erase, 1969) * ''The Heart Is a Lotus'' (Argo, 1970) * ''Mr Smith's Apocalypse'' (Argo, 1971) * ''Troppo'' (Argo, 1974) * ''Rising Stars'' with

Shake Keane Ellsworth McGranahan "Shake" Keane (30 May 1927 – 11 November 1997) was a Vincentian jazz musician and poet. He is best known today for his role as a jazz trumpeter, principally his work as a member of the ground-breaking Joe Harriott Quintet ...

(Trunk, 2011) * ''Prelude to Heart Is a Lotus'' (Gearbox, 2013) With

* ''

Southern Horizons ''Southern Horizons'' is an album by Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott recorded in England in 1959 and 1960 and released on the Jazzland label.

'' (Jazzland, 1960) * '' Free Form'' (Jazzland, 1961) * '' Abstract'' (Columbia, 1963) * '' Movement'' (Columbia, 1964) * '' High Spirits'' (Columbia, 1965) * ''Indo Jazz Suite'' (Columbia, 1966) * ''Indo Jazz Fusions'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''Indo Jazz Fusions II'' (Columbia, 1968) * ''Swings High'' (Melodisc, 1970) * ''Journey'' (Moonlight Tunes, 2011) With others *

, ''The Three Bears'' (Avid, 2000) * Jade Warrior, ''Kites'' (Island, 1976) *

, ''That's the Noise'' (Ace of Clubs, 1967) *

, ''Etudes'' (Sonet, 1969) * John Mayer, ''Indo Jazz Fusions'' (Somethin' Else, 1969) *

, ''Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelly with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France'' (Ace of Clubs/Decca, 1964) * Django Reinhardt, ''Django's Music'' (Pathe, 1974)

References

External links