Don Grolnick

Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a session musician, he recorded with John Scofield, Billy Cobham, Roberta Flack, Harry Chapin, Dave Holland, Bette Midler, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer, Linda Ronstadt, David Sanborn, Carly Simon, J. D. Souther, Steely Dan, and James Taylor.

Career

Grolnick was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Levittown, New York. He began his musical life on accordion but later switched to piano. His interest in jazz began as a child when his father took him to a Count Basie concert, and soon after they also saw Erroll Garner perform at Carnegie Hall. He attended Tufts University with a major in philosophy.

After he left Tufts, he formed the jazz-rock band Fire & Ice with Ken Melville on guitar and Stuart Schulman, his friend since childhood, on bass guitar. They were the opening act for B.B. King, The Jeff Beck Group, and the Velvet Underground at Boston clubs like the Boston Tea Party and The Ark. This was Grolnick's first foray into rock and blues as a performer, and he began to write within the medium as well. Grolnick moved back to New York in 1969 and joined Melville in the jazz fusion band "D". He toured with Linda Ronstadt in 1977 and again in 1984 when she was performing American standards with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra.

Grolnick died at the age of 48 on June 1, 1996 from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His cremated remains are interred in the columbarium at Fort Hill Cemetery in Montauk, New York.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Sources:

With Brecker Brothers
* 1975 '' The Brecker Bros.''
* 1976 '' Back to Back''
* 1977 '' Don't Stop the Music''
* 1980 '' Detente''
With Dreams
* 1971 ''Imagine My Surprise''
With Steps Ahead
* 1982 ''Smokin' in the Pit''

As sideman

With Gato Barbieri
* 1976 ''Caliente!''
* 1978 ''Ruby, Ruby''
* 1988 ''Passion and Fire''
With Joe Beck
*1975 ''Beck'' (Kudu)
With George Benson
* 1975 ''Good King Bad'' (CTI)
* 1976 ''Benson & Farrell'' with Joe Farrell (CTI)

With Ron Carter
* 1975 ''Anything Goes'' (Kudu)
* 1976 '' Yellow & Green'' (CTI)
* 1982 ''El Noche Sol''

With Peter Erskine
* 1982 ''Peter Erskine''
* 1986 ''Transition''

With Steve Khan
* 1977 ''Tightrope''
* 1978 ''The Blue Man''
* 1979 ''Arrows''

With Melissa Manchester
* 1974 ''Bright Eyes''
* 1977 '' Singin'...''

With The Manhattan Transfer
* 1975 ''The Manhattan Transfer''
* 1977 '' Pastiche''

With Bob Mintzer
* 1982 ''Source''
* 1983 ''Papa Lips''
* 1985 ''Incredible Journey''
* 1988 ''Spectrum''
* 1989 ''Urban Contours''

With Esther Phillips
* 1975 ''Esther Phillips and Joe Beck''
* 1975 ''What a Diff'rence a Day Makes''
* 1976 ''Capricorn Princess''
* 1976 ''For All We Know''

With Bonnie Raitt
* 1974 ''Streetlights''
* 1979 '' The Glow''

With Linda Ronstadt
* 1977 '' Simple Dreams''
* 1978 ''Living in the USA''
* 1982 '' Get Closer''
* 1983 ''What's New''
* 1984 '' Lush Life''
* 1986 '' For Sentimental Reasons''
* 1989 ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind''

With David Sanborn
* 1975 ''Beck & Sanborn''
* 1975 '' Taking Off''
* 1978 ''Heart to Heart''
* 1979 ''Hideaway''
* 1984 '' Straight to the Heart''
* 1987 '' A Change of Heart''
* 1988 ''Love Songs''

With John Scofield
* 1986 '' Still Warm''
* 1988 '' Flat Out''

With Don Sebesky
* 1976 '' The Rape of El Morro''
* 1980 ''Sebesky Fantasy''

With Carly Simon
* 1978 ''Boys in the Trees''
* 1979 ''Spy''
* 1980 ''Come Upstairs''
* 1983 ''Hello Big Man''

With Steely Dan
* 1976 ''The Royal Scam''
* 1977 '' Aja''
* 1980 ''Gaucho''

With James Taylor
* 1974 ''Walking Man''
* 1979 ''Flag''
* 1981 '' Dad Loves His Work''
* 1985 ''That's Why I'm Here''
* 1988 ''Never Die Young''
* 1991 ''New Moon Shine''
* 1993 ''Live''

With John Tropea
* 1975 ''Tropea''
* 1977 ''Short Trip to Space''
* 1979 ''To Touch You Again''
* 1991 ''NYC Cats Direct''

With others
* 1973 ''Bette Midler'', Bette Midler
* 1974 ''A Beautiful Thing'', Cleo Laine
* 1974 ''Barry Manilow II'', Barry Manilow
* 1974 ''The Chicago Theme'', Hubert Laws
* 1975 ''Mark Murphy Sings'', Mark Murphy
* 1976 '' Main Squeeze'', Chuck Mangione
* 1976 '' Second Childhood'', Phoebe Snow
* 1976 ''Speak No Evil'', Buddy Rich
* 1976 '' The Main Attraction'', Grant Green
* 1977 ''Blue Lights in the Basement'', Roberta Flack
* 1977 '' In My Stride'', David Ruffin
* 1977 ''Inner Conflicts'', Billy Cobham
* 1977 ''Libby Titus'', Libby Titus
* 1977 ''Love Play'', Mike Mainieri
* 1977 '' Ringo the 4th'', Ringo Starr
* 1977 ''Ghost Writer'', Garland Jeffreys
* 1979 ''Yama'', Art Farmer
* 1979 ''You're Only Lonely'', J.D. Souther
* 1979 ''The Cat and the Hat'', Ben Sidran
* 1980 ''Dreamers Matinee'', Don Schlitz
* 1980 ''Middle Man'', Boz Scaggs
* 1980 '' Naughty'', Chaka Khan
* 1980 '' One Bad Habit'', Michael Franks
* 1980 '' One-Trick Pony'', Paul Simon
* 1980 '' Red Cab to Manhattan'', Stephen Bishop
* 1980 ''Whirlwind'', Andrew Gold
* 1981 ''Wanderlust'', Mike Mainieri
* 1982 ''Anyone Can See'', Irene Cara
* 1983 ''Mobo Vols. 1 & 2'', Kazumi Watanabe
* 1987 ''Short Stories'', Bob Berg
* 1988 ''Don't Try This at Home (Michael Brecker album), Don't Try This at Home'', Michael Brecker
* 1988 ''Tears of Joy'', Tuck & Patti
* 1988 ''Time in Place'', Mike Stern
* 1990 ''Now You See It… (Now You Don't), Now You See It... (Now You Don't)'', Michael Brecker (Grolnick as Producer & Composer)
* 1991 ''Warm Your Heart'', Aaron Neville

References

External links

Jazz CaresBarnes and Noble bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grolnick, Don
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
American pop pianists
1948 births
1996 deaths
Musicians from Brooklyn
Blue Note Records artists
People from Levittown, New York
20th-century American pianists
Jazz musicians from New York (state)
American male jazz musicians
American rock keyboardists
American jazz keyboardists
American pop keyboardists
Deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Steps Ahead members
Dreams (band) members
20th-century American keyboardists
20th-century American male musicians
Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni