Jeff Goldblum is an actor that has starred in scores of movies and television series, but you might be wondering if the moviestar has ever tried his hand at singing.
Jeff Goldblum can sing. In fact, the renowned actor has a rather delightful singing voice. Goldblum also regularly plays piano, and occasionally sings, as part of the jazz band, “Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.”
For most, the name “Jeff Goldblum,” and “actor” go together synonymously, but the Jurassic Park star has more than one trick up his sleeve. Let’s take a look at Goldblum’s impressive music career, which includes a little singing.
Jeff Goldblum addressing the audience at his weekly jazz gig as part of the band “Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.”
How did Jeff Goldblum get into music?
Jeff Goldblum’s mother worked as a radio broadcaster for a time, which perhaps encouraged young Goldblum to start listening to music.
By age 14, Jeff was already pretty skilled on the piano, although he admitted he was not the most disciplined—“I’d dread the teacher who would come once a week because I hadn’t really practiced.”
However, Jeff turned things around and became a more dedicated musician.
Still only 14 years old, he started calling cocktail lounges and knowingly saying, “I understand you’re looking for a pianist.” Even though most of them confusedly told him “No,” a few agreed to hire him.
In 1971, when Jeff was 19, tragedy struck in the family—his older brother, Rick, died from complications after contracting dysentery while travelling in Morocco.
The actor has stated that he got into jazz music due to his late brother. Jeff said that his older brother imparted his love for jazz onto him and that he looked at Rick as a “kind of hero of [his].”
Brotherly love, it seems, is what has driven Goldblum to pursue his love of jazz music for over 50 years.
When did Goldblum form his band?
The conception of Jeff Goldblum’s band, “Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra,” began in the mid-eighties.
The actor had been regularly getting together with his co-star Peter Weller, from The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonsai (1984), to rehearse songs within the movie.
Esteemed moviestar and director, Woody Allen, got wind of these practice sessions and suggested the pair form a band.
At one venue, management required a band name to put on the setlist. Jeff recalled a friend of his mother, who went by the name of Mildred Snitzer. Thinking the name had a funny and interesting ring to it, Goldblum coined the name, “Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.”
Peter Weller eventually dropped out from the band, meaning Goldblum was able to prefix the band name with his own.
The band plays a weekly gig at the L.A. rock club, Rockwell, and has also toured across the US, in London and Paris.
Does Jeff Goldblum sing in his band?
Jeff does sing occasionally but primarily his band makes lyricless jazz music with the star taking the role of pianist. However, Goldblum has made a handful of television appearances where he briefly showcases his singing voice.
In 2014, Jeff appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and performed a rendition of the wordless theme song from Jurassic Park, with his own invented lyrics. Take a listen to Jeff’s delightful voice and clever improvisation in this video.
Has his band released any music?
Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra have released two studio albums in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
The first album, The Capitol Studios Sessions, received mixed to good reviews and charted in several countries.
Mark Beuamont, of The Independent, rather scathingly said “his piano playing rarely warrants centre stage. But his character—kind of suave jazz-bar lech—is the heart of the show.”
Notably, the album reached number one in the category of US Billboard Jazz Albums.