Randy Waldman
Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States)[1] 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.[2]
Waldman was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 8, 1955.[1] Waldman began playing piano at age five at which time he was considered a child prodigy.[3] 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.[4]
At the age of 21, Waldman was hired to go on tour as the pianist for Frank Sinatra.[4][5] 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.[4][6][7]
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.[4] 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.[8][9][10][11]
Waldman was nominated for a Grammy for Best Vocal Arrangement for "Code of Ethics" from The Manhattan Transfer 1983 album Bodies and Souls.[12][13] 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.[4][14] Waldman has contributed to many Streisand albums, films, and live concerts.[10][15]
In the 1990s, Waldman worked on the soundtracks for numerous films including Forrest Gump, The Bodyguard, Mission: Impossible, and Titanic.[8][9][10] 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,[4][9][16][17][18] John Travolta,[19] Kenny G,[17] Katey Sagal, and others.[20]
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.[21] His second album, UnReel, was released in 2001 and featured a variety of soundtrack and theme music from many different films and television shows.[3] He worked on the soundtrack for Ice Age in 2002 before releasing Timing is Everything in 2003.[4][14]
Waldman appeared on the 2017 Seal album Standards, featuring the songs of Frank Sinatra.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Wigged Out |
|
| UnReel |
|
| Timing is Everything |
|
| Superheroes |
|
| Album [16][17] |
Year | Artist | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lou Rawls Live | 1978 | Lou Rawls | Keyboards | |
| Emotion | 1984 | Barbra Streisand | Synthesizer | US #19[26] |
| The Broadway Album | 1985 |
|
US #1,[26] co-arrangement of "Somewhere" won Grammy | |
| 20/20 | George Benson |
|
US #45[27] | |
| One Voice | 1987 | Barbra Streisand | Synthesizer | US #9[26] |
| Bad | Michael Jackson | Synthesizer | US #1[28] | |
| Till I Loved You | 1988 | Barbra Streisand |
|
US #10[26] |
| This Christmas | 1990 | Patti LaBelle |
|
|
| The Comfort Zone | 1991 | Vanessa Williams |
|
US #17[29] |
| Love Remembers | 1993 | George Benson |
|
|
| My World | Ray Charles |
|
US #145[30] | |
| The Concert | 1994 | Barbra Streisand |
|
US #10[30] |
| Miracles: The Holiday Album | Kenny G | Piano | US #1[31] | |
| Earth Songs | 1995 | John Denver |
|
|
| My Cherie | Sheena Easton |
|
||
| HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | Michael Jackson |
|
US #1[28] | |
| The Best of George Benson | George Benson | Synthesizer | ||
| Star Bright | 1996 | Vanessa Williams |
|
US #36[29] |
| Higher Ground | 1997 | Barbra Streisand | Piano | US #1[26] |
| Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix | Michael Jackson |
|
US #24[28] | |
| Greatest Hits Volume III | Billy Joel | Keyboards | US #9[32] | |
| The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997 | ||||
| Bathhouse Betty | 1998 | Bette Midler |
|
US #32[33] |
| The Collection | John Denver | Arranger | ||
| The Movie Album: As Time Goes By | Neil Diamond | Keyboards | US #31[34] | |
| A Love Like Ours | 1999 | Barbra Streisand |
|
US #6[26] |
| Classics in the Key of G | Kenny G |
|
US #17[31] | |
| Faith: A Holiday Album | US #6[31] | |||
| Timeless: Live in Concert | 2000 | Barbra Streisand |
|
US #21[26] |
| Les Incontournables | George Benson |
|
||
| The George Benson Anthology | Synthesizer | |||
| Mathis on Broadway | Johnny Mathis |
|
||
| Freedom | Sheena Easton |
|
||
| Best Ballads |
|
|||
| Christmas Memories | 2001 | Barbra Streisand | Keyboards | US #15[26] |
| Duets | 2002 | Arranger | US #38[26] | |
| Paradise | Kenny G | Piano | US #9[31] | |
| Wishes: A Holiday Album | US #29[31] | |||
| The Christmas Album | Johnny Mathis | US #143[35] | ||
| Just Whitney | Whitney Houston |
|
US #9[36] | |
| The Movie Album | 2003 | Barbra Streisand |
|
US #5[26] |
| Michael Bublé | Michael Bublé |
|
US #5[37] | |
| Let It Snow |
|
US #32[37] | ||
| The Greatest Hits of All | George Benson | Synthesizer | US #138[27] | |
| Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook | Bette Midler |
|
US #14[33] | |
| Genius Loves Company | 2004 | Ray Charles |
|
US #1[30] |
| The Essential Johnny Mathis | Johnny Mathis | Piano | ||
| It's Time | 2005 | Michael Bublé | Piano | US #7[37] |
| The Greatest Holiday Classics | Kenny G |
|
US #39[31] | |
| My Lives | Billy Joel | Keyboards | US #171[32] | |
| With Love | 2006 | Michael Bublé | Piano | |
| Givin' It Up | George Benson and Al Jarreau |
|
US #58[27] | |
| Navidades | Luis Miguel | Piano | US #51[38] | |
| I'm in the Mood for Love...The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time | Kenny G |
|
US #37[31] | |
| Cool Yule | Bette Midler |
|
US #33[33] | |
| Amore | Andrea Bocelli | US #3[39] | ||
| Live in Concert 2006 | 2007 | Barbra Streisand |
|
US #7[26] |
| Call Me Irresponsible | Michael Bublé |
|
US #1[37] | |
| King of Pop | 2008 | Michael Jackson |
|
|
| The Collection | 2009 | Synthesizer | ||
| Special Delivery | 2010 | Michael Bublé | Piano | US #26[37] |
| What Matters Most | 2011 | Barbra Streisand | US #4[26] | |
| Release Me | 2012 | US #7[26] | ||
| The Classic Christmas Album | Kenny G | US #128[31] | ||
| This Christmas | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John |
|
US #81[40] | |
| Back to Brooklyn | 2013 | Barbra Streisand | Keyboards | |
| Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole | George Benson |
|
US #89[27] | |
| Love in Portofino | Andrea Bocelli |
|
US #40[39] | |
| Partners | 2014 | Barbra Streisand | Piano | US #1[26] |
| Stages | 2015 | Josh Groban | US #2[41] | |
| Stages: Live | 2016 | US #149[41] | ||
| Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway | Barbra Streisand | US #1[26] | ||
| The Music...The Mem'ries...The Magic! | 2017 |
|
US #69[26] | |
| Standards | Seal | Piano | ||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Grammy Award | Best Vocal Arrangement | Arrangement of The Manhattan Transfer's "Code of Ethics" | Nominated | [12] |
| 2019 | Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella | Arrangement of "Batman Theme" from Waldman's Superheroes | Nominated | [12] | |
| Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals | Arrangement of "Spiderman Theme" from Waldman's Superheroes | Won | [12] | ||
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