American violinist Jerry Goodman was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 16, 1949. He is best known for his electric violin playing with The Flock and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, a jazz fusion Mahavishnu Orchestra. Goodman started his musical career in The Flock as a roadie, before he switched to violin. Both of his parents were members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s string section and were both trained at the conservatory. Marty Rubenstein, a jazz pianist and composer, was his uncle. He was featured on John McLaughlin’s 1970 album My Goal’s Beyond. After that, he joined McLaughlin’s original Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup. He was considered a soloist with equal virtuosity as McLaughlin’s keyboardist Jan Hammer, drummer Billy Cobham, and McLaughlin. After Mahavishnu’s 1975 album, Goodman recorded Like Children with Jan Hammer, a Mahavishnu keyboard alumnus. In 1985, he recorded three solo albums with Private Music: Ariel, On the Future of Aviation and It’s Alive. He also went on tour with Shadowfax and The Dixie Dregs. He was the featured violinist in many films, including Mr. Saturday Night by Billy Crystal and Steve Martin’s Dirty Rotten Scundrels. You can hear his violin on over fifty albums by artists from Toots Thielemans and Hall.
