ERIC GOLETZ
I’ve always believed that music is a reflection of the soul, and like a path leading to the unknown can lead you in many directions. There are many forks in the path and the directions you choose can shape your life, your perspective, and your future direction. The important aspect is to keep following the path. We all start off on a path and while it is easy to get side tracked and fall off the path creating stagnant and negative energy, we must strive to continue moving forward. As well, music must continue to move forward. To take a single idea of 2,3,4 or even more notes and allow them the room to grow and breathe into multiple ideas is how music is perpetuated and developed. As a composer and player of music I’ve always tried to keep an open mind to where the music takes me, because I have found that with the internal focus on the limitless possibilities of where the music could lead, you allow the mind to wander and a whole world of imagination is opened up. Welcome the joy of listening to music as it surrounds you. Close your eyes and let your imagination be free, for that is what the true beauty of music is, freedom of the mind and soul - embrace it - let it be the catalyst of all things positive……..
Growing up in a musical environment, his father being a professional Pianist, and arranger, Eric Goletz was drawn to the Trombone at the age of 14. Having studied classical Piano, Guitar, and Music Theory from the age of 6, he found the transition to trombone very natural, having learned all the positions and partials (overtones) in each position before he ever actually had a trombone. Already having Keyboard and Theory knowledge, Goletz also began composing music at a young age and was soon writing and arranging music for the various groups he was involved with both at school and other music endeavors.
Being influenced by many different genres of music, Goletz became intrigued with the sound of Jazz fused with other influences of music, such as Rock, Funk, Latin, etc. He started to formulate his own vision of composing music that was a fusion of different elements with the sound of the trombone being the lead instrument. While certainly there have been many artists and groups where the trombone is the lead instrument, his vision was about incorporating the traditional sound of the Trombone, into his own original non-traditional musical setting.
After moving to New York, Goletz soon began composing and arranging music for numerous musical settings including Radio and TV commercials, album projects for many different singers and ensembles, soundtracks for independent films, as well as performing and making his way as a freelance musician. All the while Goletz was still cultivating this vision of leading a band whose focus was showcasing the trombone with his own original material.
In the ’90s Goletz began to make this vision a reality, and fronted a contemporary fusion group of his original music and arrangements led by 2 trombones – (Tenor and Bass Trombone) With his group in the ’90s, Goletz honed and developed his sound by spending several years at various times recording the band at Nola Studios in the penthouse of the Steinway building on 57th street. From those sessions, he released a sampler CD, meant to be representative of the sound of the group, and in 1999, upon hearing his CD, Jazziz magazine voted him one of the top 10 unsigned jazz artists in the country and released a compilation CD in which included his original composition “Night Child”.
Throughout the course of his 30-year career as a New York freelance musician, Goletz has always been looking for opportunities to present his vision of the trombone in an original, contemporary fusion influenced ensemble as the lead instrument, and hence has presented it in many different forms. Now you see before you the culmination of that vision. A vision a long time in the making, and a long time in the nurturing, now a reality.
