Larry Goldings, I Will Review

by Icrom Bigrad

Larry Goldings possesses a distinctive voice on the organ and piano. For over three decades, his reputation as one of jazz’s preeminent organists has been unassailable, particularly through his long-running trio with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart. Goldings’ 2025 album, I Will, is a recording of a rare live piano trio outing. The eight selections shine a necessary light on his equally formidable ability to communicate at the piano, a side of Goldings’ artistry that has remained largely under-documented outside of Los Angeles’ intimate club circuit.

Recorded live at Sam First, a revered L.A. jazz room known for its pristine acoustics and welcoming warmth, I Will finds Goldings in the company of Karl McComas-Reichl on acoustic bass and Christian Euman on drums. The music they perform is a balance of exploratory fluidity with a deep reverence for the song’s theme and mood. Goldings’ pianism is showcased with an unguarded immediacy that only a live recording can provide. Goldings, a player of infinite subtlety, doesn’t chase bombast or overt virtuosity here; rather, his touch is refined, thoughtful, and steeped in melodic generosity. The common thread between the piano and the organ is his attention to the feel of the groove.

Opening with the angular, off-kilter blues “Roach,” Goldings and Co explore Max Roach’s compositional language through an odd-time motif that maintains an infectious, organic groove. The trio’s chemistry is expressed through Euman’s fluid drumming, with McComas-Reichl’s bass lines dancing with Golding’s nimble harmonic elasticity. Gershwin’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So” follows, an eight-minute conversation between the trio where Goldings’ harmonic reimagining keeps the well-worn standard feeling fresh and alive.

Goldings’ arrangement of “I Will,” the tender Paul McCartney gem, sounds of his ability to convey a melody’s emotional core. With an almost conversational phrasing, he allows the tune to breathe, embracing space and nuance. Similarly, “Embraceable You” is rendered with rhapsodic beauty, mirroring his earlier recording of the tune from Awareness (1996), but now carrying a newfound ease and wisdom.

The trio’s rhythmic diversity is further explored through the effervescent Afro-Latin groove of Mario Bauzá’s “Mambo Inn,” a moment where McComas-Reichl locks in with Euman’s buoyant pulse, giving Goldings the perfect pocket to stretch harmonically. The inclusion of Judee Sill’s “Jesus Was a Cross Maker” introduces a folk-rock sensibility into the mix, illustrating Goldings’ genre-fluid approach, while “Somewhere” (available digitally) presents a luminous, near-cinematic rendering of the Bernstein classic.

Goldings’ two original compositions serve as pillars of interaction within the set. “Roach” opens the album with forward momentum, while “Sing Song” (digital only) closes it with a playful, hero’s-journey arc, evoking the groove character of his organ playing with the harmonic depth of the piano. Throughout, Goldings’ playing remains refined and deeply expressive, an artist unburdened by expectation, fully immersed in the moment.

I Will is an expressive documentation of Goldings’ pianistic voice of depth of groove. This trio displays a profound synergy, and the album’s live setting ensures that each moment unfolds with an organic vitality. For those who have long admired Goldings’ work, I Will is another angle from which to encounter his groove form.