Remembering when Jeff Goldblum played a secret jazz set at Coachella
Although Jeff Goldblum has firmly established himself as an actor over the past 50 years, he is also a jazz aficionado, with two albums under his belt created alongside his band, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
The actor made his on-screen debut in 1974 as a home invader in Death Wish. He also had a small role in Next Stop, Greenwich Village in 1976, and Woody Allen’s Annie Hall in 1977. However, Goldblum landed a significant leading role in 1986 as Seth Brundle in David Cronenberg’s The Fly. By 1993 Goldblum had starred in Jurassic Park, one of his best-known performances, which helped him become a huge name in cinema.
Goldblum is also active in the theatre, co-founding The Fire Dept. theatre company in 2006 and dedicating much of his time in the 2000s to acting in various productions. However, over the past decade, Goldblum has heavily involved himself in the world of music, crediting his older brother Rick, who died aged just 23, for getting him into jazz.
Although Goldblum released his debut album, The Capitol Studios Sessions, in 2018 and is now widely known for being both a musician and an actor, his musical endeavours came as a surprise when he performed a secret set at Coachella in 2011.
On the same day that Arcade Fire headlined the festival, supported by the likes of Animal Collective, Bright Eyes, and Mumford and Sons, Goldblum shocked festival-goers when he took to a small, portable stage near the entrance of the park.
One festival-goer said, “Wow, if Jeff Goldblum plays ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on the piano right now, I just might kill myself. That would truly be the pinnacle of life.” The whole deal was orchestrated by the production company Funny or Die, whose master plan was to film a mockumentary about Goldblum playing his first-ever Coachella set.
However, producer Allison Hord stated, “It’s not even inside Coachella. It’s on this cheap wedding stage on the campground with people walking by wondering what the f— is Jeff Goldblum doing at Coachella.” She continued, “This is just an amazingly weird opportunity to combine humour with a music festival. If nothing else, the campers will get a kick out of it.”
As Goldblum played a series of jazz standards, the crowd looked on in amazement before he asked, “Is there some kind of forbidden dance you can do to this song? Then do it.”
Another festival-goer shared, “This pretty much made my entire weekend. Never thought I’d come out here and run into the Jeff Goldblum Jazz Band Experience.” Since his infamous Coachella debut, Goldblum has played a series of other festival slots, such as Glastonbury in 2019, and touring internationally.
Check out some clips from his Coachella performance below:
