It is with great sorrow that the music world marks the loss of Gordon Goodwin, the brilliant composer, arranger, pianist, and leader of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, who passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 70. According to reports, Goodwin died peacefully after complications from pancreatic cancer.
From his earliest days in Wichita, Kansas, Goodwin displayed an unmistakable gift for music. He penned his first big-band chart while still in middle school — a piece called “Hang Loose.” Over the decades he honed his craft at California State University, Northridge, studying composition and arrangement.
In 1999, what began as a one-time performance blossomed into something far greater when Goodwin founded the Big Phat Band. An 18-piece jazz orchestra, the group fused the swinging spirit of classic big-band jazz with contemporary influences — funk, jazz fusion, and modern rhythms — creating an unmistakable sound that brought fresh energy to an old tradition.
Under Goodwin’s guidance, the Big Phat Band soared. Their debut album broke new ground as the first DVD-Audio release ever nominated for two Grammys. Over the years, Goodwin’s work garnered four Grammy Awards and 25 nominations. But more than awards, it was the life, fire and joy in every arrangement that won hearts.
His 2021 EP, The Reset, captured his adventurous spirit — swinging between fiery jazz-rock fusion, funky grooves, soulful ballads, and elegant big-band swing. The project even paid homage to the late great arranger Sammy Nestico, one of Goodwin’s early inspirations.
Yet his genius extended beyond charts and recordings. To musicians, young and old, he was a mentor — generous with his time, approachable, and deeply passionate about helping others discover their own voice. That generous spirit helped carry the big-band tradition into new generations, giving it renewed relevance in a constantly shifting musical landscape.
Gordon Goodwin’s passing leaves a void in jazz and big-band music that will be felt for decades. His compositions and spirit remain — in vinyl grooves, in the echoes of concert halls, in the hearts of every musician he inspired. The Big Phat Band may lose its leader, but the pulse of his music — bold, vivacious, alive — will carry on.
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