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Guitarist
Grant Geissman is a leading jazz, fusion, and instrumental pop musician who first came to the public's attention in the 1970s as a member of flügelhornist
Chuck Mangione's band. Born in Berkeley, California in 1953,
Geissman grew up in the San Jose area, where he became interested in music at a young age, listening to a diverse range of artists from surf bands to
the Beatles,
Cream,
Wes Montgomery, and
B.B. King. As an adolescent, he began studying guitar and learning jazz standards, eventually exploring the work of
Miles Davis,
Charlie Parker,
John Coltrane, and
Ornette Coleman. After graduating high school,
Geissman enrolled in the music program at De Anza Junior College, where he studied under Dr. Herb Patnoe. Patnoe was also in charge of
Stan Kenton's famed jazz clinics and invited
Geissman to teach guitar at the summer clinics. This early encouragement inspired
Geissman to make a 1973 move to Los Angeles, where he spent a semester at Cal State Fullerton before transferring to Cal State Northridge as a classical guitar major. While there, he quickly immersed himself in the Hollywood jazz scene, nabbing gigs with such luminaries as
Gerald Wilson,
Louie Bellson,
Tony Rizzi, and others.
In 1976, a friend recommended
Geissman for a gig playing with bandleader and flügelhornist
Chuck Mangione. The gig stuck and
Geissman was on board for the recording of
Mangione's breakout 1977 album,
Feels So Good, which included a solo from the guitarist on the title track. A massively successful album,
Feels So Good reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the easy listening chart, and earned a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. On the heels of this success,
Geissman continued to tour and record with
Mangione, appearing on such albums as Children of Sanchez,
Fun and Games, and
An Evening of Magic, Live at the Hollywood Bowl.
As solo artist,
Geissman debuted in 1978 with Good Stuff on Concord. A deft combination of jazz, funk, blues, and pop, it fit nicely into the burgeoning smooth jazz movement and helped solidify
Geissman's place as an in-demand performer in the Los Angeles studio scene. Subsequently, he appeared on a handful of albums by such artists as
Gordon Goodwin,
Mark Winkler,
David Benoit,
Keiko Matsui, and others. The guitarist returned to his solo work in 1983 with Put Away Childish Toys, followed by Drinkin' from the Money River in 1986. Several more well-received albums followed, including 1987's Snapshots, 1988's All My Tomorrows, and 1989's
Take Another Look.
During the '90s,
Geissman continued his run of delivering highly regarded crossover jazz efforts, including 1990's
Flying Colors, 1992's
Time Will Tell, 1993's
Rustic Technology, and 1998's In with the Out Crowd. He also made numerous studio dates during this period, appearing on albums by
Rodney Friend,
Sam Riney,
Peter Allen,
Sheila E.,
Diane Schuur,
Miki Howard,
Quincy Jones,
Van Dyke Parks, and many more. Along with his continued work as a session player,
Geissman began working in the film and television industry, contributing to soundtracks for Dawson's Creek, Boy Meets World, Monk, and others. In 2004, he earned an Emmy nomination for co-writing and recording the theme to the sitcom Two and a Half Men.
In 2000,
Geissman reunited with
Mangione for
Everything for Love. He then returned to his own work with 2006's
Say That!, followed by
Cool Man Cool in 2009. In 2012, he delivered his 15th studio effort,
Bop! Bang! Boom! A year later, he joined
Lorraine Feather for
Attachments, and in 2016 backed
Manhattan Transfer vocalist
Cheryl Bentyne on her
Lost Love Songs album. ~ Matt Collar