Mick Goodrick

by Scott YanowOne of many significant guitarists to be featured at one time or another with vibraphonist Gary Burton's groups (including Larry Coryell, John Scofield, and Pat Metheny), Mick Goodrick has not achieved the fame of the others due to his focusing on a career as a jazz educator. However, Goodrick has long had his own distinctive sound. He started on guitar when he was 12, was inspired to play jazz during Stan Kenton's summer camps, and in 1967, he graduated from Berklee College. He was soon teaching at Berklee before spending a period with Burton (1973-1976) recording extensively with the vibist. Since then, Goodrick has mostly been a teacher in the Boston area, most notably at the New England Conservatory, although he did tour with Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra in 1985 and worked for a period with Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition in the late '80s. Mick Goodrick has recorded as a leader much too infrequently: an ECM date in 1978 and sessions in the 1990s for CMP, Novus, and Ram.