As a composer, Golia fuses the rich heritage of jazz, contemporary classical music and world music. Also a bandleader, he has presented his music to concert audiences in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United States in ensembles varying dramatically in size and instrumentation. Golia has won numerous awards as a composer, including grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Lila Wallace Commissioning Program, the California Arts Council, Meet the Composer, Clausen Foundation of the Arts, Funds for U.S. Artists and the American Composers Forum. In 1982, he created the ongoing 50-piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble to perform his compositions for chamber orchestra and jazz ensembles.
A multi-woodwind performer, Golia's recordings have been consistently picked by critics and readers of music journals for their yearly "ten best" lists. In 1990, he was the co-winner of the JazzTimes TDWR award for Bass Saxophone. In 1998, he ranked 1st in the Cadence Magazine Writers & Readers Poll and has continually placed in the Down Beat Critics Poll for Baritone & Soprano Saxophone.
In 1999, he won the LA Weekly award for "Best Jazz Musician". Jazziz magazine has also named him as one of the 100 people who have influenced the course of jazz in the 21st century. In 2006, the Jazz Journalists Association honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, he won the Down Beat Critics Poll in the "New Star" category for baritone saxophone.
Golia has a formed a number of ensembles that showcase both his style of composition and improvisation. These groups range from his Large Ensemble to a variety of mixed quintets, saxophone quartets, duos, sextets and arrangements for jazz and classical orchestras.[4] Most recently, Golia has performed and toured with his sextet which features some of the new voices in the Los Angeles free-improv scene.[5]
The group, composed of Gavin Templeton (alto sax), Daniel Rosenboom (trumpet), Alexander Noice (guitar), Andrew Lessman (drums) and Jon Armstrong (bass), has given performances at many of the premiere U.S. new music venues and festivals including Angel City Jazz Festival at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre,[6] the Outsound New Music Summit in San Francisco,[7] and The Stone in New York.[8]
Discographyedit
1977 Vinny Golia. Spirits in Fellowship(Nine Winds)
1978 Anthony Braxton. Creative Orchestra (Koln)1978 (hatART)
1979 Vinny Golia. Openhearted (Nine Winds)
1979 Vinny Golia Wind Quartet. Live at the Century City Playhouse - Los Angeles, 1979 (Dark Tree)
1979 The Vinny Golia Trio. ...In the Right Order... (Nine Winds)
1979 Tim Berne. The Five-Year Plan (Empire Productions)
1980 Vinny Golia. Solo (Nine Winds)
1980 Tim Berne. 7X (Empire Productions)
1980 Walter Thompson. Stardate (Dane Records)
1980 Roberto Miguel Miranda. The Creator's Musician (Nimbus West Records)
1981 The Vinny Golia Trio. Slice of Life (Nine Winds)
1981 The Vinny Golia Quintet. The Gift of Fury (Nine Winds)
1981 Roberto Miguel Miranda. Raphael (Nimbus West Records)
1982 The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. Compositions for Large Ensemble (Nine Winds)
1984 Wayne Peet/ Vinny Golia Duo. No Reverse (Nine Winds Records)
1984 John Rapson. Deeba Dah-Bwee (Nine Winds)
1984 Michael Vlatkovich. 9113 (Thankyou Records)
1985 The Vinny Golia Quintet. Goin' Ahead (Nine Winds)
1985 Michael Vlatkovich/Charles Britt. Transvalue Book I (Thankyou Records)
1986 The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. Facts of Their Own Lives (Nine Winds)
1986 Richard Grossman. One...Two...Three...Four... (Nine Winds)
1987 T.S.O.L. Thoughts of Yesterday (Posh Boy)
1988 The Steve Adams/Ken Filiano Quartet. Anacrusis (Nine Winds)
1989 The Vinny Golia Quintet. Out for Blood (Nine Winds)
1989 Vinny Golia Trio. Puff of Smoke (Altitude)
1989 The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band. First Prize (Enja)
2021 Vinny Golia.Even to this day…Movement One: Inoculations Music for Orchestra and Soloists
2022 Vinny Golia, Matt Smiley, Ron Coulter Effloresce (Kreating SounD) https://goliasmileycoulter.bandcamp.com/album/effloresce
2022 Vinny Golia, Matt Smiley, Ron Coulter Refractories (Kreating SounD) https://goliasmileycoulter.bandcamp.com/album/refractories
2023 Vinny Golia, Louis Lopez, Joshua Gerowitz, Matt Smiley, Ron Coulter Shimmer (Kreating SounD) https://goliasmileycoulter.bandcamp.com/album/shimmer
2024 Vinny Golia, Matt Smiley, Ron Coulter Vibratile (Kreating SounD) https://goliasmileycoulter.bandcamp.com/album/vibratile