Who would have thought that a break in filming would Wicked would lead to a unique collaboration between Jeff Goldblum and Ariana Grande? And yet, the charismatic actor and pianist managed to add Grande's voice to his new jazz album, Still Blooming, through a spontaneous musical encounter.
In his new episode Rolling Stone Music Now, Goldblum reveals how this unexpected collaboration was born. In between his scenes as the Wizard of Oz, he would hum songs from the American Songbook or favorite musicals. His co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo eagerly joined in on the… informal jam session on set. Until director Jon M. Chu had to break up the party and yell, “3, 2, 1, let’s go!”
One day, Goldblum sang “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)”—a 1931 song by Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters. Grande stopped, moved. “My grandfather used to sing that to me every day,” she told him. Goldblum jumped at the chance to record it together. She immediately agreed.
The same album also features Cynthia Erivo, who performs with impressive skill "We'll Meet Again" – a song that Goldblum's band suggested, inspired by its cinematic use in Dr. Strangelove of 1964. Erivo sang live with the orchestra, giving Goldblum one of the most magical moments of the project: "Every time she opens her mouth, I'm stunned," he says.
Another notable participation is that of Scarlett Johansson, who – like Grande – recorded her vocals remotely.
The Still Blooming, in collaboration with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, is the continuation of Goldblum's jazz journey and shows how unpredictable, yet beautiful, the collaboration of the arts can be when there is authentic chemistry.
However, he has no plans to slow down anytime soon: "For now, my appetite is good, my body is strong. I'm full of vitamin A and I just enjoy doing a little bit of everything. We'll see where this takes me."
