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Sofia Goodman

Sofia Goodman is a drummer and composer residing in Nashville, TN. Before enrolling at Berklee College of music for her Bachelor's, Sofia was fortunate to learn and perform with Esperanza Spalding in a Berklee summer program jazz ensemble. Esperanza's encouragement inspired Sofia to perfect her craft. After graduating Berklee in 2011 (Drum Set Performance), Sofia moved to Nashville in 2012. In Nashville, Sofia's resume grew and she worked as a freelance musician and teacher. Tony Rounce of Ace Records said this about her playing at the Poretta Soul Festival:"There isn't enough time to do full justice to the qualities of every member of Heart & Soul, but it would be wrong not the spotlight the unit's brilliant drummer Sofia Goodman, whose drive and precision across 5-6 hours behind her kit each night put her in a class with any of the world's great soul drummers, from Al Jackson Jr., Howard Grimers and Roger Hawkins to Benny Benjamin, James Gadson and beyond." She also performed at Bonnaroo with New Age group HuDost and recorded on a song of theirs with Jon Anderson from Yes.

In 2017, she was inspired to begin leading her own group, called The Sofia Goodman Group. The group performs a variety of jazz and they have performed at various festivals such as The Elkhart Jazz Fest (2x), The Alex City Jazz Fest, USM Jazz and Blues Fest, Fort Harrod Jazz Fest (3x), West Georgia Jazz Fest, and more. Her debut album "Myriad of Flowers" was released in 2018 and was nominated by The Nashville Music Industry Awards for Best Jazz album of 2019. The album was jazz fusion, with funk and rock influences. In 2020 she was nominated by The Nashville Music Industry Awards for Best Jazz Instrumentalist. In 2021, she earned her Master's Degree in Commercial Music Composition and Media Writing and won The Pathways to Jazz grant from Boulder, Colorado for her upcoming album, Secrets of the Shore. She is a Zildjian artist and is on the Vic Firth Education Team.

Awards

Pathways to Jazz Grant 2021

Performance Plus Grant 2023

Nominations:

NIMA Best Jazz Album 2019

NIMA Best Jazz Instrumentalist 2020

Gear

Zildjian cymbals

Sonor drums

Sofia Goodman: Secrets of the Shore

Read "Secrets of the Shore" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
August 21, 2023

Secrets of the Shore, Nashville-based drummer Sophia Goodman's second album, is thematic, and its essential element is water. Goodman wrote or co-wrote the ten numbers, each of which is designed to induce in the listener's mind some aspect of water, from placid to turbulent, gentle to intense. As is true of all thematic enterprises, it rests with the listener to hear and appreciate what the composer has in mind. Goodman fares well in that respect, as her ...

Recording

Nashville-Based Drummer-composer Sofia Goodman Extends Her Creative And Technical Prowess On 'Secrets Of The Shore,' Due July 14 On Joyous Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
June 11, 2023

Drummer-composer Sofia Goodman pursues an increasingly sophisticated and multidimensional vision with the July 14 release of Secrets of the Shore on Joyous Records. The Nashville-based Goodman’s sophomore album with her eponymous Group (trumpeter Matt White, trombonist Roy Agee, saxophonists Joel Frahm and Dan Hitchcock, clarinetist Max Dvorin, keyboardist Alex Murphy, guitarist Rheal Janelle, bassist Leland Nelson and percussionist Carlos Duran) finds her changing direction from the jazz-funk fusion of her debut album—though still retaining aspects of that style—and exploring thoughtful ...
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“Goodman’s work strives for lofty goals, takes big musical risks and aspires for the freedom to manifest itself fully,” wrote Sean L. Maloney last year in the Nashville Scene. “It is truly progressive and fundamentally jazz—and a reason to be excited about the continuing evolution of jazz in Music City."