Patrick Godfrey was born in Toronto in 1948 and began playing piano at age … Read Full Bio ↴Patrick Godfrey was born in Toronto in 1948 and began playing piano at age 10. Initially self-taught, from the beginning he was interested in many styles of music, and his early influences included Fats Domino, Henry Mancini, Leonard Bernstein and JS Bach.
He started playing at church dances when he was 12, and went on to play and sing in a number of Toronto rock bands, including the Omegas, The Diplomats, and RCA recording artists Simon Caine.
By 1970 he had become a first call session pianist and worked with many well known Canadian musicians including Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLaughlan, Raffi, Marc Jordan, Shirley Eikhard, Ben Mink, Daniel Lanois, Ken Whitely, David Essig, Fraser and Debolt and Mendelson Joe.
During the early 1970's, Patrick studied piano and composition at the RCM with Canadian composer and educator Dr. Samuel Dolin, mentor to many well known Canadian musicians.
His work with singer Len Udow took him to Winnipeg one Summer, where he met animator Richard Condie and wrote the music for Richard's first animation, "Oh Sure". So began a friendship which continues today; Patrick has scored all of Richard's animations including the Academy Award nominated classics The Big Snit and La Salla.
More recently Richard and Patrick completed an internet project for the NFB entitle Etudes and Impromptus and they are currently planning a new project for the WWW.
Patrick has worked on numerous other animations, including the Academy award nominated short George and Rosemary, and the Oscar winning animation Bob's Birthday. He also scored all 52 episodes of Canada's most successful animated TV series, Nelvana's acclaimed Bob and Margaret, seen around the world.
Patrick has been in demand as a producer; his credits include the million-selling Classical Kids productions Mr. Bach Comes To Call, Mozart's Magic Fantasy, and Beethoven Lives Upstairs, and he has produced albums featuring artists such as Holly Cole, The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, The Lafayette String Quartet, and Michael Jones.
Active in the children's music market, he is the co-writer of Joshua Giraffe, made famous by Raffi on his million-selling classic Baby Beluga. Patrick is featured on Raffi's new CD entitled Communion.
Patrick's company Apparition Music is in the development stages of a children's TV series based on Joshua Giraffe.
Throughout his long career as animation composer, session pianist, accompanist and producer, Patrick has stayed hard at work on his own creative projects.
Critics greeted his first solo album, 1980's Ancient Ships...as "the surfacing of a major talent", possessing "an enormous sense of calm and joy". Keyboard Magazine noted the music's "clarity and grace".
Downbeat gave Bells of Earth (1982) four stars, Cadence called it "the most distinctive solo piano LP of the previous two years" and The Montreal Gazette described it as..." a refuge in troubled times"
Describing 1985's Small Circus, The Globe and Mail said "The harpsichord pieces team with ideas and roll along with a wonderful kinetic sort of energy; the instrument has never been as funky....".
In all, Patrick has released 10 solo albums, the most recent being 2009's That's Why, his first vocal album and Amos and The House Of Stones (2010), a new collection of instrumentals, hearkening back to his first recording Ancient Ships.
November, a live recording, features a selection of Patrick's songs and instrumentals as well as his original take on Bruce Cockburn's classic Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse All Night Long. Patrick played on the original Barrelhouse featured on Cockburn's Night Vision album back in 1970.
Patrick's other recordings include Still Life Still, 8 solo piano improvisations recorded in August of 2006 and released in 2007. Each piece is created in the moment, shapes and patterns emerging and evolving with flowing energy and meditative calm.
These Blues, a mix of standards and originals, both vocal and instrumental was released in 2006.
Blue Night, described by Heartsong Review as ..."electronic music at it's best...captivating! " and Strange Rain were released in 1995 and 1996.
Of his solo piano concert at The Montreal International Jazz Festival, The Montreal Gazette wrote...."the stunning material he played to an awe-struck crowd ranged freely from Bach to boogie, with flat-out jazz, romance and the hypnotic music of the East filling in the spaces in between...he kept the audience in mute wonder with the delicate beauty of his melodies, superhuman left hand patterns, and a right that moved with the delicacy of a butterfly in flight."
Patrick continues to perform in concert and teaches improvisation, composition and song writing at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria BC.
In concert he plays a mix of piano music both composed and improvised, and songs, mostly originals, with some favorites ranging from George Gershwin and Harold Arlen to Bruce Cockburn and the Beatles.
Patrick's music is available from www.apparitionmusic.com, CDBaby, and Apple iTunes.
He started playing at church dances when he was 12, and went on to play and sing in a number of Toronto rock bands, including the Omegas, The Diplomats, and RCA recording artists Simon Caine.
By 1970 he had become a first call session pianist and worked with many well known Canadian musicians including Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLaughlan, Raffi, Marc Jordan, Shirley Eikhard, Ben Mink, Daniel Lanois, Ken Whitely, David Essig, Fraser and Debolt and Mendelson Joe.
During the early 1970's, Patrick studied piano and composition at the RCM with Canadian composer and educator Dr. Samuel Dolin, mentor to many well known Canadian musicians.
His work with singer Len Udow took him to Winnipeg one Summer, where he met animator Richard Condie and wrote the music for Richard's first animation, "Oh Sure". So began a friendship which continues today; Patrick has scored all of Richard's animations including the Academy Award nominated classics The Big Snit and La Salla.
More recently Richard and Patrick completed an internet project for the NFB entitle Etudes and Impromptus and they are currently planning a new project for the WWW.
Patrick has worked on numerous other animations, including the Academy award nominated short George and Rosemary, and the Oscar winning animation Bob's Birthday. He also scored all 52 episodes of Canada's most successful animated TV series, Nelvana's acclaimed Bob and Margaret, seen around the world.
Patrick has been in demand as a producer; his credits include the million-selling Classical Kids productions Mr. Bach Comes To Call, Mozart's Magic Fantasy, and Beethoven Lives Upstairs, and he has produced albums featuring artists such as Holly Cole, The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, The Lafayette String Quartet, and Michael Jones.
Active in the children's music market, he is the co-writer of Joshua Giraffe, made famous by Raffi on his million-selling classic Baby Beluga. Patrick is featured on Raffi's new CD entitled Communion.
Patrick's company Apparition Music is in the development stages of a children's TV series based on Joshua Giraffe.
Throughout his long career as animation composer, session pianist, accompanist and producer, Patrick has stayed hard at work on his own creative projects.
Critics greeted his first solo album, 1980's Ancient Ships...as "the surfacing of a major talent", possessing "an enormous sense of calm and joy". Keyboard Magazine noted the music's "clarity and grace".
Downbeat gave Bells of Earth (1982) four stars, Cadence called it "the most distinctive solo piano LP of the previous two years" and The Montreal Gazette described it as..." a refuge in troubled times"
Describing 1985's Small Circus, The Globe and Mail said "The harpsichord pieces team with ideas and roll along with a wonderful kinetic sort of energy; the instrument has never been as funky....".
In all, Patrick has released 10 solo albums, the most recent being 2009's That's Why, his first vocal album and Amos and The House Of Stones (2010), a new collection of instrumentals, hearkening back to his first recording Ancient Ships.
November, a live recording, features a selection of Patrick's songs and instrumentals as well as his original take on Bruce Cockburn's classic Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse All Night Long. Patrick played on the original Barrelhouse featured on Cockburn's Night Vision album back in 1970.
Patrick's other recordings include Still Life Still, 8 solo piano improvisations recorded in August of 2006 and released in 2007. Each piece is created in the moment, shapes and patterns emerging and evolving with flowing energy and meditative calm.
These Blues, a mix of standards and originals, both vocal and instrumental was released in 2006.
Blue Night, described by Heartsong Review as ..."electronic music at it's best...captivating! " and Strange Rain were released in 1995 and 1996.
Of his solo piano concert at The Montreal International Jazz Festival, The Montreal Gazette wrote...."the stunning material he played to an awe-struck crowd ranged freely from Bach to boogie, with flat-out jazz, romance and the hypnotic music of the East filling in the spaces in between...he kept the audience in mute wonder with the delicate beauty of his melodies, superhuman left hand patterns, and a right that moved with the delicacy of a butterfly in flight."
Patrick continues to perform in concert and teaches improvisation, composition and song writing at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria BC.
In concert he plays a mix of piano music both composed and improvised, and songs, mostly originals, with some favorites ranging from George Gershwin and Harold Arlen to Bruce Cockburn and the Beatles.
Patrick's music is available from www.apparitionmusic.com, CDBaby, and Apple iTunes.
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Still Life Still Improvisation #6
Patrick Godfrey Lyrics
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The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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MorningBunion
I love how Christopher Walken is always staring at his cue cards during most of his skits. It's his personality that makes up for it in his SNL characters.
Aida Amore
More Cowbell & Celebrity Jeopardy are definitely my all time favs! 😂
Skinny Buddha
Adam Driver skits and Kate McKinnon's UFO skit are my absolute favorites from the past decade
Robert Smith
Mojo got it right on "More cowbell" being number one. I can't tell you how many times I've watched that sketch and it never gets old.
HOME, HELP & HEART
You definitely hit two of my all-time favorites in this compilation! The Chippendale dance off and the more cow bell. Classics!
HOME, HELP & HEART
@James Wallace and I was. I had never heard that before. That doesn't change my mind about it being funny. And I'm a fat person just like he was.
James Wallace
@HOME, HELP & HEART Just thought you might like to be educated on what Farley actually thought of the sketch.
HOME, HELP & HEART
@James Wallace your opinion is your opinion in mine is mine. I'm sorry he was made to do a bit he didn't want to do.
James Wallace
Chippendale dance off sucked. Farley didn't even want to do it, he was humiliated. Watch Bob Odenkirk talk about it. They were mocking Farley and he did not like it. He had far better, far funnier sketches.
WesCrusher
Shweety balls was hilariously funny. I remember seeing it live when i was 17 and it still makes me laugh.