Jeffrey Golub, jazz, blues and rock guitarist, husband and father of two, passed away peacefully on January 1, 2015 at his home in New York City. Born in 1955 in Akron, OH, Jeff was 59.
While Jeff’s career was notable for its great depth and accomplishment, his true legacy extends beyond his musical catalog. Jeff’s profound talent was only exceeded by his passion, his humility and his kindness.
From a very early age, Jeff knew he was a musician. Growing up with an eclectic musical sensibility, Jeff absorbed myriad childhood influences from the Grand Ole Opry to the British Invasion. At age 8, Jeff’s father took him to see the Grand Ole Opry when it came to Akron. After watching Flatts and Scruggs perform, Jeff declared that he would be a guitar player, and he never changed course.
As a young man, Jeff studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for one year. He left Berklee to study privately with Mick Goodrick, who focused on individually tailored ear-training techniques. Jeff learned that, without proper ear-training, advanced music making will sound mechanical and soulless. Goodrick taught Jeff to connect his head with his heart and to be “zen” with the guitar.
Jeff later studied with Charlie Banacos, who taught him amazing discipline. Largely as a result of both Goodrick’s and Banacos’ tutelage, Jeff developed the signature soulful style that distinguished his career.
Jeff was playing clubs in Boston when he met drummer Bobby Chouinard. Through Bobby, Jeff landed a gig backing the ’80s arena-rock star Billy Squier, with whom he did three world tours and recorded seven albums. His impressive work with Squier led to gigs with such artists as Tina Turner, Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band, John Waite, Vanessa Williams, Gato Barbieri and Bill Evans.
Eventually, Jeff returned to NYC to play live shows with his band, Low Profile. In spring of 1988 he was invited to audition for Rod Stewart. Rod asked Jeff to play Maggie May and, just halfway through the song, Rod told him, “You’re hired, let’s go to the pub.” Jeff played with Rod for a decade before deciding to leave the band to focus on his own jazz recordings and touring. Over the years, Jeff would happily return to work with Stewart and his band, yet always kept solo work his priority.
In 1988, the same year that he began playing with Rod Stewart, Jeff released his first album, Unspoken Words. Through his subsequent recording projects, Jeff has collaborated with such noteworthy peers as Gerald Albright, Henry Butler, Rick Braun, Jon Cleary, Marc Cohn, Richard Elliot, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Lorber, Kirk Whalum and Peter White.
In 2011, Jeff suddenly went blind. He continued to record and tour until the fall of 2013, when he was forced to retire due to undiagnosed neurological complications. Ultimately, Jeff was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).
Jeff has said, “There’s only two kinds of music: the kind that’s from the heart and the kind that’s not.” Jeff certainly lived his life “from the heart,” and was always grateful for his friends, family, colleagues and his music. As important as his music was to him, however, nothing made Jeff happier than his family and the life he built with his wife, Audrey, whom he married in 1997, and their two cherished sons, Chris (age 14) and Matthew (age 12).
Jeff is predeceased by his father, Peter. He is survived by his wife, Audrey Stafford Golub, and his sons, Chris and Matthew Golub; his mother, Pearl Golub, and brother, Pete Golub, of Copley, OH; his sister, Patti Hippler, brother-in-law, Bob Hippler, and nephew, Jason Hippler, of Massillon, OH; sisters and brothers-in-law in Atlanta, GA, Joan and Jay Betts, Susan Stafford, Lisa and Steve McCoy and Eleanor Frongillo, and their children, Lauren and David Betts, Shannon Fahey, Kevin and Patrick Duffy, Bobby and Joey Frongillo and Stafford and Audrey McCoy.
Memorial services will be held at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY 10025. Details will be announced as soon as they are available on jeffgolub.com.
A fund is being established to help with educational and other specified expenses for Jeff’s sons. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Jeff’s legacy by contributing to this fund click here for details or making a donation to curepsp.org.
We join with Jeff’s family and friends in saying farewell.
