Goodman was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Queens, where he learned to play his first instrument (the trumpet) from public school music educator Allen Stier.
[2] Goodman attended the Berklee College of Music as a double major focusing on both bass performance and jazz composition and arranging.
[3] After graduating from Berklee in 1984, Goodman moved back to New York City and began his music career as a live and studio session bassist.
[1] Goodman's first score was for a documentary film called My Knees Were Jumping,[4] came about by a chance meeting with an old high school friend on the streets of New York City.
[5] Goodman has since gone on to score over 150 films and TV shows,[6] and has collaborated with many distinguished directors and producers including Neil LaBute, Albert Maysles, Andrew Jarecki, Barbara Kopple, Wong Kar-wai, Rachel Grady, Marshall Curry, Sebastian Junger, Barak Goodman, Alexandra Pelosi, Michael Epstein, Joe Berlinger, Oren Jacoby, Irene Taylor Brodsky, Lesli lwerks, and Fisher Stevens.
[9] In description of his music, Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter called his work on the film Being Elmo an “energetic, fanciful score”.
The album features performances from Randy Brecker (flugelhorn, trumpet), Brandee Younger (harp), Lisa Fischer (vocals), John Patitucci (bass), and Philippe Saisse (piano, vibes, marimba).
[18][19] Abe Beeson of NPR said of the album that, “Working with expert improvisational musicians means that each performance is a unique moment that will never be repeated.