Biography

Clarinetist, saxophonist, and educator Victor Goines is  one of the most respected and multi-faceted musicians in the jazz world  today. He is a member of the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra since  1993 and as well as a leader of his quartet. As a leader, Goines has ten  recordings to his credit including his latest A Dance At The Mardi Gras Ball (2016, Rosemary Joseph Records). A gifted composer as well, he has more  than 100 original compositions and 50 arrangements for jazz orchestra  and small ensembles to his credit and a number of commissions to his  credit including Untamed Elegance(2016, Jazz At Lincoln Center), Crescent City (2014, Jazz At Lincoln Center), Suite for Bird (2014 Music Institute of Chicago), Benny: Then, Now, Forever (2009, ASCAP/Louis Armstrong Foundations), Three Sketches for Band(2008, University of Scranton) and Base Line (2002, The Juilliard School) to name a few. Adept at a bevy of  instruments, Goines has also collaborated, recorded, and performed with  many noted jazz and R&B artists such as Terence Blanchard, Ruth  Brown, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, Bob  Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Green, Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard,  B.B. King, Lenny Kravitz, Branford Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, James  Moody, Willie Nelson, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, Diana Ross, The  Four Tops, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Ahmad Jamal,  Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson, Shirley Horn, Natalie Cole,  Paul Simon, and a host of other renowned musicians and ensembles. 

Goines  has been deeply committed to the field of music education. In November  2007, he was named Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music at  Northwestern University. Before that appointment, he was Artistic  Director of the Jazz Studies Program at the Juilliard School and a  faculty member in jazz clarinet and saxophone. During his tenure at  Juilliard, the department expanded from a collaborative program with  Jazz at Lincoln Center to include bachelor’s and master’s degrees and  artist diplomas. Goines has also served on the faculties of Florida A  & M University, the University of New Orleans, and Loyola University  in New Orleans and acts as an education consultant to Jazz at Lincoln  Center. He has conducted clinics and workshops for the Greater New  Orleans Suzuki Foundation, Cornell University, the Columbus Youth Jazz  Ensemble, William Aberhart Music Association (Calgary, Alberta, Canada),  the Horns To Havana Project (Havana, Cuba), and numerous performing  arts centers worldwide.