Grant Geissman (born April 13, 1953) is an Americanjazz guitarist andEmmy-nominated composer. He has recorded extensively for severallabels since 1976 and played guitar on the theme forMonk and other TV series.

Geissman was born inBerkeley, California and grew up inSan Jose.^[1] When he was 11 years old, Geissman began his first guitar lesson with his private teacher Mrs. Allen. After his private tutoring was completed, he began taking guitar lessons from local musicians, such asGeoff Levin (of the pop groupPeople!),Don Cirallo,^[2]Bud Dimock, andTerry Saunders. Encouraged by these teachers to learn jazz standards and to improvise, he began playing in rock bands on weekends and also with small jazz groups and big bands. As a high school senior, he entered formal study with avant-garde guitaristJerry Hahn, who introduced him to the music ofCharlie Parker,Miles Davis,John Coltrane, andOrnette Coleman.^[3]

After graduating fromProspect High School, Geissman attendedDe Anza College, where he played in both De Anza's jazz band^[2] and the Daddio Band (of older professionals). Both were led by jazz educator Herb Patnoe, who was the director ofStan Kenton's Jazz Clinics.^[1] Since the Kenton band at that time had no guitar player, Patnoe recommended Geissman to teach at Kenton's summer clinics in both Sacramento and in southern California. While teaching at these clinics for several summers, Geissman first met (and played with) drummerPeter Erskine and pianist Dan Haerle.

In 1973, Geissman moved to Los Angeles and attended one semester atCal State Fullerton, where he played in the band led by pianist and clarinetistTom Ranier. Transferring toCal State Northridge in 1974 to be closer to the Hollywood studio scene, Geissman joined the Northridge "A" band led by jazz educator Joel Leach. While at Northridge, he began playing in bothGerald Wilson's Big Band and withLouie Bellson's Big Band, recording several albums with Bellson.^[2] ForLouie Bellson's Live at the Concord Summer Festival, Geissman contributed an original composition, "Starship Concord." He began playing in local jazz venues withTony Rizzi's guitar band, recordingTony Rizzi's Five Guitars Play Charlie Christian (1976), which featured Tom Ranier andPete Christlieb.

Geissman's first gig with flugelhornistChuck Mangione was at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on November 9, 1976. A short tour of the Pacific Northwest followed, and soon after Mangione asked Geissman to become a permanent member of the band.^[3] Mangione's band consisted of Geissman on guitar, Charles Meeks on bass, Chris Vadala on woodwinds, and James Bradley Jr. on drums. Geissman appeared on the albumFeels So Good (1977), which sold two million copies. On radio, the single "Feels So Good", featuring Geissman's guitar solo, was an international hit. A 1980 issue ofCurrent Biography called it the most recognized tune since "Michelle" byThe Beatles.

In 1978 Geissman released his first solo album,Good Stuff (Concord Jazz),^[1] which featured fellow Northridge alumnusGordon Goodwin on sax, Tom Ranier on piano,Bob Magnusson on bass guitar, and Steve Shaeffer on drums. Grant left Mangione's band in 1981 to pursue other endeavors, including his own albums, session work, and composing. Two of his albums (Flying Colors andTime Will Tell) reached number one in the Gavin and Radio and Records Contemporary Jazz airplay charts, and many of his recordings reached the top ten.

Geissman has been a regular member ofGordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band.^[4] He has appeared as a session musician on albums byPeter Allen,Sheila E.,Miki Howard,Quincy Jones,Rodney Friend,Diane Schuur,Van Dyke Parks, andLuis Miguel.^[1] He has recorded withKeiko Matsui,3rd Force,David Benoit,Cheryl Bentyne, andLorraine Feather and had a guitar solo as a separate track on the albumHold an Old Friend's Hand byTiffany.

Geissman reunited with Mangione in 2000 when they recorded the albumEverything for Love (Chesky).^[1] Geissman's early musical influences came full circle in 2003 when he playedDobro onRingo Starr'sRingorama album. In 2006, he released his thirteenth album as a leader,Say That!, on his own label, Futurism Records.^[5] A throwback to the jazz that first influenced him, he has described the sound of this album as "Wes Montgomery meetsHorace Silver meetsJimmy Smith."^[5] InAll About Jazz, John Kelman said,

It's a shame that the words 'smooth jazz' have become an oxymoron.Say That!, with its relaxed pace and easy-on-the-ears approach, is as smooth as it gets. But smooth jazz it ain't. Geissman's clear roots in the jazz mainstream, and a less-is-more style that reveals greater depth, makesSay That! a welcome return to the fold for a guitarist who's always deserved more street cred than he's received.^[5]

Geissman and Mangione appeared on many televisions shows, includingThe Tonight Show,Dinah Shore,Merv Griffin,Phil Donahue,The Midnight Special,Don Kirshner's Rock Concert andDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Geissman's other albums with Mangione includeChildren of Sanchez (1978),Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1979), andFun and Games (1980).

Geissman's playing has been heard on numerous television series, includingDawson's Creek,Family Affair,Boy Meets World,Touched by an Angel andLizzie McGuire. He can be heard playing theDjangoesque acoustic guitar on the theme for the television seriesMonk, starringTony Shalhoub. Nominated for a 2001 Emmy for co-writing the song "No Puedo Olvidar" for the daytime dramaPassions,^[6] he received an Emmy nomination in 2004 for anotherPassions song, "Momma, Gotta Let Her Go". In 2003, he was nominated for an Annie award for producingVan Dyke Parks' songs forHBO'sHarold and the Purple Crayon. He has written additional music for films and television movies, includingThe Ponder Heart (2001),Call Me Claus (2001),Monday Night Mayhem (2002),Die, Mommie, Die! (2003) andThe Mojo Cafe (2004). Dennis C. Brown and Geissman collaborated on the underscore for the hit CBS-TV sitcomTwo and a Half Men. The show's theme, co-written by Geissman, was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2004.^[7]

Apart from his musical career, Geissman has written books aboutMad magazine andEC Comics, includingCollectibly Mad (Kitchen Sink Press, 1995);Tales of Terror! The EC Comics Companion, co-authored withFred von Bernewitz (Fantagraphics, 2000); andFoul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics! (HarperDesign, 2005).^[8] He has also compiled and/or written annotations for ten otherMad-related books, and he appears in Chip Selby's documentary,Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television (2004).^[9] In 2011, Geissman teamed withRuss Cochran to launch a publishing company, GC Press, to continue the hardcoverEC Archives series originally published by Gemstone.^[10]

• Good Stuff (Concord Jazz, 1978)^[11]
• Put Away Childish Toys (Pausa, 1983)^[12]
• Drinkin' from the Money River (TBA, 1986)^[13]
• Snapshots (TBA, 1987)^[14]
• All My Tomorrows (TBA, 1988)^[15]
• Take Another Look (Bluemoon, 1990)^[16]
• Flying Colors (Bluemoon, 1991)^[17]
• Time Will Tell (Bluemoon, 1992)^[18]

• Reruns (compilation) (Bluemoon, 1992)^[19]

• Rustic Technology (Bluemoon, 1993)^[20]
• Business As Usual (Positive Music, 1995)^[21]
• In with the Out Crowd (Higher Octave, 1998)^[22]
• Say That! (Futurism, 2006)^[23]
• Cool Man Cool (Futurism, 2009)^[24]
• Bop! Bang! Boom! (Futurism, 2012)^[25]
• Blooz (Futurism, 2022)

• Official website

• 1953 births
• Living people
• Musicians from Berkeley, California
• Musicians from San Jose, California
• Guitarists from California
• 20th-century American guitarists
• 20th-century American male musicians
• American film score composers
• American information and reference writers
• American jazz guitarists
• American male guitarists
• EC Comics
• Comics scholars
• Mad (magazine) people
• De Anza College alumni
• California State University, Northridge alumni
• American male film score composers
• American male jazz musicians
• Smooth jazz guitarists

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