David Garfield

David Garfield stands out as a keyboardist, composer, and arranger whose reach extends across jazz, fusion, pop, and additional styles. A fixture on the West Coast since the 1970s, he established Creatchy Records and has earned recognition both through his independent releases and through collaborations with figures such as Tom Scott, George Benson, David Sanborn, Steve Lukather, and numerous others. He helped form the crossover jazz ensemble Karizma and has issued several acclaimed solo recordings, among them the 1997 Jeff Porcaro tribute, 2003’s Giving Back, and 2020’s Outside the Box, which features vocalist Alex Ligertwood.

Born in Chicago in 1956, Garfield spent his formative years in New York, where early piano instruction sparked his musical development. Around 1970 his family relocated to St. Louis, immersing him in a lively blend of jazz, blues, rock, and R&B. He gravitated toward fusion and progressive rock, absorbing the sounds of Herbie Hancock, the Crusaders, and the LA Express. Following high school he settled in Los Angeles and, in 1975, launched Karizma. By the early 1980s he had also started Creatchy Records; the group’s debut, Dream Come True, appeared in 1983 with contributions from Tom Scott, David Paich, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, and drummer Jeff Porcaro. A follow-up album, Cuba, arrived in 1986 and featured bassist Nathan East. Additional Karizma projects, including All the Way Live and (Forever in The) Arms of Love, continued through the decade.

Under his own name Garfield has issued several recordings, among them 1989’s L.A. Keyboard Project and 1991’s Recollections. Seasons of Change followed in 1992. In 1997 he delivered Tribute to Jeff Porcaro, a star-studded homage to the Toto drummer who had passed away five years earlier, with appearances by Don Henley, Eddie Van Halen, Michael McDonald, Richard Marx, and others. The project gained wide attention and led to further solo efforts, including 1998’s I Am the Cat...Man. He also participated in the Los Lobotomys supergroup alongside Lukather and additional Toto members, releasing Candyman in 1994.

Beyond his own output, Garfield became a sought-after session musician, adding keyboard work to projects by David Sanborn, Cher, Freddie Hubbard, Brandon Fields, the Rippingtons, Larry Carlton, and Hiroshima. He has performed live with Boz Scaggs, Michael Bolton, Natalie Cole, Rick Braun, and additional artists. Since the late 1980s he has served as musical director for guitarist and singer George Benson.

During the 2000s Garfield maintained a steady schedule of releases on Creatchy, issuing Giving Back in 2004 and The State of Things in 2005. He forged a productive partnership with Smokey Robinson, co-writing and producing several albums. His association with Benson deepened as well: he co-wrote “One Like You” for the 2009 release Songs & Stories and handled arrangements, production, and performance on 2011’s Guitar Man. In 2015 he arranged and played on “Higher Than the World,” Benson’s duet with Van Morrison from Duets: Re-working the Catalogue. Live appearances have remained central; Garfield has performed regularly at Jakarta’s Java Jazz Festival alongside Larry Coryell, Gerald Albright, and Alex Ligertwood, receiving the festival’s Hall of Fame Award in 2012. Since 2016 he has toured as a supporting musician with saxophonist David Sanborn.

Garfield introduced the “Outside the Box” initiative in 2017, generating an ongoing series of independent tracks with musicians drawn from varied backgrounds. The releases include a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Go Home” with Paul Jackson Jr. and Kirk Whalum, “Jammin’” featuring Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, and “Stay” with George Benson and David Sanborn. The covers collection Outside the Box, again featuring Alex Ligertwood, appeared in 2020.