‘Big Chill’ star charmed the Colorado Symphony crowd with a Denver-specific tune name-checking Bo Nix, Blucifer and legal weed.
By John Moore | October 16, 2026
About 2,100 Denverites were caught sockless in the late-night rain after the incorrigible Jeff Goldblum charmed them right off their feet on Tuesday at Boettcher Concert Hall.
You know Goldblum the actor from “Wicked,” “The Fly,” “The Big Chill,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and more. But jazz and classical fans were treated to a side of Goldblum that was fun, foreign and funky. This was Goldblum the jazz pianist and shamelessly endearing conversationalist delivering a highly irregular, adorably strange and utterly delightful evening with his own Mildred Snitzer Orchestra backed by the Colorado Symphony.
Strange, that is, unless you find a 73-year-old gangly, glittery goofball covering Taylor Swift’s “Lover” backed by a 50-piece orchestra to be completely normal.
Point of clarification: That was not weird at all – it was actually completely winning – largely because jazz vocalist and recent Broadway star Khailah Johnson (“& Juliet”) stood in for Swift as Goldblum tickled the ivories. Johnson also lent her vocal talents to “Misty” and several other standards.
Goldblum worked the crowd from start to finish, further cementing his reputation as one of the oddest, sweetest savants you’ll ever see. He sings, he dances, he plays that piano and he, yes, pilfers socks with his oozing charm. He peppers the crowd with random trivia questions like he’s in your very own living room playing Pictionary with your friends and neighbors.
Still, the thing that made this show quintessentially Goldblum was his amazeballs, seemingly improvised (but not really) ode to all things Denver. True to jazz itself, he performs one song called “Jeff Goldblum is Hosting Tonight” that riffs on his film titles and is tailored for each city on his tour.
Denver’s iteration was a blast, so I asked for permission to reprint some of the lyrics. It’s co-written by Goldblum’s musical director, Alex Frank, with Spencer Day. If you weren’t there, don’t you wish you coulda been a fly on this wall? Here’s a slice:
“We rehearsed this to bits, I’m prepared like Bo Nix, and I hope that everything goes right. Like a VIP guest at the Grand Budapest, I’m hosting in Denver tonight. It’s so sunny and warm, then a quick blizzard storm. Powder traffic has a nasty reputation. With an incredible speed, you first legalized weed. That’s why ‘South Park’ was a natural creation. Our band’s on fire a mile high, red as Blucifer’s eye. Man, that devil horse gives me such a fright. Even if I still bomb, I’ve got apartments.com because I’m hosting in Denver tonight.”