Welcome to the next new episode of the podcast! In this episode, my topic is the unmistakable and always resonant music of the unrivaled, brilliant, often imitated but never duplicated John Barry. His unique and indelible film scores have elevated every project for which he composed, from the James Bond series to DANCES WITH WOLVES and so much wonderful music in between. My focus here is mainly on his music outside of James Bond, since I feel that 007 would deserve his own episode, and how Barry's style evolved from the jazz & pop trends of his day to the lush, sonorous orchestral works that garnered him awards and notoriety, heard in scores such as SOMEWHERE IN TIME and OUT OF AFRICA. 

John Barry was born in York, England in 1933 and became steeped in the craft of movie-making thanks to the fact this his father owned several local cinemas, allowing the young Barry to watch, observe and absorb films of all types. His formal music studies led to him to the trumpet, then diving into the world of jazz and pop, expressing all of this during the late 1950's and early 1960's primarily through his own band, The John Barry Seven. In a way, he could be considered one of the first film composers who came from the world of pop music, an early example for current composers such as Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, themselves formerly from the pop/rock genre.

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

Email the show at [email protected]   

Welcome to the next new episode of the podcast! In this episode, my topic is the unmistakable and always resonant music of the unrivaled, brilliant, often imitated but never duplicated John Barry. His unique and indelible film scores have elevated every project for which he composed, from the James Bond series to DANCES WITH WOLVES and so much wonderful music in between. My focus here is mainly on his music outside of James Bond, since I feel that 007 would deserve his own episode, and how Barry's style evolved from the jazz & pop trends of his day to the lush, sonorous orchestral works that garnered him awards and notoriety, heard in scores such as SOMEWHERE IN TIME and OUT OF AFRICA. 

John Barry was born in York, England in 1933 and became steeped in the craft of movie-making thanks to the fact this his father owned several local cinemas, allowing the young Barry to watch, observe and absorb films of all types. His formal music studies led to him to the trumpet, then diving into the world of jazz and pop, expressing all of this during the late 1950's and early 1960's primarily through his own band, The John Barry Seven. In a way, he could be considered one of the first film composers who came from the world of pop music, an early example for current composers such as Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, themselves formerly from the pop/rock genre.

In this episode, I am joined by well-renowned composer, orchestrator and copyist Stuart Balcomb, talking about his background and career. In addition we discuss the wonderful music he provided episodes of the highly-regarded and popular 1990's BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, for which Mr. Balcomb was part of an amazing group guided and mentored by the talented and late lamented composer, Shirley Walker. But first, I inquire into his publication of the memoirs of famed Hollywood session player, composer and conductor Artie Kane, titled "Music To My Years: Life and Love Between The Notes". The latter was published by Stuart through Amphora Editions.

Regarding Artie Kane, he grew up as a piano prodigy and initially made a career of performing on radio and stage shows before emerging as one of the top session players for TV and film scores in Hollywood. He also played on albums for many famous pop stars of their day, such as Frank Sinatra. Artie Kane then moved into composing for media, including many popular TV series such as WONDER WOMAN, THE LOVE BOAT and MATLOCK. Then starting in the 90's he became a sought-after conductor on scores for composers including John Williams, Danny Elfman and James Newton Howard. Kane's memoir, "Music To My Years: Life and Love Between The Notes", tracks his life both professionally and personally. the good and the bad, in an honest and entertaining fashion, funny and sometimes heartbreaking, and is an enlightening read for anyone interested in the art and craft of music.  

You can find out more about Stuart Balcomb at his website https://www.stuartbalcomb.com/.

You can find out info about Artie Kane's memoir at https://amphoraeditions.com/.

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

Email the show at [email protected]

In this episode, I am joined by talented composer, songwriter and music producer David Das. We talk about his background in studying music, arranging and composing and how George Gershwin's inimitable concert work "Rhapsody In Blue" provided him so much inspiration and direction. Other topics include writing music for all forms of visual media (trailers, games, dramatic projects) as well as his efforts as president of the non-profit group The Academy of Scoring Arts, which is an organization devoted to the study of influential classical, jazz and film music and is also a way for creatives in the industry to network. Lastly, we discuss various concert classical works, from Mozart to Debussey to Schoenberg and Stravinsky, and their collective influence on movie music, both compositionally and philosophically. You can find David and his work at http://www.daviddas.com and The Academy of Scoring Arts at http://www.academyofscoringarts.org. As a side note, there are few electronic glitches that crop up very briefly in this episode, so my apologies in advance!  

I also talk about the fascinating and entertaining new memoir by famed musician, film/TV composer and conductor Artie Kane, published by Amphora Editions, titled "Music To My Years: Life and Love Between The Notes", available at amphoraeditions.com/books. 

Welcome to the next new episode of my podcast! In this episode, I turn my spotlight on composer Hans Zimmer and his music for the movies. Born in 1957, in Frankfurt, Germany, Zimmer's initial musical background was by way of pop music, most famously with the band The Buggles, who had a huge hit in 1979 with their perky tune "Video Killed The Radio Star".  Later, he shifted into writing ad jingles before notable British composer Stanley Myers brought him over as an apprentice. Soon, they were co-composing together on a number of film scores. Zimmer quickly graduated to his own solo composing career in 1988 with A WORLD APART, which very soon led to notable big hits such as RAIN MAN, DRIVING MISS DAISY, BACKDRAFT, CRIMSON TIDE, THE LION KING and more. I wanted to look at how Zimmer's unique blend of synths, pop, exotic instruments and traditional orchestral forces changed the soundscape of movie music, starting in the 90's and continuing through to today, as heard in such blockbusters as the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and DARK KNIGHT series, INCEPTION and DUNKIRK.

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

Email the show at [email protected]

Welcome to the next new episode of my podcast! In this episode, I turn my spotlight on composer Hans Zimmer and his music for the movies. Born in 1957, in Frankfurt, Germany, Zimmer's initial musical background was by way of pop music, most famously with the band The Buggles, who had a huge hit in 1979 with their perky tune "Video Killed The Radio Star".  Later, he shifted into writing ad jingles before notable British composer Stanley Myers brought him over as an apprentice. Soon, they were co-composing together on a number of film scores. Zimmer quickly graduated to his own solo composing career in 1988 with A WORLD APART, which very soon led to notable big hits such as RAIN MAN, DRIVING MISS DAISY, BACKDRAFT, CRIMSON TIDE, THE LION KING and more. I wanted to look at how Zimmer's unique blend of synths, pop, exotic instruments and traditional orchestral forces changed the soundscape of movie music, starting in the 90's and continuing through to today, as heard in such blockbusters as the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and DARK KNIGHT series, INCEPTION and DUNKIRK.

Welcome to the next new episode my podcast! This episode has more of a focus on music for television. In the first section I explore the music composed by Stu Phillips for the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA television series, which aired for one season on ABC in 1978, produced by Glen A. Larson. This show and its music was an early favorite of mine and Phillips composed many wonderful themes and motifs heard through that single season. In the second section I talk with my friend and fellow soundtrack fan Mike Hagen about his favorite scores from TV series of the 1960's and 70's, including STAR TREK, LOST IN SPACE and DANGER MAN, the latter a UK television series aired here in the U.S. as SECRET AGENT MAN. Plus there are other fun recollections of his including his time working at the Tower Records in New York City and also being an extra on "Saturday Night Live"!

If you're interested in more of Stu Phillips, check out his website, http://www.stuwho.com/. 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

Email the show at [email protected]

Welcome to the next new episode my podcast! This episode has more of a focus on music for television. In the first section I explore the music composed by Stu Phillips for the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA television series, which aired for one season on ABC in 1978, produced by Glen A. Larson. This show and its music was an early favorite of mine and Phillips composed many wonderful themes and motifs heard through that single season. In the second section I talk with my friend and fellow soundtrack fan Mike Hagen about his favorite scores from TV series of the 1960's and 70's, including STAR TREK, LOST IN SPACE and DANGER MAN, the latter a UK television series aired here in the U.S. as SECRET AGENT MAN. Plus there are other fun recollections of his including his time working at the Tower Records in New York City and also being an extra on "Saturday Night Live"! If you're interested in more of Stu Phillips, check out his website, http://www.stuwho.com/. 

In this episode, I focus my "Listening To.." series towards the incomparable and distinctive French composer, Maurice Jarre. Born in 1924, Jarre studied composition and percussion at the Paris Conservatory, beginning his film scoring career in his native France during the 1950's through short films and documentaries. It was then his peerless, epic music for 1962's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, one of the most highly honored and well-remembered movies, that introduced him to English-speaking audiences, who immediately embraced him. His subsequent career continually flourished until his passing in 2009, chock-a-block with additional musical highlights in films such as DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, IS PARIS BURNING?, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, WITNESS, MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME and GHOST. His uniquely melodic and often idiosyncratic style and approach remains a memorable component in all projects he scored. 

Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle

https://twitter.com/score2settlepod

Email the show at [email protected]

In this episode, I focus my "Listening To.." series towards the incomparable and distinctive French composer, Maurice Jarre. Born in 1924, Jarre studied composition and percussion at the Paris Conservatory, beginning his film scoring career in his native France during the 1950's through short films and documentaries. It was then his peerless, epic music for 1962's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, one of the most highly honored and well-remembered movies, that introduced him to English-speaking audiences, who immediately embraced him. His subsequent career continually flourished until his passing in 2009, chock-a-block with additional musical highlights in films such as DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, IS PARIS BURNING?, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, WITNESS, MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME and GHOST. His uniquely melodic and often idiosyncratic style and approach remains a memorable component in all projects he scored.