This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This 2005 score was written by Harry Gregson-Williams. Gregson-Williams created a score that was just right for the expansive universe portrayed in the film. His best moments come when he trades motives among different parts of the brass section. This one is a true delight. Enjoy!
Film Score Friday: Total Recall
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from Total Recall. Jerry Goldsmith wrote the score for this 1990 film. Goldsmith described this as one of this better works. The ample material given to the low brass stands out for us. Enjoy!
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Happy Independence Day 2017
We wish you a happy Independence Day. To celebrate, enjoy the Juilliard Trombone Choir with Joe Alessi playing the Star Spangled Banner.
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Film Score Friday: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt wrote the score for this 2003 film. Alan Silvestri was originally attached, but was replaced before production began.
This score has become one of Zimmer's best known works. This is with good reason. The score matches the film well. It also manages to be accessible to a general audience while still retaining some layers. Our favorite parts are when the Horns are allowed to run free with the melody. Enjoy!
Film Score Friday: The Poseidon Adventure
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from The Poseidon Adventure. John Williams wrote the score for this 1972 disaster film. This was a film made during a period when disaster films were numerous. The score bears resemblance to a number of these. Despite this, you still get some great hints at what would become Williams' style in later years. In particular, you can hear the origins of Superman and some other later works here. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: The Natural
This week on Film Score Friday we listen to the score from The Natural. Randy Newman wrote the score for this 1984 baseball film. Even if you think you've never heard this score, you probably have. Newman's score has been repurposed so many times it's astonishing. This is a great score, especially given the synthesizer craze that dominated so many movies during this time. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: The Shadow
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from The Shadow. Jerry Goldsmith wrote the score for this 1994 film. Comic book movies are not a new thing. Good comic book movies are and alas this film was not meant to break the streak of poor quality in the 90s. Despite the mess on screen, this is a tremendous score. The score is unmistakably Goldsmith and that makes it a treat. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
This week on Film Score Friday we listen to the score from The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Miklos Rozsa wrote the score for this 1973 retelling of the classic tale. Rozsa hits many of the same tones you hear in other middle eastern based films like Lawrence of Arabia. The original recording for the film was marred with technical problems, but the core material is worth a look. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: Jurassic Park
This week on Film Score Friday we listen to the score from Jurassic Park. John Williams wrote the score for this 1993 film. This is one of Williams' best scores and for good reason. The highlight of the score for us is the when the main characters enter "the park" for the first time. The moment is grandiose, but made even more so with the addition of William's theme. Enjoy!
Film Score Friday: The Lone Ranger
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from The Lone Ranger. Hans Zimmer wrote the score for this 2013 cowboy remake. This is an awful movie with a good score. Zimmer uses techniques that will be familiar to those who have heard his work. A lot of the same scoring from the Batman trilogy find their way into this score. Despite it being unmistakably Zimmer in nature, the composer still manages a few nods to the scores of classic westerns. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: King King (1976)
This week on Film Score Friday we listen to the score from King Kong. John Barry wrote the score for this 1976 remake. If you close your eyes during this score you might think James Bond will appear soon. There's definitely more than a little resemblance to the Bond scores Barry wrote. Despite this, Barry made a credible entry in the Kong franchise here. The low Brass section gets the most action here. As you might guess, they often serve as a musical queue for the presence of the giant gorilla. Who would have thought? Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: Pete's Dragon
This week on Film Score Friday we listen to the score from Pete's Dragon. Daniel Hart wrote the score for this 2016 remake adventure. Howard Shore was originally chosen to write the score but Hart eventually stepped in. Hart used celtic-like themes to light up this film. It works really well and makes for a good time. Enjoy!
Happy President's Day 2017
As you celebrate and reflect on this President's Day, we wish you peace. One of our favorite ways to celebrate is with Copland's Lincoln Portrait. The video above includes Leonard Bernstein conductng and Aaron Copland narrating with the National Symphony. Although this is awesome, our favorite recording is with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony joined by James Earl Jones to narrate.
We wish you a happy President's Day.
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Film Score Friday: The Three Musketeers
This week on Film Score Friday we listen to the score from The Three Musketeers. Michael Kamen wrote the score for this 1993 film. If you've heard Kamen's work on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, then you'll find much of this familiar. Although we would say Robin Hood is the better score, this lesser known one is still quite good. Kamen embraces the swashbuckling theme of the film right away and it works quite well. Enjoy!
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Brucker Hall, Fort Myer, Virginia
Previewing the 2017 American Trombone Workshop
The US Army Band will once again host the American Trombone Workshop. The conference will take place March 8-11 in Fort Myer Virginia. This is always a great event. Some guest artists include:
Tom Ashworth
Blair Bollinger
Ken Thompkins
Mark Hetzler
Craig Mulcahy
Fred Wesley
David Taylor
Jeremy Wilson
What are you looking forward to in this year's ATW? Let us know in the comments.
Highlights from 2016:
Bugler's Holiday with the US Army Band
Jens Lindemann, Thomas Hooten, and Wiff Rudd join Pershing's own for Bugler's Holiday. You can tell everyone is having fun here. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: The Sons of Katie Elder
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from The Sons on Katie Elder. Elmer Bernstein wrote the score for this 1965 western. Those familiar with Benstein's work with westerns will feel right at home here. The Horns have plenty of time to shine with the triumphant main theme. Enjoy!
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Apps: Pitch
“Pitch is a sleek, minimalist instrument tuner for iPhone.
Features:
- Simple & easy to use
- Quickly tune any musical instrument
- Detailed analytics to help you track your progress
- Hear individual notes or chords with the tone generator
- Works great in noisy environments
- Transpose to any key
- Dark and light modes
- 100% free with no ads!”
Pitch has some features you'll see in other tuner apps like displaying your proximity to actual pitch and generating tones. Where the app stands out from the crowd is analytics. The app tracks analytics over time and gives some long term feedback on intonation. The developer describes it as "...a fitness tracker for musicians."
“It’s a fitness tracker for musicians!”
We found the app to be helpful and a handy way to see how intonation is shaping up beyond just one note at a time. Separately, we found the app easy to use and pleasing to the eyes (no ads!).
Pitch is available on the ios store and is free. Let us know in the comments what you think about the app.
Harvard Business School on Wynton and the Future of Jazz
Harvard's prestigious business school opines on a wide range of topics. Even with this in mind, it's surprising to see them address the future prospects for Jazz in America. Rohit Deshpande, a professor at the school, recently partnered with Wynton Marsalis to do a case study on Jazz. This was done from a marketing lens and focused in on many of the challenges the genre must overcome to continue bringing in audiences.
Harvard Business School published an in depth case study on the subject, but they also did a podcast with the author presenting some highlights. There's some sobering thoughts about future prospects, but this quote stood out to us most.
“Not only has the popularity of jazz declined, but interest in attending live concerts has declined. Actually, a very significant decline in the last ten years in two critical age groups: 18 to 24 and 25 to 35. Jazz has an aging audience and a big issue for an institution like Jazz at Lincoln Center is, how do you get young people interested?”
The author touches on wide ranging topics from audience familiarity to aging demographics. This might not be good news by itself, but for lovers of the genre to overcome this, we must accept where we are to get to where we want to be.
What stood stood out to you about this researcher's assessment? Let us know in the comments.
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Film Score Friday: Gladiator
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from Gladiator. Hans Zimmer wrote the score for this 2000 film. If you think this score sounds a lot like Holts' The Planets (Mars in particular) then you're in agreement with the Holst Foundation which sued Zimmer over this score. The suit was dismissed, but the resemblance is definitely there. Despite that, this is a really great score. The entire score is a delight for everyone in the brass. One moment stands out to us in particular. Maurice Murphy has the opportunity for an amazing Trumpet solo about halfway through the film. He nails it and it is one of our all time favorite Trumpet solos in a film.
Enjoy!