42 (Original Motion Picture Score) by Mark Isham - Review

Americana Legend

Review by Steven Sharratt

42 is the re-telling of the true story of Jackie Robinson, an African-American baseball player who became a sporting hero despite having to endure unrelenting racism on and off the field. The film mainly focuses on the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season and stars Chadwick Boseman as Jackie and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey.

Legendary composer MARK ISHAM was brought on board to score the music for the film. Isham, now in his 4th decade of film composition is famous for many great scores such as POINT BREAK (1991), A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992), BLADE (1996), THE BLACK DAHLIA (2006) and the Oscar nominated CRASH (2006).

Isham uses this vast experience to create a typical Americana score for ‘42’. To achieve this he opts for one of his trademark trumpet solos which, as to be expected, are performed faultlessly. Light woodwinds, strings and piano complete the sound to add a somber but respectful tone with which to follow Jackie Robinson’s unlikely and difficult journey to fame. The main problem for the listener is the fact that the thematic ideas first hinted at are never fully developed until the end ...

READ THE FULL REVIEW

2013 BMI Film & TV Awards - Composer Interviews

On May 15th, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) held their annual awards gala, The Film & TV Awards, where they honor the composers of the years top-grossing films and top-rated television programs.

As they have done of late, they offer short videos with many of the top composers in the industry via their Youtube channel.  They've created a playlist of them all, which we offer to you above.  Interviews included are:  Christopher Lennertz, John Williams, Brian Tyler, Mark Isham, Cliff Martinez, Mike Post, David Buckley, Nathan Barr, Theodore Shapiro, iZler, Blake Neely and more!

As always, its great to see and hear from the people behind some of the past year's best music.  In addition to Cliff Martinez (this year's recipient of the Richard Kirk Award winner), Christopher Lennertz shares about playing the role of James Bond as a 9-year-old.  John Williams talks about scoring Lincoln (and looks great... strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark...or score a Star Wars film or something.).  Mark Isham shares about scoring the weekly "Once Upon a Time" and biopic "42." while David Buckley shares about scoring season-to-season on The Good Wife.  Brian Tyler talks about scoring a "post-Avengers" film, Iron Man 3, and iZLER reveals how gratifying and hair-raising it is to score two TV series at one time:  Revenge and Shameless.

Give the entire playlist a listen above and you can see a list of ALL the winners below:


RICHARD KIRK AWARD

CLIFF MARTINEZ

ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS

MYCHAEL DANNA
Life of Pi

ADELE (PRS)
"Skyfall," from Skyfall

BMI FILM MUSIC AWARDS

ALAN SILVESTRI
The Avengers

THOMAS NEWMAN
Skyfall

DANNY ELFMAN
Oz the Great and Powerful

JOHN WILLIAMS
Lincoln

DANNY ELFMAN
Men in Black 3

BRIAN TYLER
Iron Man 3

ALAN SILVESTRI
The Croods

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH
Hotel Transylvania

NATHANIEL MECHALY (SACEM)
Taken 2

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (SACEM)
Argo

CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Identity Thief

DANNY ELFMAN
Silver Linings Playbook

MYCHAEL DANNA
Life of Pi

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (SACEM)
Rise of the Guardians

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (SACEM)
Zero Dark Thirty

ALAN SILVESTRI
Flight

CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Think Like A Man

THEODORE SHAPIRO
The Campaign

BRIAN TYLER
The Expendables 2

JOE KRAEMER
Jack Reacher

DANNY ELFMAN
Dark Shadows

AARON ZIGMAN
Madea's Witness Protection

STEVE JABLONSKY
Battleship

ALAN MENKEN
Mirror Mirror

JOHN OTTMAN
Jack the Giant Slayer

THEODORE SHAPIRO
Hope Springs

MARK ISHAM
The Lucky One

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Total Recall

LYLE WORKMAN
American Reunion

AARON ZIGMAN
Escape From Planet Earth

BMI SPECIAL CITATION OF APPRECIATION

LAURA DUNN

BMI MINISERIES MUSIC AWARD

TONY MORALES
Hatfields & McCoys

BMI TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS

BRIAN KIRK
NCIS

CHUCK LORRE
Two and a Half Men

BLAKE NEELY
Golden Boy

JOS JORGENSEN
America's Got Talent

ANDY LOVE
America's Got Talent

BLAKE NEELY
The Mentalist

PETE TOWNSHEND (PRS)
CSI

CHRISTOPHER FRANKE
The Amazing Race

VAUGHN JOHNSON
The Amazing Race

LEE SANDERS
The Amazing Race

MARK MANCINA
Criminal Minds

ROB SIMONSEN
Blue Bloods

ROB CAIRNS
The Bachelor

GEORGE RITTER
Rules of Engagement

BERT SELEN
Rules of Engagement

CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Revolution

KEITH POWER (SOCAN)
Hawaii Five-0

BRIAN TYLER
Hawaii Five-0

CARIM CLASMANN (PRS)
Grey's Anatomy

GALIA DURANT (PRS)
Grey's Anatomy

PETER BJORN AND JOHN (STIM)
2 Broke Girls

JOHN FRIZZELL
The Following

PETE TOWNSHEND (PRS)
CSI: NY

BILL BROWN
CSI: NY

KEB' MO'
Mike & Molly

DAVID BUCKLEY (PRS)
The Good Wife

JOS JORGENSEN
The X Factor

ANDY LOVE
The X Factor

SCOTT KIRKLAND
Bones

KENNETH BERRY
Undercover Boss

EHREN EBBAGE
Undercover Boss

MATT KOSKENMAKI
Undercover Boss

JOHN NOONEY
Undercover Boss

CRAIG OWENS
Undercover Boss

CHAD FISCHER
Scandal

iZLER
Revenge

CARTER BAYS
How I Met Your Mother

CRAIG THOMAS
How I Met Your Mother

MARK ISHAM
Once Upon a Time

MIKE POST
Law & Order: SVU

BLAKE NEELY
Arrow

BMI SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS

JOSE ANGEL
La Patrona

MARLU
La Patrona

PACO PANIAGUA
La Patrona

JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
La Patrona

ALEJANDRO SIRVENT BARTON
Abismo de Pasión

BMI CABLE TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS

TREE ADAMS
Perception

JIM JOHNSTON
WWE Raw

MICHAEL BOLGER
SpongeBob SquarePants

SAGE GUYTON
SpongeBob SquarePants

EBAN SCHLETTER
SpongeBob SquarePants

JEREMY WAKEFIELD
SpongeBob SquarePants

JACE EVERETT
True Blood

NATHAN BARR
True Blood

CHARLIE CLOUSER
American Horror Story

CESAR DAVILA-IRIZARRY
American Horror Story

DAMON CRISWELL
Fish Hooks

ANDY STURMER
Fish Hooks

BRANDON KINDER
Bering Sea Gold

J.G. QUINTEL
The Regular Show

JOHN ENROTH
The Regular Show

ALBERT FOX
The Regular Show

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH
The Regular Show

CRAIG OWENS
Dance Moms

RONNIE VAN ZANT
Mountain Men

JACOB SHEA
Mountain Men

ROLFE KENT
Dexter

DANIEL LICHT
Dexter

iZLER
Shameless

Find out more at the official BMI site

SoundCast Interview: Zoe Keating

Zoe Keating (dubbed the Avant Cellist) talks about her work composing film scores as well as performing on several of Mark Isham's most recent projects. She also talks about selling music, piracy, and the threat posed by legislation like SOPA and PIPA.

Episode Highlights

00:34 — Introduction: Zoe Keating
02:07 — How did you come to write for the film, Frozen Angels?
04:10 — Had you considered scoring a film prior to Frozen Angels?
04:44 — Your experience with film music
06:10 — Scoring The Devil's Chair
07:40 — Writing for dance and film
12:10 — "Music is something that happens in a moment of time..."
14:14 — Composers remorse and Art under constraints
18:54 — Working with Mark Isham
20:00 — Composing for documentaries versus feature film
24:10 — The independent artist, music biz, and SOPA


Select Music

00:00 — "The Last Bird" (The Ghost Bird) by Zoe Keating
10:40 — "Sun Will Set" (One Cello x 16- Natoma -) by Zoe Keating
18:03 — "A Genuine War Hero" (The Conspirator - Two Disc Limited Edition) by Mark Isham
20:27 — "The Last Bird" (The Ghost Bird) by Zoe Keating
21:37 — "Patterns" (Johannes Kepler [Play]) by Zoe Keating
36:15 — "Sun Will Set" (One Cello x 16- Natoma -) by Zoe Keating

Download the episode here

Subscribe and more info here

Mark Isham and The Mechanic Soundtrack (The Assassin's Edition)

Composer Mark Isham has written the original score for the upcoming film, THE MECHANIC. You can check out a new video interview below and also his brand new website!  Looks as though the official soundtrack will be eventually available at his site.  Sounds like it'll be "killer!"  (Heyoooo).

Check out Mark Isham's new official site here.

The Express: The Ernie Davis Story - Music by Mark Isham

As the NFL season is hitting its stride, another inspiring football-flick hits the big screen. Accompanying the intriguing story of Ernie Banks comes composer MARK ISHAM's appropriate score. While it's no Trevor Rabin inspiration bonanza, it certainly is one of Isham's more "lively" scores in a while. The prolific Lakeshore Records has released the soundtrack. You can read the full press release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE EXPRESS
BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF ERNIE DAVIS

Soundtrack Features Original Music by Mark Isham

(October 6, 2008- Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release the soundtrack for THE EXPRESS THE ERNIE DAVIS STORY, available via iTunes and Amazon Digital on September 30, 2008 and in stores on October 7th. The soundtrack contains original music composed by Mark Isham (Reservation Road, Crash). The film is based on the true story of Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.

From his days as a pioneer of electronic music in the '80s to his current status as a world-renowned film composer, Mark Isham continues to be one of the most prolific and provocative artists on the scene. As an accomplished trumpet player, Isham’s solo recordings span from electric jazz and classic acoustic jazz to New Age and ethnic world music. His musical signature is evident in his memorable scores for such notable films as Crash, Bobby, The Valley of Elah, and The Black Dahlia, with its critically lauded jazz noir soundtrack.

Isham has composed over 75 film scores including Eight Below, The Cooler, A River Runs Through It, Blade, Nell, Men of Honor, Reservation Road, Lions for Lambs, and Miracle. He recently received the Henry Mancini Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP.

THE EXPRESS THE ERNIE DAVIS STORY follows the extraordinary life story of Ernie Davis (Rob Brown). His fight for equality and respect forever changed the face of American sports, and his story continues to inspire new generations. Raised in poverty in Pennsylvania coal-mining country, Davis hurdled social and economic obstacles to become one of the greatest running backs in college football history. Under the guidance of legendary Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), he became a hero who superseded Jim Brown’s achievements and set records that stand to this day.

As the growing civil rights movement divided the country in the 60s, Davis became a symbol for achievement that transcended race. Refusing to flinch from others’ prejudices, he achieved all his goals – until he faced a challenge that would make most men crumble. He joined the ranks of black pioneers by teaching a generation tolerance, inspiring a movement that smashed barriers on and off the field.

Universal Pictures presents THE EXPRESS THE ERNIE DAVIS STORY in theaters on October 10, 2008. THE EXPRESS THE ERNIE DAVIS STORY original soundtrack on Lakeshore Records will be available via iTunes and Amazon Digital on September 30th, and in stores on October 7th.

Movie Geeks United Interviews Mark Isham TONIGHT

Better late notice, than no notice, but MOVIE GEEKS UNITED will be interviewing composer MARK ISHAM tonight at 10:00 PM (that's got to be Eastern Time...or I'll have to miss this one.)

You can check it out LIVE here. If you miss it, don't fret. I'm certain you'll find it archived for listening at your convenience. It's been quite a busy year for the composer so the interview should prove interesting!

You can even call in with your own questions @ 718-508-9477.