here have been few lives untouched by the artistic hand of Clint Eastwood. From the television western Rawhide to the oft-quoted Dirty Harry to the heart wrenching The Bridges of Madison County, the name Eastwood has always been synonymous with quality, integrity and surprisingly, jazz.
Influenced by a lifelong love of jazz, Eastwood has managed to incorporate the musical genre into nearly every film he has starred in or produced. From his rendering of Charlie Parker's life story in BIRD (1988), to his habit of hiring jazz greats, such as Erroll Garner in Play Misty For Me, to contribute to scores, Eastwood is never far from "America's first classical music." Music for the Movies of Clint Eastwood, released by Warner Bros. Records in September, 2001, has successfully captured the acclaimed actor/director's passion. The first portion of the album is composed of thirteen tracks of unforgettable songs from the cinematographic annals of Eastwood. From the whipcracks of "Theme from Rawhide" to the legendary theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Eastwood's career is captured and held, timeless, within the familiar melodies. Amazingly, Eastwood not only starred in and directed many of these films, but he also composed many of the themes himself. "Espacio From Space Cowboys," "Why Should I Care From True Crime," and the melancholic "Claudia's Theme from Ungorgiven" are only a few of Eastwood's orchestral masterpieces included on Music for the Movies of Clint Eastwood.
The second segment of the CD consists entirely of new music entitled: Clint Eastwood: An American Filmmaker Suite. Composed, orchestrated and conducted by Lennie Niehaus, the suite was commissioned by Celeste Bartos of New York's Museum of Modern Art for the PBS "American Masters" documentary, "Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows" (2000). Rhapsody Film's Bruce Ricker (who directed and produced the documentary and also received Executive Producer credit for the album) explains that the film is a "revealing insight into the artistic journey of Clint Eastwood as an actor and then Suite helps to color that journey as each of the ten tracks unfolds to reveal an intimate portrait of the American legend - constructed by Eastwood's longtime friend, Niehaus. Renowned saxophonist and recurring musical collaborator for Clint Eastwood's film scores, Joshua Redman appears as a soloist on numerous tracks.
As the suite moves through strains of reflection, action, suspense and release, it only brings to mind one person: the distinguished Clint Eastwood. All we can ask is, with Music for the Movies of Clint Eastwood now in your hands, "Do you feel lucky?"
Note: The music files on this page are available in RealAudio® format and play best when using the latest RealPlayer. Enjoy!
