click image to purchase Avatar by James Horner

"Avatar" Score composed by: James Horner James Horner has created a masterpiece. The score to Avatar is everything an epic film score should be and more. The passion can be felt with every note. Fans have already compared this wonderful creation with Titanic and say James reproduces himself....a very narrow-minded way of hearing music from one of the greatest film composers ever to set foot in front of an orchestra. Film composers, fans, filmmakers- this is how it is done! The bold orchestrations, voices, synths and beautiful and memorable themes have all been married together to perfection. Every ounce of James Horner is behind this music with integrity and mastery of the craft. A brilliant movie and an outstanding score! What a legacy....2009 has left us on a high note and this score gets my nomination, not only for the best score of the year but for the decade.

Marvin Hamlisch

Click on image to see Inside Film Music's latest interview with legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch, discussing his most recent score to the film "The Informant!". Many thanks to Melissa McNeil and Ray Costa

click on image to hear clips Articles of War

"Articles of War" Score composed by: Ryan Shore Ryan Shore has raised the bar for himself with this wonderfully lush Americana score. It is safe to say that Ryan has amazing abilities in this genre especially, much in the likeness of the legendary maestro, John Williams. I have carefully thought out this comparison before making such a bold statement but it is my honor to say that Ryan has refined his style and he is well on his way to being a household name.  Articles of War is an epic animated/short war film in which  the story revolves around an American pilot, Jim and a letter that he carries with him during his flight missions in WWII. This letter details his thoughts that he wishes to share with his father but heis reluctant because it reveals his weakness and fear.  Ryan's music tells this story with potent emotion but it is as if it is in a bottle ready to burst like a bottle of champagne ready to be opened. This is not an easy task but Ryan did it with 'flying colors.' This is without a doubt his greatest achievement to date.

Click on image to Ryan's official website Ryan Shore Ryan Shore

"Keeping Score With Ryan Shore"  Stan Helsing (Anchor Bay) - was released in theaters and then on DVD/Blu-ray in October 2009 Offspring (Lions Gate) - was distributed by Sam Raimi's company Ghosthouse on DVD in November 2009 Cabin Fever 2 (Lions Gate) - premiered theatrically in Los Angeles at Mann's Chinese Theater in October 2009, and will be released on DVD/Blu-ray in February 2010 Made for Each Other (IFC) - NYC theatrical premiere that took place in Bryant Park on Tuesday, December 2nd.  A  DVD release will be in 2010 89.5 KMFA in Austin, TX -A full episode of the radio show "Film Score Focus" was dedicated to Ryan's music on Dec 5th. The show broadcast can be heard live via the internet at www.kmfa.org (just click on the "listen" button toward the top of the screen). Articles of War - recorded and conducted with the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra - currently playing festivals.   Thanks to Ryan Shore

Click on image to Elik's official website Elik Alvarez click on image to purchase cd La Virgen Negra

Elik ÁLvarez "La Virgen Negra" La Virgen Negra is a Venezuelan drama/love story in which Elik Álvarez beautifully weaves a mysterious and haunting score with some contemporary orchestrations and Latin flavored rhythm played on native instruments. Adding to this dynamic score is Lisbeth Scott's angelic and seductive voice which breathes passion in to Elik's well designed music. This is a superb score that was carefully crafted with a fine tuned awareness of how to compose music to an image with heart and soul. Warmest thanks to: Liz Cimarelli and Elik Álvarez

Click image to "Lisbeth Scott" web site Lisbeth Scott Click on image to "Hope Is A Thing" Hope Is A Thing/Lisbeth Scott

Lisbeth Scott "An Angel's Voice" Lisbeth Scott has a new album to be released on November 10th titled "Hope Is A Thing". In these difficult times, Lisbeth has given us 'hope' through her passionate and heartfelt music. What makes this project even more beautiful is that it is a part of a charity for children, "Education Through Music".  A portion of the proceeds from this album will go to this charity. I encourage you to buy this music in support of this amazing worldwide cause for our children-our future. Please click on Lisbeth's pics to get more information. The images of these children and the inspiring music will touch you. Have a listen to Lisbeth's other solo works as well as her angelic voice in many film scores including Munich, The Chronicles of Narnia and the up and coming  Avatar just to name a couple. A warm thanks to Heather Noonan and Lisbeth Scott.

Click image to Angelo Badalamenti's web page Photo by Kris Dewitte

Angelo Badalamenti "The Ominous Romantic" Angelo Badalamenti is featured "In The Spotlight" for his infallible and prolific career spanning over three decades. He has woven the sound of seduction, passion, and a melancholy ambiance into his music that is authentic and unmistakably his own creation . Please have a look at the scores that I have selected to review on the next page. I also want to make mention of Angelo's work with singer/songwriter Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries. In 2006 these two talents teamed up on two songs for the upcoming film, Secrets of Love. The songs are titled "The Butterfly" -which there is a great video of on youtube  and the other is "Evilenko". Absolutely mesmerizing and breathtaking. I was captivated from the moment the music began.

Christopher Lennertz Conducting in New Orleans

photo by Zack Smith

Click image to Jim Dooley's Web page James Dooley

James Dooley is anything but infamous however his latest raw, electronic and pulsating score to the PS3 game "inFamous" will send shivers up your spine as it depicts the true meaning of the word. The electric cello played by Martin Tillman breathes an intense menacing life in to the music. The Music to "inFamous" will take you on a acid trip in to the depths of darkness.  It's a rush! Your heart will beat faster and the tension and anxiety that this music creates is like having twenty cups of coffee being shot right in to your veins. Jim Dooley wrote a brilliant score. However, I would not recommend you play this music in your car in rush hour traffic on your way home from work. Let's just say it may not bring out the best in you. Be on the look out for Jim Dooley's music for the second season of Pushing Daisies to be released by Varese Sarabande as well as his newest feature, Obsessed.

Duplicity James Newton Howard I seldom review James Newton Howard's scores. Why? Because in my book his music is untouchable. James' music speaks for itself. Absolute genius.  Duplicity is incredible! What more does this master have that we haven't heard? James' constantly reinvents himself and with this score I can tell you, it's nothing you have ever heard before. It is a Latin flavored, rhythmic and thematic score with all kinds of twists. James Newton Howard's music ages like wine

Dragonball Evolution Brian Tyler Brian Tyler's music covers a lot of ground in his epic score to Dragonball Evolution. There are stand out moments with the crescendo of the orchestra, pounding percussion, ominous brass and rhythmic strings that rumble the floors and having you begging for more.  This film allowed Brian's music to let loose and unleash the fury.

The Lazarus Project Brian Tyler Brian Tyler creates a transcendent listen with  sparsely used chilling piano motifs, haunting string arrangements and ethereal synthetic color . The subtle undertone of voices breathes a life in to the music as the guitar carries the main theme. This is a heartfelt score that when listened to alone it is hypnotising. What captivates me about Brian Tyler's music is that he is so involved in every aspect of his creations. He often performs the music he writes on various instruments, arranges, produces... His abilities are endless and his music is brilliant- always.

In The Electric Mist Marco Beltrami Marco Beltrami's music to this movie stands out as among his most creative and intriguing to date. Although there is not a release to the score yet, I felt compelled to highlight this wonderful gem. It is an entertaining film with a superb cast but wouldn't be the same without Marco's mastery of story telling through his music. This score is dark and mysterious with a unique avant- garde use of instrumental flavor. The main theme is driven by the acoustic guitar and electric violin and is accompanied with a subtle use of the accordion and horns, ethnic percussion and flutes, brooding bases, rhythmic plucking of the violins, xylophones,  synthetic textures...I highly recommend this film and watch it come alive with Marco's brilliant score.

Click image to Chris Young's web page Christopher Young at a recording session May 2008

"Lucky You" BMI's Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award goes to one of the most prolific, respected and sought after film composers in the business, Christopher Young and there was no luck involved.  The once pigeon-holed composer in the beginning of his career, known primarily for his haunting scores in the horror genre, he is now sought after for his diverse, chameleon like abilities as a master storyteller through music. The moving image is Chris's inspiration. At the first touch of the black and white keys, it is pure magic. It is a marriage of sound and the moving picture. This is Chris's passion and it is obvious when you listen to his music. With nearly 100 scores, his credits range from the epic haunting score to Hellraiser, which put Chris on the map, to the emotionally gripping score for Murder In The First. Later came The Hurricane, Wonder Boys and most recently is Ghost Rider and Spiderman 3. This is just the tip of the iceberg and with still so much more to come. Join me in honoring one of the greatest film composers of our generation and saluting Chris for his well deserved recognition at the BMI Awards.

BMI Awards 21 May 2008 A warm thank you to Ray Costa and Melissa McNeil for making it possible for me to attend.

BMI Awards 2008

Congratulations to the other winners who were recognized last night at the BMI Film and Television Awards. To name a few are Chris Lennertz (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Mychael Danna (Surf's Up), Aaron Zigman (Step Up 2), Kevin Kiner (CSI Miami), Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3), John Ottman (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer), Trevor Rabin (National Treasure: Book of Secrets) and Danny Pelfrey (Guiding Light) and many others. Please go to the link for more details on the awards by clicking on the image.

Attending the BMI Awards was a night to remember...

George S. Clinton

Randy Edleman / Christian DesJardins

Christian DesJardins/ Trevor Rabin

Mychael Danna/ Christian DesJardins

John Ottman

Ramin Djawadi

Join me in my latest interview with the talented and versatile film composer, Ramin Djawadi whom has recently scored the music for Iron Man which is one of the biggest blockbuster films of the year,directed by Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura) and most recently is his score to the film Deception- a romance/thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor. I had the opportunity to have a candid conversation with Ramin on these two scores as well as highlighting a few experiences working in the business.

Christopher Young

Interviews:  Coming soon: Composer Christopher Young will receive the Richard Kirk Award at the BMI film and TV music awards this May. We will have an introspective conversation with Chris on his success and about his recent scores to Untraceable and Sleepwalking as well as his up coming work with filmmaker Sam Raimi (Spider-man3) -Drag Me To Hell.  Be looking for this by early June. We will also be talking with Lisbeth Scott and Greg Ellis on their most recent project Biomusique the 10,000 Steps

New DVD

Terence Blanchard displays himself candidly as a jazz artist traveling the world with an elite group of young and gifted musicians that Terence hand selected to form his band. Each of these six talents are featured on this DVD "Flow- Living In the Stream of Music" in which they discuss their road to success, working alongside of one of their heroes and one of the greatest trumpeters and composers of our time. This is a behind the scenes look at their life on the road and what it took to get there. What makes this such a fascinating journey is that we get an introspective look at makes their clock tick. We see them jamming together like brothers, improvising and playing as if it were just their way of life. This is a close as you are going to get without actually being one of them. You can click on the image to purchase. You can also find the most up to date information at www.terenceblanchard.com. Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Terence on his work for the highly-anticipated Spike Lee documentary "When the Levee's Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts" and also featuring new reviews of Terence Blanchard's scores later this summer.

New Featured Projects

Featured Below: Andrew Hollander, Jeff & Mychael Danna and Christopher Lennertz on their latest work.

Andrew Hollander Up and coming composer Andrew Hollander composed the delicate and simple beautiful score to The Waitress. The instrumentation is comprised mainly of piano and guitar with other subtle orchestrations that move the score along gracefully. The main theme reoccurs often throughout the score, capturing the essence love and heartfelt emotion. The classic approach to the music for this film is a breathe of fresh air. The music is charming and melodic and is sure to captivate the romantic at heart.

Jeff and Mychael Danna (Tideland, Green Dragon) team up again to score the dramatic thriller Fracture starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. The score is composed predominantly for strings and piano, creating a melancholy atmosphere. There are heightened moments with the full orchestra and a couple cues that contain electronic elements but for the most part it is a quiet, somber listen. The score can be downloaded on itunes for $9.99 starting 23 April 07.

Games scores are becoming more popular these days and Christopher Lennertz is no stranger to adding his creative voice to them such as his work on- Medal of Honor: European Assault, Medal of Honor:  Pacific Assault, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun and most recently From Russia With Love 007 and of course GUN. Every one of these scores deserve attention for their vast amount of music and energy put in to them. Gun however, stands out with its epic quality. The best way to describe this score is a modern western that has a uniqueness about it. From the harmonica, fiddle and guitar to the full orchestra, ethnic percussion and electronic instrumentation we get a stunning and powerful score.

Christopher Lennertz's Emmy nominated music to the TV series Supernatural is not formed from the typical mold of television scores.  It begins with a lulling piano but the music immediately rises to the dissonant screeching strings and relentless pounding orchestra. The score evolves in to a multitude of styles and sounds from electronica and synthesizers to the full orchestra, piano and voice. This is perhaps the most elaborate television score that I have heard. Coming soon is Christopher's music to Supernatural,  season II.

Highlighted Film Music Related Material

News! a discussion with Jeff Atmajian (composer/orchestrator) about his two latest works along with my reviews. Jaff Atmajian

New Book! Inside Film Music: Composers Speak is an introspective look at the collaborative effort of composing music for a motion picture. Click on the image for further details, reviews and links for purchase. Christian DesJardins

'click image' for purchase "Creation" music by Jeff Atmajian Jeff Atmajian's gargantuan effort composing the music for CREATION is vastly colorful and inspirational; being composed for full orchestra, choir and textured with Western instrumentation and tribal percussion. To get the full story, please read Jeff's experiences in the Interview section of this site. I feel that my words alone cannot do this amazing production justice. The music is not limited to one theme or style, nor could it be when you consider the concept, if you can even fathom it. This is the story of life being born from the beginning as we know it, molding life and cultures together. The music is brilliantly written and performed, emotionally captivating and in my humble opinion, a beautiful work of art.

Inside Film Music: Composers Speak  by Christian DesJardins Foreword written by film composer Christopher Young Interviews with-   composers: Klaus Badelt, John Barry, Marco Beltrami, Bruce Broughton, Teddy Castellucci, Jeff Danna, Mychael Danna, Don Davis, John Debney, Cliff Eidelman, Robert Folk, John Frizzell, Philip Glass, Lee Holdridge, Mark Isham, Jan Kaczmarek, Rolfe Kent, Cliff Martinez, John Ottman, Basil Poledouris, Jocelyn Pook, Rachel Portman, John Powell, David Raksin, Graeme Revell, Jeff Rona, Marc Shaiman, Ryan Shore, Alan Silvestri, Brian Tyler, Stephen Warbeck, Gabriel Yared, and Christopher Young. Orchestrators: Pete Anthony, Jeff Atmajian, Brad Dechter, Robert Elhai and music contractor, Sandy DeCrescent. Director/Producers:Jon Amiel, Atom Egoyan, and Norman Jewison. An amazing, "must have" new book on the art of film composing, March 17, 2007 "Inside Film Music: Composers Speak is an insightful and indispensable new book documenting the art and craft of film composing. Christian DesJardin knows how to ask the right questions in order to uncover new and in depth information from a fantastic selection of the best in the business. One aspect, among many, that sets this book apart from other interview books, is the wonderful cross section of talent of composers, orchestrators, contractors, and directors -- all of whose interviews come together to paint a vivid picture of the current state of the art form. This is a "must have" book for any film music or movie fan, composer, or member of the movie or music industries alike."     -an Amazon.com customer review

'click image' for interview "Screamers" score by Jeff Atmajian Composer Jeff Atmajian's gripping and heartfelt work can be heard in Carla Garapedian's film SCREAMERS; a documentary about The Armenian Genocide. In this heavy, dark and moving score, Jeff connects wholeheartedly, being Armenian himself, and delivers a hauntingly beautiful score that can be felt on a spiritual level. As a stand alone listen, it conjures the images of sorrow and despair. Jeff orchestrally uses the emotional intensity of the strings and adding to them native instruments such as the Oud and Duduk for authenticity. You can hear his thoughts in a brief interview I conducted with him by clicking on the image or by going to the Interviews. After hearing this inspired work, I don't think this will be the last we will hear from this widely unrecognized talent.