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S T A N D I N G O U T F R O M T H E C R O W D

Now well into his fourth decade as a film composer, Thomas Newman is rightly considered one of the most distinctive voices in film music. From the outset he forged his own stylistic path, one of abstract soundscapes, precise emotional textures and graceful harmonies. It’s a palette the composer has stuck with throughout his career, and while some of his tools might have necessarily moved with the times, Thomas Newman has

remained true to himself as an artist.

Being the son of an Oscar-winning composer, it was perhaps written in the stars that he would follow in his father’s footsteps. Indeed Alfred Newman had died when Thomas was just fourteen years old, and while he had received music lessons as a younger child it was a few years until he would settle into full time study in music at the University of Southern California, and then Yale. By the end of the 1970s the young musician and arranger was out in the big wide world, and his career seemed destined to follow that of his father’s with a stint working on and off Broadway. Alfred Newman had spent a number of years conducting scores for Broadway shows before moving to Los Angeles, and so the younger Newman found himself there too, under the tutelage of Stephen

Sondheim no less, composing and arranging.

The lure of the screen beckoned of course, and though he had composed music for an episode of Fox’s The Paper Chase in 1979 - a job offered up by his uncle, Lionel Newman (Head of Music at the studio) - it would be another five years before Thomas would write for the screen again. In the meantime family friend John Williams would invite the aspiring film composer to arrange one of his cues (‘Darth Vader’s Death’) for the Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi (1983). Williams had worked under Alfred Newman at Fox and was given crucial breaks by Thomas’ late father in his early career, so this experience was something of a little payback. He would do so again in 1991, working as an uncredited orchestrator on JFK. By then, of course, Newman was quite well

established as a film composer; though it is perhaps testament to his trepidation and lack of confidence in his abilities that he would continue to learn as he worked in this way. Certainly it seems that although he was composing for films such as Reckless (1984), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), The Lost Boys (1987) and Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael (1990), this was very much a period of self discovery and learning for

the composer.

The 1990s were fruitful and fertile years and Thomas Newman was being sought out for independent dramas, including sleeper hits like Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe (1991) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994), plus A-list features like Little Women (1994). These scores allowed the composer to expand his emotional range and proved he knew how to handle an orchestral score, as well as the smaller forces he was becoming known for. It’s worth mentioning that his brother David Newman, whose career began almost in tandem with his, would embrace the more traditional orchestral approach their father had helped establish. While Thomas could do it, it’s clear he wanted to take his music in its own direction. It paid off in 1994 with a pair of Oscar nominations, for both Shawshank and Little Women, the first of many... Thomas Newman had

arrived, and the big projects began to follow.

By the end of the decade, the composer was a go-to man for sensitive and atmospheric music; exemplified in scores for films such as How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Meet Joe Black (1998). One score, completed just before the beginning of the new millennium, would change the face of film music for some time to come and would establish one of Thomas Newman’s most enduring

creative partnerships.

American Beauty (1999) should have won Newman the Oscar; his music being so memorable, and so vital to the film’s impact. While

in many respects he wasn’t doing anything he hadn’t done before, soulful solo piano and hypnotic tuned percussion, it somehow captured the attention of audiences, and the imagination of filmmakers and composers, for years after. It marked the first film Newman would score for British director Sam Mendes, the pair forging a collaboration that would see the composer create music for a further five Mendes pictures, including the life-affirming Road to Perdition (2002), and the emotionally wrought Revolutionary Road (2008). The director later defied critics by bringing his favoured composer on board when he took on the James Bond films Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). Newman composed for Bond his way, whilst adhering to at least some of the harmonic colour

and adrenaline audiences would expect from 007.

Other notable directorial partnerships include those with Jon Avnet, Gillian Armstrong, Todd Field, John Madden, and Steven Soderbergh. For Soderbergh, Newman would compose the score for The Good German (2006), a film that is in itself a love letter to the golden age of Hollywood. In line with the look of the film, and its publicity, Newman made a rare diversion from his usual stylistic niche and tipped his hat to his father. Indeed The Good German features just the kind of score you’d

expect from a 1940s Hollywood thriller.

The last decade or so has seen the composer continue to make his mark in a variety of genres, broadening his reach from complex emotional dramas into more mainstream films. This was thanks in no small part to his being hired by Pixar Animation Studios to score its aquatic odyssey Finding Nemo in 2003. The film was a departure for the studio, much in the way The Lion King had been for Disney a decade earlier. Until then Pixar films were a little more gung ho, with big characters and big action; Nemo was no less entertaining, but it required a subtler, more sensitive musical approach. So, taking the baton from his cousin Randy, Thomas Newman entered the world of animation and created a

breathtaking, gossamer sound world for the film, one which earned him yet another Oscar nomination. It was no surprise that Pixar asked him back for another film with a deep emotional heart, Wall-E (2008), and

then Nemo’s sequel Finding Dory (2016).

The move into the Hollywood mainstream saw Thomas Newman gain a new audience, and he applied similarly colourful and spacious music to the likes of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man (2005), Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and Passengers (2016). One of his more surprising appointments came in the shape of Steven Spielberg’s 2015 Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies. Though originally to have been scored by John Williams, a recurring back problem meant the veteran composer had to take a break just when he was due to start work on the film. The director asked Williams who he would recommend to fill his shoes, and he immediately said ‘Tommy Newman’, once again citing how Alfred Newman had given him valuable breaks decades before. Spies saw a robust contribution from the composer, bringing to the film his keen emotional sensibility and employing just a touch of Williams-esque grandiosity when required. In some way Thomas Newman really was the perfect choice to step in for John Williams; they share an intuitive understanding of the emotional potential of film music, and with more than his fair share of American

tales on his CV he’s truly another of America’s great composers.

Thomas Newman is a modern master who has created a signature sound that has endured for over thirty years. It is amorphous, organic, and multi-dimensional and, despite the years, it remains as fresh today

as it ever did.

Michael Beek–

C R E D I T S

Conducted by Evan Jolly & James Fitzpatrick Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Except “Theme (From Six Feet Under)”, “Plastic Bag Theme and Dead Already (From American Beauty)

- Performed by London Music Works

Arrangers: Evan Jolly, Leigh Phillips, Clifford Bradley, Anthony Weeden & Steven Baker

Produced by Rick ClarkExecutive Producer: Reynold D’Silva

Release Co-Ordination: David Stoner & Peter ComptonAlbum Design: Stuart Ford

Recorded by Jan Holzner at Smecky Studios, Prague Mixed, Edited & Mastered by: Rick Clark

UK: Ⓟ & © 2017 Silva Screen Records Ltd. US: © SBMC Inc. under exclusive licence from Silva Screen Records Ltd. All rights reserved.

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