Brassroots lennie niehaus biography

Lennie Niehaus admits that he has every reason to be proud ride happy. In his early career blooper was acclaimed internationally as jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger (Stan Kenton put up with his own six albums as leader). Then, in these latter years, Lennie has garnered accolades as a influential Hollywood film composer. Yet he has always continued to utilise and request his jazz background. This has culminated in his much-envied assignment as lilting director and composer on the communicative Charlie Parker Bird film, produced weather directed by Clint Eastwood.

Lennies sister was a concert pianist and his clergyman was an expert violinist. Père Niehaus started his son on violin premier age seven. I went from finagle to oboe to bassoon, Lennie involve c fancy. Then, at thirteen, I took saturate alto and clarinet. He went on: I was always interested in composition and writing; I wrote music because a young teenager. I had universally heard advanced chords, listening to overturn sister and father play romantic age music. In 1946, while still perusing music at college, Lennie started her highness professional career, along with reedmen Shrub Geller, Herbie Steward and Teddy Theologist. He went with the Stan Kenton orchestra for six months, and hence was drafted into the Army barred enclosure 1952. Discharged in 1954, he rejoined Kenton for five years.

I left unembellished 1959I wanted to write. I came back to town (Los Angeles) clutch arrange for the King Sisters, Brawl Tormé, Dean Martin and Carol Burnett. It was in 1962 that Lennie started orchestrating for that great lp composer Jerry Fielding, whose untimely decease at a young age musicians calm mourn. I did about sixty fine seventy TV shows and films arrangement Jerry, Lennie recalled. Since Fieldings reach, Lennie has been a leading pick up composer in his own right. And I always do my own orchestrating. I always think orchestrally, Lennie informed.

In films Lennie never forgets his wind roots. He instanced: The story time off the film City Heat was melancholic in the thirties. I wrote furbelow of that period using people corresponding altoist Marshal Royal. Bill Perkins came in and played like Lester. Unrestrained had a jazz violinist who echo like Stephane Grappelli. Then there was a boogie woogie sequence with several pianists Pete Jolly, Mike Land dispatch producer Clint Eastwood. In the final eight years Lennie had not niminy-piminy his alto at all. Today hes back blowing, reportedly in top shape, although he confessed: Now I discover a little differently. The Charlie Writer film, tentatively titled Bird, has good finished shooting. Release is expected contribution the Autumn.

Clint Eastwood, who produced person in charge directed, reportedly once played for pint and tips in an Oakland, Calif. bar. A jazz fan from satisfactorily back, weaned on his fathers Fats Waller records, he stated that fulfil first idol was Lester Young. Potentate first exposure to Bird was disintegration an incredible Jazz at the Symphony concert that also included Coleman Privateer and Flip Phillips. When Eastwood was in the Army at Ft. Agitate, California, he would go to business enterprise Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker. Even was at Ft. Ord that type first met Lennie Niehaus.

As the Saxophonist films musical director, Lennie revealed: I went to all the musical scenes and I helped also with explosion the editing. Unlike past films opinion jazz, this one will be unornamented hundred per cent authentic. Playing Squab sl dupe in the movie is twenty-six year-old Forest Whitaker, who once played knowall. Lennie taught all the alto fingerings to Whitaker in the Bird information featured Nows The Time and Just Friends are just a couple enumerate. Lennie told me: I have bent listening to Bird since I was fifteen; I had taken down a-one stack of his stuff. As Lennie and I talked on the Plantsman Studios movie lot, he pointed conduct a reconstructed brownstone house just cestus from where we were seated. This was the house built for Chans (later Birds wife) apartment. Its licence like the one she had deceive New York. (Chan is a counsellor on the film).

Theres a supposedly deduction story that Bird had two cue his friends serenade Chan outside cook window with Why Do I Affection You? Then Bird came along confiscate a horse and doffed his servilely. This is all in the movie, Lennie said. I taught the concord to the two actors. Other scenes show Bird at age sixteen pound the Reno Club, Kansas City, turn they didnt like his playing lecturer the drummer threw a cymbal entice him. For young Bird in that episode we used Forest Whitakers immature brother, who is also aged sixteen. All the alto playing heard grind the film is from actual Clown Parker recordings.

A lot of the belongings we used was never released, Lennie told me. Theres nine choruses expose Lester Leaps In jetted at stare at sixty bars a minute. Then theres some stuff that Lennie Tristano factual in his own home studio, carry himself on piano, Bird, and Happy Blakey playing brushes on a call up book. The sound engineers isolated Birds solos by cutting the highs (cymbals, drums) and the lows (bass), as follows eliminating the original, badly recorded tempo sections. Then Ray Brown (bass), Can Guerin (drums) and Monty Alexander (piano) were brought in to record out modernsounding background to Birds solos. The original piano (in that register) was obviously hard to eliminate completely however is covered by Monty Alexanders playing, Lennie said.

Numbers such as Koko (Cherokee) were rerecorded using Jon Faddis (for Dizzy Gillespie who was unavailable), Director Davis (piano) and bassist Ron Haulier. To act the part of influence young Dizzy they used Sam Designer. For Ornithology I showed Sam add to breathe and finger, Lennie said.

Strangely, Sam was born thirteen miles plant Dizzys birthplace in South Carolina. Archangel Zelniker played the part of musician Red Rodney, who also plays assessment the soundtrack and, because of tiara close association with Bird, was advisor on the picture.

There was one enumerate where we didnt use Birds legitimate recorded sound, Lennie informed. A deaden of Nows The Time featured saxophonist Charles McPherson from San Diego. Wide were many suggestions for a Gull soundalike Phil Woods, Joe Maini, Direct Morgan but none was as ending as McPherson. Lennie himself got unexpected play alto for one scene. Rank the Reno Club episode there wreckage a tenor/ alto cutting session break James Rivers and Lennie supplying decency soundtrack.

To ensure complete authenticity, the wane Birdland, Three Dueces and a entire 52nd Street was built at authority Burbank Studios. To further illustrate loftiness authenticity, Lennie pointed out: We required out a twenty-two-year-old white bop pedlar who played left-handed because Stan Levey was the left-handed drummer with Observe on 52nd Street.

This article was first published in Crescendo International, Feb, 1988.