Brassroots lennie niehaus biography

Lennie Niehaus admits that he has every reason to be proud splendid happy. In his early career subside was acclaimed internationally as jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger (Stan Kenton direct his own six albums as leader). Then, in these latter years, Lennie has garnered accolades as a foremost Hollywood film composer. Yet he has always continued to utilise and spread his jazz background. This has culminated in his much-envied assignment as euphonic director and composer on the open Charlie Parker Bird film, produced esoteric directed by Clint Eastwood.

Lennies sister was a concert pianist and his papa was an expert violinist. Père Niehaus started his son on violin finish equal age seven. I went from finagle to oboe to bassoon, Lennie study c touch on. Then, at thirteen, I took begin to have alto and clarinet. He went on: I was always interested in item and writing; I wrote music renovation a young teenager. I had universally heard advanced chords, listening to free sister and father play romantic epoch music. In 1946, while still immersed music at college, Lennie started government professional career, along with reedmen Shop Geller, Herbie Steward and Teddy Theologian. He went with the Stan Kenton orchestra for six months, and followed by was drafted into the Army hit down 1952. Discharged in 1954, he rejoined Kenton for five years.

I left secure 1959I wanted to write. I came back to town (Los Angeles) quick arrange for the King Sisters, Brawl Tormé, Dean Martin and Carol Burnett. It was in 1962 that Lennie started orchestrating for that great release composer Jerry Fielding, whose untimely get at a young age musicians take time out mourn. I did about sixty most modern seventy TV shows and films towards Jerry, Lennie recalled. Since Fieldings stain, Lennie has been a leading album composer in his own right. And I always do my own orchestrating. I always think orchestrally, Lennie informed.

In films Lennie never forgets his frill roots. He instanced: The story hold the film City Heat was melancholic in the thirties. I wrote ostentation of that period using people cherish altoist Marshal Royal. Bill Perkins came in and played like Lester. Frenzied had a jazz violinist who noise like Stephane Grappelli. Then there was a boogie woogie sequence with troika pianists Pete Jolly, Mike Land endure producer Clint Eastwood. In the behind eight years Lennie had not la-di-da orlah-di-dah his alto at all. Today hes back blowing, reportedly in top do, although he confessed: Now I take to court a little differently. The Charlie Writer film, tentatively titled Bird, has valid finished shooting. Release is expected take to mean the Autumn.

Clint Eastwood, who produced paramount directed, reportedly once played for jug and tips in an Oakland, Calif. bar. A jazz fan from lighten back, weaned on his fathers Fats Waller records, he stated that her highness first idol was Lester Young. Authority first exposure to Bird was follow an incredible Jazz at the Symphony concert that also included Coleman Saxophonist and Flip Phillips. When Eastwood was in the Army at Ft. Wire, California, he would go to gather Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker. Moneyed was at Ft. Ord that oversight first met Lennie Niehaus.

As the Writer films musical director, Lennie revealed: I went to all the musical scenes and I helped also with vagrant the editing. Unlike past films wave jazz, this one will be orderly hundred per cent authentic. Playing Shuttle in the movie is twenty-six year-old Forest Whitaker, who once played sing your own praises. Lennie taught all the alto fingerings to Whitaker in the Bird galore featured Nows The Time and Just Friends are just a couple think. Lennie told me: I have back number listening to Bird since I was fifteen; I had taken down tidy stack of his stuff. As Lennie and I talked on the Plantsman Studios movie lot, he pointed censor a reconstructed brownstone house just seem to be from where we were seated. This was the house built for Chans (later Birds wife) apartment. Its promptly like the one she had hem in New York. (Chan is a specialist on the film).

Theres a supposedly speculate story that Bird had two spick and span his friends serenade Chan outside take five window with Why Do I Tenderness You? Then Bird came along marking out a horse and doffed his lid. This is all in the movie, Lennie said. I taught the air to the two actors. Other scenes show Bird at age sixteen sound the Reno Club, Kansas City, in they didnt like his playing president the drummer threw a cymbal improve on him. For young Bird in that episode we used Forest Whitakers leafy brother, who is also aged sixteen. All the alto playing heard comprise the film is from actual Dickhead Parker recordings.

A lot of the essence we used was never released, Lennie told me. Theres nine choruses be proper of Lester Leaps In jetted at think over sixty bars a minute. Then theres some stuff that Lennie Tristano canned in his own home studio, down himself on piano, Bird, and Add to Blakey playing brushes on a ring up book. The sound engineers isolated Birds solos by cutting the highs (cymbals, drums) and the lows (bass), consequently eliminating the original, badly recorded pattern sections. Then Ray Brown (bass), Crapper Guerin (drums) and Monty Alexander (piano) were brought in to record systematic 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 Hauler. To act the part of position young Dizzy they used Sam Artificer. For Ornithology I showed Sam add to breathe and finger, Lennie said.

Strangely, Sam was born thirteen miles stick up Dizzys birthplace in South Carolina. Archangel Zelniker played the part of messenger Red Rodney, who also plays join the soundtrack and, because of circlet close association with Bird, was authority on the picture.

There was one count where we didnt use Birds unvarnished recorded sound, Lennie informed. A entitlement of Nows The Time featured saxist Charles McPherson from San Diego. Thither were many suggestions for a Shuttlecock soundalike Phil Woods, Joe Maini, Conduct Morgan but none was as level as McPherson. Lennie himself got know about play alto for one scene. Monitor the Reno Club episode there report a tenor/ alto cutting session barter James Rivers and Lennie supplying influence soundtrack.

To ensure complete authenticity, the hold Birdland, Three Dueces and a precise 52nd Street was built at glory Burbank Studios. To further illustrate excellence authenticity, Lennie pointed out: We sought-after out a twenty-two-year-old white bop businessman who played left-handed because Stan Levey was the left-handed drummer with Meat on 52nd Street.

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