Spencer Brewer - Cinematic (2008)

Spencer Brewer is not only a multi-million-selling composer, pianist and producer, but also a connoisseur of many of the greatest film scorers of all time. For his latest contemporary instrumental recording, Cinematic, Brewer has turned his talents to creating a collection of original material specifically meant to evoke visual imagery and also serve as his homage to movie music. “I have been a fan of film music since I was a small boy, “ explains Brewer, “and as a tribute to that often over-looked art-form, I decided to make an album filled with pieces I feel have the same ambience of classic movie and television scores."

In fact, some of the music has already been used in films and television. Brewer, who extensively collects recordings by his favorite film composers, has been most influenced by Bernard Hermann, John Barry and Ennio Morricone, but also has studied the works of Erich Korngold, Franz Waxman, Max Steiner, Alfred Newman, Thomas Newman, Miklos Rozsa, Esquivel, John Williams, Maurice Jarre, Howard Shore, Mark Isham and Danny Elfman.

Cinematic is a two-CD set featuring a cover painting by Salvador Dali. The first CD is subtitled “Black & White" and features Brewer playing solo piano on a dozen pieces with the addition of guitar and flute on the final tune. The second CD, subtitled “Technicolor, “ contains compositions played by various artists led by Brewer on piano, synthesizers, Hammond B-3 and a pump organ built in 1888. “Technicolor" has ensemble arrangements of ten of the same tunes that appear on “Black & White" plus four different pieces. The musicians on Cinematic are top new age, classical and jazz players including acoustic guitar virtuoso Alex de Grassi, reedman Paul McCandless (Paul Winter, Oregon), flutist Matt Eakle (David Grisman, Suzanne Ciani), harmonica player Norton Buffalo (Steve Miller, Kenny Loggins), drummer Mark Walker (Oregon, Paquito D'Rivera), and bassists Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny, Chuck Mangione), Todd Phillips (David Grisman, Psychograss) and Cliff Hugo (Rick Braun, Richard Elliott), plus other percussion, wind and string players including the renowned Quartet San Francisco led by Jeremy Cohen.

The music on Cinematic ranges from new versions of a couple of Brewer's most-beloved compositions ("Quintessence, “ “Dreamgift") to new material ("Into The Mirror, “ “Satie's Forgotten Dream, “ “Say What!?"). Some of the music has already been used in the cinema: “Heartwood" was commissioned for the movie of the same name starring Jason Robards and Hillary Swank, and Brewer also wrote the title theme for Lee Mun Wah's acclaimed documentary film on racism, “Last Chance for Eden." “Trip to Glory" has been used in several Olympics' broadcasts, became the Big Brothers-Big Sisters theme, was used as Hank Aaron's theme song and helped sell Arby's Roast Beef in television commercials. “Blueberry Street" has a Porgy & Bess-feel to it and displays Brewer's early blues roots, while the rip-roaring “Lupin Swing" displays elements of vaudeville, Broadway and ragtime. “Caravanserai" would have worked in Valentino's “The Sheik" or Sean Connery's “The Wind and The Lion." “Fellini's Carousel" pays tribute to the Italian film master. “Walls That Move" was written in George Lucas' Skywalker Sound huge soundstage where the walls actually are capable of moving. “Cinematic" is a soaring tour-de-force of classic film sounds creating several moods, building tension and then letting the listener down easy at the end as the lights come up and the credits roll.

“I first got into movie music when I was watching the classic monster films from the 1930s – “Frankenstein, “ “The Hunchback of Notre Dame, “ “The Mummy" – and then “Creature From the Black Lagoon" in the Fifties and “Jason and the Argonauts" in the early Sixties, “ remembers Brewer. “The music was so powerful, it knocked me out. I realized how important music is to the mood, storyline and character development in films. So then I started paying attention to the film composers and found music they did in other genres."