Mark Isham
Born: 7 September 1951, New York, New York.
Biography:
Born into a musical family (his mother was a violinist and his father taught music and history), Mark Isham studied classical piano, trumpet and violin from an early age. With a love of both jazz and classical music, he played trumpet in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra before breaking out on his own. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in the mid 1970s, and with them toured the world with the likes of The Beach Boys and Van Morrison. He recorded his first album in the late 70s, formed the progressive jazz ensemble Group 87 in the early 1979, before finally going solo in 1983. Throughout the 80s and early 90s, Isham juggled his group and solo work as a classical trumpeter, jazz stylist, solo instrumentalist and rock guest artist with a burgeoning film music career. In recent years, Isham has been concentrating on the film world more and more, composing for such respected directors as Robert Redford and Robert Altman, amassing hit movies such as "A River Runs Through It" (1992), "Timecop" (1994), "The Net" (1995), "Kiss the Girls" (1997), "Blade" (1998), "Varsity Blues" (1999), "Rules of Engagement" (2000), "Men of Honor" (2000), "Save the Last Dance" (2001), and "Don't Say a Word" (2001), and critical success as "Reversal of Fortune" (1990), "Quiz Show" (1994), "Nell" (1994), "October Sky" (1999), "The Majestic" (2001) and Crash (2005) on his list of achievements. Isham was honoured with an Academy Award nomination in 1992 and won an Emmy award in 1997 for his work on the TV series 'EZ Streets'. In addition to his film work, Isham has released many solo jazz albums, notably "Blue Sun", "We Begin" with Art Lande, "Vapor Drawings", "Castalia", "Zambooka" with Misha Segal, the self-titled "Mark Isham", and a tribute album to legendary trumpeter Miles Davis entitled "The Silent Way Project".
Reviews:
At First Sight, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Black Dahlia, Blade, Bobby, The Cooler, Crash, Crossing Over, Freedom Writers, Galapagos, The Gingerbread Man, Gracie, In the Valley of Elah, Invincible, Life as a House, The Mist, Nell, Next, October Sky, Racing Stripes, Reservation Road, A River Runs Through It, Rules of Engagement and Spartan.
Filmography:
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), Crossing Over (2009), Fame (2009), My One and Only (2009), The Express (2008), Pride and Glory (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), The Women (2008), The Black Donnellys (2007), Freedom Writers (2007), Gracie (2007), In the Valley of Elah (2007), Lions for Lambs (2007), The Mist (2007), Next (2007), Reservation Road (2007), The Black Dahlia (2006), Bobby (2006), Eight Below (2006), Invincible (2006), Running Scared (2006), Crash (2005), In Her Shoes (2005), Kicking and Screaming (2005), Racing Stripes (2005), Miracle (2004), Spartan (2004), Twisted (2004), The Cooler (2003), Highwaymen (2003), Impostor (2002),Moonlight Mile (2002), Don't Say A Word (2001), Hardball (2001), Life as a House (2001), The Majestic (2001), Save the Last Dance (2001), Men of Honor (2000), Rules of Engagement (2000), Trixie (2000), Where The Money Is (2000), At First Sight (1999), Body Shots (1999), Breakfast of Champions (1999), Galapagos (1999), October Sky (1999), Varsity Blues (1999), Blade (1998), The Defenders: Choice of Evils (1998), The Defenders: Payback (1998), The Defenders: Taking the First (1998), Free Money (1998), From the Earth to the Moon (1998), The Gingerbread Man (1998), Afterglow (1997), The Education of Little Tree (1997), Kiss the Girls (1997), Night Falls on Manhattan (1997), EZ Streets (1996), Fly Away Home (1996), Gotti (1996), Last Dance (1996), Home for the Holidays (1995), Losing Isaiah (1995), Miami Rhapsody (1995), The Net (1995), The Browning Version (1994), Chicago Hope (1994), The Getaway (1994), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Nell (1994), Quiz Show (1994), Safe Passage (1994), Thumbelina (1994), Timecop (1994), Fire in the Sky (1993), Made in America (1993), Nowhere to Run (1993), Romeo Is Bleeding (1993), Short Cuts (1993), Cool World (1992), Of Mice and Men (1992), The Public Eye (1992), A River Runs Through It (1992), Sketch Artist (1992), Billy Bathgate (1991), Crooked Hearts (1991), Little Man Tate (1991), A Midnight Clear (1991), Mortal Thoughts (1991), Point Break (1991), Everybody Wins (1990), Love at Large (1990), Reversal of Fortune (1990), The Beast of War (1988), The Moderns (1988), Tibet (1988), Made in Heaven (1987), The Hitcher (1986), Trouble in Mind (1985), Mrs. Soffel (1984), The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), Never Cry Wolf (1983).
Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2008 (adjusted for inflation):
Save the Last Dance ($115.8m), Blade ($107.6m), Kiss the Girls ($94.9m), Eight Below ($89.6m), The Net ($83.9m), Rules of Engagement ($81.9m), Made in America ($78.2m), Timecop ($77.3m), A River Runs Through It ($75.4m), Varsity Blues ($75.0m)
Awards:
1992 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - A River Runs Through It
1994 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Nell
2001 Grammy Awards Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television Men of Honor
1993 Grammy Awards Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television A River Runs Through It
1997 Emmy Awards Winner, Outstanding Main Title Music EZ Streets
1998 Emmy Awards Nominee, Outstanding Main Title Music Nothing Sacred
1996 Emmy Awards Nominee, Outstanding Main Title Music Chicago Hope
1995 Emmy Awards Nominee, Outstanding Main Title Music Chicago Hope
Links:
The Mark Isham Web Site
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