Lennie Niehaus Lennie Niehaus

Born: 11 June 1929, St. Louis, Missouri

Biography:
Composer/conductor Lennie Niehaus moved from his native Missouri to California with his parents when still a child. A talented alto saxophone player, young Niehaus graduated University and immediately immersed himself in the musical world of jazz and big bands, playing in orchestras led by the likes of Jerry Wald, Mel Lewis, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Giuffre, Hampton Hawes, and the legendary Stan Kenton. While serving in the US Air Force in the 1950s, Niehaus met and made friends with a young soldier named Clint Eastwood, who shared the same musical tastes. During the 1960s, Niehaus continued to be an active member of the jazz scene, playing with the Shorty Rogers group, and successfully recording music under his own name. He began dabbling in music for TV and film during the 1970s, leading the band on Mel Torme's series "It Was A Very good Year" and undertaking orchestration for work for Jerry Fielding and Alex North. In 1984, Eastwood, who had since become a major movie star, was shooting a cop-thriller called "Tightrope", and recommended his old friend Niehaus to director Richard Tuggle. Niehaus wrote the score, and began a long-standing composer-director collaboration with Eastwood that has encompassed some seventeen films - usually with Eastwood himself writing the main theme, and Niehaus extrapolating upon it for the rest of the score. Notable Eastwood/Niehaus collaborations include "City Heat" (1984), "Pale Rider" (1985), "White Hunter Black Heart" (1990), "Unforgiven" (1992), "A Perfect World" (1993), "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995), "Space Cowboys" (2000), "Mystic River" (2003) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004), the latter two which saw Niehaus conducting Eastwood's score music. For the critically acclaimed film about Charlie Parker, "Bird" (1988), Eastwood asked Niehaus to "engineer" Parker's legendary trumpet solos so that they could be re-recorded with new accompaniments, and he received a BAFTA Nomination for his troubles. As well as his work with Eastwood, Niehaus has also scored successful movies such as "Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird" (1985), the Emmy-winning "Lush Life" (1993), the "Titanic" mini-series (1996), "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World" (1999) and "The Jack Bull" (1999). Niehaus is also very active in the music education scene as a clinician, performer, and adjudicator, has numerous published works for concert band, orchestra, and jazz ensemble to his credit, and has written several texts on saxophone pedagogy.

Reviews:
Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Space Cowboys, True Crime and Unforgiven

Filmography:
Comanche Moon (2008), Mitch Albom's For One More Day (2007), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Mystic River (2003), Blood Work (2002), Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (2000), Space Cowboys (2000), The Jack Bull (1999), Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1999), True Crime (1999), The Fixer (1998), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1998), No Laughing Matter (1998), Absolute Power (1997), Crazy Horse (1996), Dog Watch (1996), Titanic (1996), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Lush Life (1993), A Perfect World (1993), Unforgiven (1992), The Rookie (1990), White Hunter Black Heart (1990), Bird (1988), The Child Saver (1988), Emanon (1987), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Never Too Young to Die (1986), Ratboy (1986), Pale Rider (1985), Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird (1985), City Heat (1984), Tightrope (1984).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2007 (adjusted for inflation):
Unforgiven ($172.6m), Space Cowboys ($118.8m), Million Dollar Baby ($114.3m), The Bridges of Madison County ($116.4m), Mystic River ($105.8m), Tightrope ($101.4m), Pale Rider ($82.6m), Heartbreak Ridge ($81.5m), City Heat ($80.8m), Absolute Power ($77.2m)

Awards:
1988 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – Bird
1994 Emmy Awards – Winner, Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini– Series, Movie, or Special – Lush Life
2008 Emmy Awards – Nominee, Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini– Series, Movie, or Special – Mitch Albom’s For One More Day

Absolute Power Bird The Bridges of Madison County Flags of Our Fathers Follow That Bird Letters from Iwo Jima Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Million Dollar Baby Mystic River Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows A Perfect World Space Cowboys Unforgiven


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