Five-time EMMY winner Jeff Beal’s improvisatory method, sense of timing, and sophistication have made him a favorite of directors including Ed Harris, David Fincher, Oliver Stone, and Rob Reiner, and his contributions to powerful documentaries and dramatic scores for TV shows have shown him to be one of the most distinctive and recognizable composers working today. In addition to his distinguished scoring career, Beal is a prolific composer of concert music.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Beal’s grandmother was a pianist and accompanist for silent movies. An avid jazz fan, she gave him Miles Davis’/Gil Evans’ Sketches of Spain album that would influence his development as a Jazz trumpet player and composer. In addition to studying both classical and jazz trumpet, Jeff was a self-taught pianist and spent countless hours in the library learning music theory and composition on his own.
Today we sit with this musical prodigy and icon to talk about one of his most recent and boutique projects – his new new symphonic score for the 1927 silent film classic Metropolis. The visionary film is widely regarded as one of the most influential films ever made and considered the blueprint for science fiction. Additionally, the score will be part of the 100th Anniversary film release, he’s releasing the soundtrack, as well as having several live-to-picture performances in Europe and the US (check out the trailer below).
We were thrilled to speak with the gifted and rather humble composer about his musical stylings, and everything else he has going on at the moment. Enjoy this episode of The GoSeeTalk Podcast Experience!
