TOS music

[Not Herbert]

I've been posting a bit about the music from TOS.
I've been looking for interviews with Trek composers.
Let's start with the cat who started it all. The maestro Alexander Courage.
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/alexander-courage#

And the man who scored more TOS episodes than anyone else, Maestro Fred Steiner.
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/fred-steiner#

The last surviving TOS composer Gerald Fried.
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/gerald-fried#

The man who composed the next-to-most TOS episodes, George Duning. I can't find a video interview but someone has made a website for Duning.
http://www.georgeduning.com/index.html

I haven't found much information about Joe Mullendore or Sol Kaplan. Jerry Fielding did "The Trouble w/Tribbles" and "Spectre of the Gun". He had been blacklisted for many years. After Trek he had a bit of a comeback and scored many Clint Eastwood pictures.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

This is an important subject. I just now finished listening to "The Paradise Syndrome" on La La Land's big CD set. I wish I was free right now to dig into the interviews you linked to.

 

[EnsignHarper]

Thank God Roddenberry insisted on 'real'music, and always got the best people around at the time. Him and Justman always got THE right composer for each episode - a superb job of 'castmg'.

 

[mb22]

There are interviews with all (or most) TOS composers in Jeff Bond's 1999 book The Music of Star Trek.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Star-Tr...id=1449077851&sr=8-2&keywords=bond+music+trek

 

[Zaminhon]

It's incredible how much the music adds layers and depth to the story. I particularly enjoyed Gerald Fried's description of some of the instrument choices in Amok Time to represent Spock's inner struggle.

 

[Not Herbert]

There are interviews with all (or most) TOS composers in Jeff Bond's 1999 book The Music of Star Trek.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Star-Tr...id=1449077851&sr=8-2&keywords=bond+music+trek

Yes, a well researched book indeed. A fun read.
I caught a couple of typos. Amok Time bassist is jazz guitar player Barney Kessel. I believe he's listed as "Bernie" in the book.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

There are interviews with all (or most) TOS composers in Jeff Bond's 1999 book The Music of Star Trek.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Star-Tr...id=1449077851&sr=8-2&keywords=bond+music+trek

Yes, a well researched book indeed. A fun read.
I caught a couple of typos. Amok Time bassist is jazz guitar player Barney Kessel. I believe he's listed as "Bernie" in the book.

Wow, that's Barney Kessel?? He's the man! I love his work on Julie London's first album, and of course with the Wrecking Crew.

 

[GSchnitzer]

There are interviews with all (or most) TOS composers in Jeff Bond's 1999 book The Music of Star Trek.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Star-Tr...id=1449077851&sr=8-2&keywords=bond+music+trek

Yes, a well researched book indeed. A fun read.
I caught a couple of typos. Amok Time bassist is jazz guitar player Barney Kessel. I believe he's listed as "Bernie" in the book.

Wow, that's Barney Kessel?? He's the man! I love his work on Julie London's first album, and of course with the Wrecking Crew.

We are fortunate to have Jeff Bond be our music editor for our episodes at Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II. He's very familiar with all the music cues and knows how to pick just the right ones for the action. We are also fortunate, of course, that he has taken over the role of our Dr. McCoy character.

 

[Not Herbert]

We are fortunate to have Jeff Bond be our music editor for our episodes at Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II. He's very familiar with all the music cues and knows how to pick just the right ones for the action. We are also fortunate, of course, that he has taken over the role of our Dr. McCoy character.

Yes, Bond's book is quite good and he does a fine job as music editor over at NV/P2.

You guy's ever consider doing original scores as if it were TOS season 4?

 

[Borjis]

Thank God Roddenberry insisted on 'real'music, and always got the best people around at the time. Him and Justman always got THE right composer for each episode - a superb job of 'castmg'.

Indeed!

Seems like he set the tone of helping sci-fi subjects being taken more seriously as used in future properties like star wars etc...

I'm 1/3 into reading "these are the voyages season 1" and I love that memo to Alexander Courage about " REAL orchestra music and none of that god damned sci-fi goofy electronic" sound.

 

[GSchnitzer]

We are fortunate to have Jeff Bond be our music editor for our episodes at Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II. He's very familiar with all the music cues and knows how to pick just the right ones for the action. We are also fortunate, of course, that he has taken over the role of our Dr. McCoy character.

Yes, Bond's book is quite good and he does a fine job as music editor over at NV/P2.

You guy's ever consider doing original scores as if it were TOS season 4?

Yes, we've thought about doing it for years. Now that STC has been doing such a fine job with that, I'd hate to do it and have people say "well, they're just copying STC." But it might happen; we sort of play things by ear.

 

[Not Herbert]

We are fortunate to have Jeff Bond be our music editor for our episodes at Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II. He's very familiar with all the music cues and knows how to pick just the right ones for the action. We are also fortunate, of course, that he has taken over the role of our Dr. McCoy character.

Yes, Bond's book is quite good and he does a fine job as music editor over at NV/P2.

You guy's ever consider doing original scores as if it were TOS season 4?

Yes, we've thought about doing it for years. Now that STC has been doing such a fine job with that, I'd hate to do it and have people say "well, they're just copying STC." But it might happen; we sort of play things by ear.

It's not copying, new stories can always benefit from original scores. If TOS had a 4th season, there probably would have been about 8 new scores and new library cues. If they lasted after 1974, they'd have new scores for every episode like all the Trek spinoffs had. Obvious not TAS which had the SAME score for each episode. BTW, jazz arranger Ray Ellis did the TAS score. He's better known as the composer of the 1960s Spiderman theme, and as an arranger for everyone from Billy Holliday to Barry Manilow.

 

[Tallguy]

BTW, jazz arranger Ray Ellis did the TAS score. He's better known as the composer of the 1960s Spiderman theme, and as an arranger for everyone from Billy Holliday to Barry Manilow.

I love the TAS score.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I interviewed Fried a few years ago:

http://www.rejectedfilmscores.150m.com/geraldfriedinterview.html


Among other composers I have intervied, I also did spin-off Trek composers as well, if anybody is curious. David Bell and Jay Chattaway.


Jerry Fielding interview:
www.runmovies.eu/?p=8459

 

[Not Herbert]

I interviewed Fried a few years ago:

http://www.rejectedfilmscores.150m.com/geraldfriedinterview.html


Among other composers I have intervied, I also did spin-off Trek composers as well, if anybody is curious. David Bell and Jay Chattaway.


Jerry Fielding interview:
www.runmovies.eu/?p=8459

Great stuff, and very informative website. I have an interesting story about a couple of rejected score I could share with you over the phone, but not in print.

I had a lovely phone conversation with Sandy Courage about 20 years ago, and recently with Gerry Fried. I actually sent Gerry a fan email and he phoned me back out-of-the-blue. Great cat! We discovered we knew a lot of the same people, which isn't uncommon in the music business, but we had the same oboe teacher.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I don't have phone service, but if you want to communicate via PM here, I'll get back to you.

 

[A beaker full of death]

We're fortunate that TOS is so popular that its music is heard regularly. So many great (and less great) shows had excellent scores, which are completely forgotten. Same for radio shows. It's a damn shame.

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The funny thing is, so much of the music in tv back then was actually cutting edge. Listen to the full theme of Perry Mason or Peter Gunn sometime.

 

[Not Herbert]

We're fortunate that TOS is so popular that its music is heard regularly. So many great (and less great) shows had excellent scores, which are completely forgotten. Same for radio shows. It's a damn shame.

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The funny thing is, so much of the music in tv back then was actually cutting edge. Listen to the full theme of Perry Mason or Peter Gunn sometime.

The record album "Music From Peter Gunn" is outstanding! A jazz classic featuring many legendary musicians like Ted and Dick Nash (who both played on some TOS scores, Pete Condoli, Frank Rossolino, Ronnie Lang, Jack Sperling, and Johnny Williams. (Yes, THAT Johnny Williams)

 

[Not Herbert]

I don't have phone service, but if you want to communicate via PM here, I'll get back to you.

No phone? You don't go down to the soda fountain at the corner drug store and use their pay-phone?

 

[tharpdevenport]

I don't have phone service, but if you want to communicate via PM here, I'll get back to you.

No phone? You don't go down to the soda fountain at the corner drug store and use their pay-phone?

If there is a payphone here, I'd be shocked. They're becoming extinct.