ASTS 007: Listening To... Elmer Bernstein

In this episode, I talk about and present examples of the marvelous music of Elmer Bernstein, specifically his jazz-oriented scores, like THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, and those in the "Westerns" genre, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN for example. Bernstein was part of the unofficial "second generation" of film composers, along with Alex North, Franz Waxman and others, following on from the "godfathers" of Max Steiner, Alfred Newman and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. He tackled pretty much every genre but there were distinct periods of his career when he was considered the "go-to" guy for jazz scores, then Westerns, then comedies, amid others. This is part of my ongoing "Listening To..." series of the show in which I examine various composers, whether presenting attributes of their overall style, focusing on particular genres or even a certain year of their career. This is not a comprehensive biography of Elmer Bernstein or his entire career, but more of a brief introduction for anyone who might be curious to learn about what to listen for.

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