CBF 2:37 | The future tense "they're up to something"

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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Grammy and Emmy award-winning trumpeter composer and synthesis, Mark Isham. We caught up with this accomplished Los Angeles powerhouse to get into his new 2026 album at the Carousel Club and a life dedicated to making music. He has spent his career moving fluidly between jazz, electronic music, orchestral writing, and cinema. This academy award-nominated composer has drawn from all of these disciplines to create a recombin musical statement that gets back to his roots. He has spent his career often shaping the narratives of his collaborators, performing with Joni Mitchell, fan Morrison and Stanley Clark, while creating some of the most memorable film scores of the past four decades, like Once Upon a Time, Blade, Crash, a river runs through it and so much more. This is his first solo album in over 15 years, re-establishing himself as the protagonist in his musical world. It's quite an adventure and joy this interview. So thank you for taking a minute out. Of course, my pleasure. And living in 2026 America, there could not be a shirt that is better than that right there. I think so too. That's why I'm warning especially for you. I love it. Absolutely love it. Well man, before we get into the album at the Carousel Club, I want to begin with kind of the idea of the shirt and what we're living through right now. You know the pandemic changed so much about the way that we did things. It was a big air bubble that we had to get through. How did it change your approach to music and life after living through that era? Well, I think the, I mean to be perfect, the honest, the first couple of weeks selfishly, we're pretty great for me. Yeah, because all of a sudden Hollywood couldn't demand anything from me. Even though I was in the middle of two films. And I rebuilt the entire back wall. All my vented synthesizers got the final wiring steps that I'd never had the time to do. And I wrote a lot of what came out on this album during that first two weeks. And then of course, Hollywood caught up and they figured out how to do things all remotely. And then I fortunately, I was back to work. I got, I worked pretty much through most of the COVID period. So talk to me about this album, how, how special was it? How did it feel like ultimately what was, what's been the feeling around this project? The feeling is me sort of reclaiming my own musical identity. Yeah. I mean, look, Hollywood has been very good to me. I think as the saying goes. But at the end of the day, you are working for other people's visions, other people's dreams, other people's stories. And there's a lot of typecasting in Hollywood. You know, people don't have a lot of courage to ask people to go outside of the box that they can observe that, oh, he's good at that. So let's have him do that. Or last three weeks, these films have been the hits. Let's do that. You know, there's a lot of that sort of attitude, I think, in Hollywood, which ends up, the creative people end up sort of getting boxed, either into everything they've done before or what's currently hip. You know, let's do what's currently hip. And I find over a period of time that you start to lose that special thing. That maybe they probably got you Hollywood interested you in the first place. Yeah. You would as interested in a unique voice and a unique point of view. And that's why they came to me. I had a unique thing that I did. And so this was really an opportunity for me to reestablish that. In my own world, in my own voice and just say, all right, I'm not going by any trend. I'm not going by anybody else's need to have something. I'm going to write what I want to write. And there you have it. So looking at the glass half full here, there's something I think that's probably good about Hollywood that gives exposure to musicians and composers that otherwise wouldn't get that level of audience. So how much of living in that world of having this level of exposure has increased your moxie and your music brain to get back to the roots, to find this existential path back to who you are to do this project? I think that's a great observation. Hollywood is, for all this sort of negativity that people want to say, it's an unbelievable medium. I mean, the things that can be expressed, that can be explored are just limitless. And you see a tremendous amount of that happening. And it certainly gave me a career that I was not managing to build as a solo artist at that time. It exponentially grew my visibility, my audience. I will never regret that. I have nothing but just the absolute grace and humility and grace, gratefulness for that to me, who have had experience. So this is sort of really trying to rebuild what it was that people were captured by me in the very first place. I've been doing this for 30 years or so. So it has changed over, especially the last decade. I just said, I want to get, I listen to some of my early film scores, and they're really adventurous. I mean, they really just say, let's just do this. And I just felt I needed to do that. I just said, let's do this. Let's just do something that's for me personally very special. Because let me just say, in this world, that is just getting more and more homogenized, especially now with AI, AI is the ultimate homogenizer. It's just pushing everything into something that's been heard before. I think the thing that's going to save our culture, our people, artists, to find that unique voice, that voice that's never quite been heard before and keep that alive in our culture. And only human beings can do that. And I'm hearing more and more that the younger generations are kind of getting to this point with AI where they're like, all right, okay, I got it. And it's not. So hopefully we have this willful, good reversion back to what jazz has always been. What organic warm music is supposed to be? I couldn't agree more. I mean, I think that unique expression of an individual is just sorely needed. And hopefully this AI push will have the opposite. It'll create a splurge on the other end of complete unique creativity. Yeah, for sure. So let me ask you this. At the end of the day, what are you hoping the listener gets from this album? Oh, just a damn good time, you know, I mean, it's like the Carousel Club. The track is supposed to be the invitation, you know, come into the club. Come into the Carousel Club, which is, you know, I love the image of a Carousel from a sort of a three-year-old's point of view. You know, your dad picks you up and puts you on the unicorn horse at the edge. And then, and that's one world. And then you move further inside and there's the princesses, you know, thing with the couch and the other dancing unicorns. And then you move over here and there's the ogres and the monsters. And you're just, you go from spot to spot on this spitting wheel of stories, of adventures, of unique environments. And I just sort of love that image and hopefully that these are six stories that you can just fall into and enjoy and make your own pictures and make up your own characters and experience. So I want to go back before the break happened, before Hollywood happened, to your roots. Where were you born and raised? How did this music dream take hold? I was born in Manhattan to two musical parents. My mother was a professional violinist. Very good. She played in symphony orchestras all over the world. My father taught history and philosophy at various different universities in New York and then in upstate New York and then eventually in San Francisco. And so those are my other living environments mid-state New York and the San Francisco area. And I was very fortunate. There was music around the house from day one. And I picked the right parents because that's exactly what I wanted to do. There's never been a plan B. It's always just, you've got to stick with it because this is all you love and all you really know and all you want to know and all you want to love. So just dive in and do your best. And you know, I studied violin first, of course, my mom stuck a violin in my hand. And I was pretty good. I could play fast, but I never had the beautiful vibrato or anything. And then I saw the trumpets in the orchestra and heard some of that Baroque trumpet music and said, "No, that's what I want to do." And so I studied trumpet and got pretty good at that. And my mom said, "Okay, you can be a trumpet player." And then I heard Miles Davis. And that sort of changed the rest of the world for me because not only could this instrument that I was playing, be triumphant and glorious and profound in sort of a traditional way, you can also whisper in your ear and say the sexiest shit on the world, you know. And I said, any instrument that can do both of those things, that's it for me. I'm in. And really it's been just an exploration of that ever since. As a composer, as a performer, just telling stories and exploring what the motions that music can bring to people. So, you know, I was thinking, I heard people lately talk about when they were growing up. I'm a Gen Xer of the 80s. All of those cartoons and shows that we were watching had jazz just absolutely as the soundtrack. Whether it was conscious thing or subconscious, that was the soundtrack of our lives. So when I think about what Hollywood's doing, it's mimicking all of these generations of people that will inextricably have jazz whistling through their brains. It's true, you know, jazz has filtered into all sorts of things. I mean, I think the first jazz, I heard what was not, you know, in a hip way, it was Henry Mancini in the band there. You know, but it just stuck, you know, and Hank was great at that because he really did understand jazz, but he also really understood commercial music and film scoring. So he could bring it in in this way that was so accessible. And as a kid, I heard that said, holy shit, that's cool. And then, of course, I heard Miles and Monk, and really figure out where the roots of this music was from, and that just built the whole new world for me. Do you remember the first live jazz show you saw that really blew you away? Oh my goodness. Well, I remember I was under 18 because I had to get my parents to take me there. I think it might have been, it was a big band. I think it was either Don Ellis. Yeah. I don't know if anybody remembers Don Ellis, but Don Ellis was a big hero of mine growing up. Yeah. A great trumpet player. But he had a big band, or it might have been Count Basie. I saw Count Basie when I was young. And because at that point, my jazz experience, I was at junior high school and high school was playing in the school stage band, you know, the big band experience. I didn't even have an opportunity to play a small group jazz yet. And so to see, you know, Count Basie, I mean, this was like the cream of a lifetime. Oh yeah. So when you decided that you wanted to be a musician, you have this idea of what your career is going to be like, what it's going to be like to wake up every day, being a musician, then you start living the life, and then you add upon it that you're doing Hollywood films. What's been the difference between the dream you had of what your life would be like as a musician, and then being three decades plus into it living this life? Oh my goodness. Well, you know, I don't know if I ever had an idea of what the life was going to be like. I just knew I loved being in the world. I loved playing in the stage band. And then when I was old enough, I loved playing in the orchestra. I just love the experience. I just, and then I love sitting down the piano and making stuff up. I'd ever thought about oh my god, if I choose this, I'm going to have to make money doing it. Never even occurred to me. Until, you know, I was dropped out of college and just and said, oh shit, you know, there's another side to this, you know, and I just started off, I started off really, you know, right at the bottom, I was playing, you know, I played in the circus band for a couple of seasons. I played on the ships in the cocktail band. I played Chinese funerals. They would have a marching band behind the coffin. I mean, I did all the little tiny $20 afternoon jobs, you know, and I, but then I think the real dream when I really saw that I needed to make a career out of this was to get the record deal. Yeah. And I just started making demos and and having bands and putting the bands in clubs and just pushing, pushing, pushing to get that record deal. So do you remember that what was the big break when you went to Hollywood when you got that first gig? Do you remember what that adrenaline surge was like when you realized you were going into a different realm of music? Yeah, at first I was totally confused. I said, why me? I mean, I have no experience here. You know, this director heard a piece of music that I had written for a record deal and the record company had turned it down. And so what I had just sent it out to everybody that I knew and figured, well, as many people as I can possibly forward to send that this was long before the internet. So I just sent out cassettes. And as many people as I can afford to let know that this piece of music exists, that they now know I can move on. I can do the next thing. Well, the director heard one of this, got one of these cassettes and heard it and said, that's the sound I want for this film. And once I learned that, I said, okay, part of me was just scared to death because I had no idea what I was doing. Yeah. Enough of me knew this is the opportunity of a lifetime. You know, this does this is that door. This is that door that's opening and you better get your sad ass through that door with victory in mind because this probably will never come along again, you know. And I did. I worked, you know, 20 hour days for four and a half months and just applied myself, got as many friends to help out and and and came through and the score, I think, stands up. It's still one of my better scores, you know. So what has been the motivator for your everyday to wake up? What do you love the best about being a musician, about making music, about orchestrating these audio worlds that we get as swimming? What motivates you to do that every day? Just the process. I mean, I love the process. I love, you know, the beginning of the process at first is, oh my god, there's nothing on the page. Okay. And so let's put something on the page. And then, you know, the first few things you put on the page really suck and you say, oh, I'm no good. I've done my best work. It's all over. You know, the voices. You know, we all have that shit that comes in and you just realize that that's that's not who you are. That's not who the artist is. That's just whatever you want is described the psychology of that. It's other stuff that's just, and you just say, all right, fine, fine. You're going to sit over there and I am going to finish this. And then that moment when something goes, ooh, that ooh moment, you know, when the hair and the arm just kind of goes, ooh, that's the moment. And then you strive for those moments until it's finished. And then you sit back and you listen and you say, that's pretty damn good. I'm the first audience I have to please. Yeah. And that's the moment I probably live for. And if other people like it, that's fine too. But if I know that I've done my best work and I've done something that I'm very proud of, that's the moment I really look for. So the one thing that's that's great about Hollywood, movies and TV is that it creates this magical world. We get it kind of slip into surreal. What was one of the most surreal comments, compliments that you've gotten from whether it was a fan or it was a big wig for a score for a piece of music that you did where you were just like, wow, it just kind of took you back. Oh my goodness. I don't know if I can remember anything verbatim, but you know, it's a one story that it does stick to my mind is I had the great honor and privilege of working with Robert Redford. And you know, the first time that that he came to the house, you know, you open the front door and there's fucking Robert Redford on your doorstep. That alone is like, holy shit. So I remember on the second or third film we did, he came to the house. So I was so to use to him coming to the house now. That was fine. And I played him this piece and you know, very few directors directors have comments. That's their job. They have comments. And I played him this piece and he sat there and at first I was nervous because he didn't really say anything. And he turned to me and said, Mark, that's perfect. I think your job is done. And I mean, that just, oh my god, from an iconic artist like that to love the first pass, you know, you've, you know, you've got something you've done good. You've done good. You know, so why do you love this art form we call jazz? Oh my goodness. I think because there's no greater high in the world than walking on a stage with a group of people that you trust. And to some degree, not knowing what you're going to do and making it up live in front of people, even if it's like 15 people in a club or 5,000 people in a theater, you put yourself out there and you don't know exactly what's going to happen. And there's no greater high than getting five minutes into this thing and realize this is good. And we are doing this and it's just, and you're, you're out of your head, you know, all those voices are gone. You're in, so I actually think you're slightly in the future, you know, because you, you're having to create something that immediately has to be there and has to be great right then. So you're sort of just on the edge of the future there, putting stuff there into the present time, you know, and there's just no greater sensation than that in the world. And then I think if that's done and recorded properly, that comes across to a listener, even on an album or a CD, you know, you get that sensation of that adrenaline and that Russian creativity, you know, I mean you look Listen to any of the greats that Miles trained, they all communicate that sense to you in their music. Well, when you were saying that, I was thinking about kind of blue, just that iconic, there was two sessions and they just, you know, it was winner in New York, they just went to a studio in the late 50s and magic happened, the best selling album of all time. Exactly. I mean, that is, that is it. That's why I love jazz. Yeah. I'm actually in live in Birdland, I mean, are you kidding? Yeah. That's one, you know, our 10 minute set or something, and it's just like, it's like Shosh Takovic. It's, it's like timeless. It's perfect. It is. And you mentioned some players and you mentioned the session, but if you could get to the jazz Doloran, go back in time and see one show, where are you going? Who is it going to be? Oh my God. I think we would have to be Miles or Cardin, you know, those nights that he did, it was just before the classic quartet, all the guys were there, except he was still George Coleman. I think there's, there's Round Midnight and the other one was, there's two albums from that, that night. Yeah. The first one was Round Mid. I forget the title of the other one, but all this, the ballads are on one and the uptempo stuff's on the other. Yeah. And what a night. I mean, everybody is just playing at the top of their game. All of those guys, they were just, it was unbelievable. So, Mark, at the end of the day, everyone has a perception of you, family, friends, clients, everyone that plays with you on the bandstand, but you run the show that we see. What's your perception of you? Who do you think you are? Oh my God. This is the therapy portion. I think so too. That's a dangerous question, my friend. Who do I think I am? Well, you know, this album sort of sums that up. I'm the guy that creates this, you know, long before you are there the night hearing it. I've been, I'm the guy that just sat there lonely, that has written this stuff, that has thought it through, that knows that when it's played for people, it'll have a certain impact and that I have to be able to bring it to the stage. I'm the guy who's responsible for putting the people on stage and knowing that they're the right people, of giving them just enough information to play together, but being on the edge, being creating that future, that unknown future. And then I'm the guy that gets to float on top of it and just sing my song, you know, and I've done a good enough job at everything else that I can sort of separate myself for any anxiety about the rest of it and just be that storyteller, that narrator on top of everything. So at the Carousel Club is streaming everywhere. If anybody wants to get a copy, they want to dive into your world further, maybe see it live, anything else going on in your world, where do they go? CDs are made and vinyl, I've got the test pressings and the Blu-ray, we're finishing up the offering. So in the next month, all the physical copies will be available at Mark Isham, Isham.com And shows that's under discussion. There may be a premiere here in LA at the end of September, a premiere for a documentary that's been made about the making of the album. And if I can get myself up to being able to play an hour and a half set, you know, the endurance of a trumpet player is the elusive part of this formula, you know, yes, to put myself in the practice room long enough to be able to get up on a stage and play straight for an hour and a half and not fall apart. That's probably the last ingredient that I'm still working on. Right on. Right on. Well, I will get the website out there so people can keep up with it. Mark, what a joy, man. Great to meet you, sir. Thank you for taking the minute out. Today's been wonderful. It's been my pleasure. Great talking to you. Thanks for listening and tuning into another Neon Jazz interview, where we give you a bit of insight into the finest players and minds in LA, New York, Kansas, City and Spots, all over the world, giving fans all that jazz. And thanks to Mark for swinging on by the program. If you want to hear more Neon Jazz interviews, you can find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Subscribe to us at YouTube and for everything Neon Jazz, go to the Neon Jazz stopluxbot.com. Until next time, enjoy the jazz, my friends. Neon Jazz. James Tallerico voted to make it easier to increase property taxes, supported a $4 trillion tax hike, and Tallerico supports a radical healthcare plan that could close rural hospitals and cost thousands in new taxes. 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