Kyle Eastwood loves music

From the Style Archives - Issue 28

Kyle Eastwood, son of Hollywood movie legend Clint Eastwood, has forged his own path in music with his globally influenced jazz style. A respected jazz bass player, composer and band leader, Kyle chatted with Tracy Curtis in the run up to his much anticipated performance at the Isle of Arts Festival in Ventnor at the start of May, about his life, influences, film and how jazz was always in his blood.

Kyle Eastwood’s Californian drawl is as strong as his passion for music; “Of course Jazz is my first love, but I’m not a jazz snob in any way. I listen to a lot of different types of music; jazz, old rock and roll, classical, some pop; I love any kind of music as long as it’s good.” With six albums under his belt and a range of film score credits, Kyle’s path into music was hardly surprising considering his musical background. Born in 1968, there was always music around his house. “As far back as I can remember I was listening to Jazz. My parents are big music fans, jazz in particular and they both play so it was a very musical household. I always seemed to gravitate towards stuff that was a little before my time like Johnny Cash, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and James Brown. The Monterey Jazz Festival was held 15 minutes away from where I grew up and my family went every year. I remember meeting Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, lots of people that I knew from the records my parents were playing. It wasn’t until I got a little bit older that I’d realise how influential they’d be to me.” Kyle started learning the piano when he was 7, and at 12 he had to play a

‘I remember meeting Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, lots of people that I knew from the records my parents were playing. It wasn’t until I got a little bit older that I’d realise how influential they’d be to me.’

few chords on the guitar for a role he had in Honkytonk Man with his father. “That was my first experience with the stringed guitar, and I carried it on, teaching myself from what I knew from music theory and the piano.” A few years later he moved to the electric bass. “A lot of my friends in high school were musicians. There were always drummers and guitar players but never any bass players, so I think that’s why I picked that and started playing. I’d sit and figure out bass parts myself from old Motown records.” Playing for fun and not yet knowing that music would become his career, Kyle enrolled at the University of Southern California on a filmmaking course. “I was interested in trying to become a director, but at the same time I was getting more serious about learning, practising and playing music. I spent so many hours on my own in my room listening to records and transcribing things. I guess the music won over at that point so I left college and began playing with different people in the clubs around LA. I started my first jazz quartet in 1992.” In 1998 Kyle released his first jazz album, and has since toured the world. “I enjoy touring; it does get tiring sometimes especially if you’re travelling through lots of airports, but I really love playing and that comes with the territory. When I played Monterey, my hometown and the first place I ever saw live music, that was quite an exciting feeling.” Kyle still loves film, and keeps his hand in mainly through music, composing film scores. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Gran Torino, he’s worked on nine of his father’s movies, the last being the upcoming Jersey Boys. Kyle explains, “When you write for yourself

you have as much freedom as you want, but film music is different. You obviously have to write something that fits with what’s already on screen, so there’s a lot to consider. You can’t step on the dialogue; things need to fall in certain places and on certain cuts. There’s a lot more sitting at the computer, trial and error and shifting things around. I work closely with my father on his films. Sometimes he writes with me, or he’ll come up with a melodic idea and play it out on the piano, then I’ll record and rework it a little bit. Other times he lets me get on with it and tells me to go to town, but when I finish something he always wants to hear it. Writing for film is definitely a challenge, it’s a totally different approach to writing jazz, but I really enjoy doing both.” Kyle now lives in Paris, relishing the change of pace and opportunity to

play with different musicians from different places. “I think there’s definitely a great appreciation for music here, and a lot of different kinds of music generally. Being exposed to new music from other cultures and meeting new musicians is always inspiring to me when I’m writing.” With a short break from touring, he’s now working on the next album. “I’ve been busy. I haven’t slept in my own bed since last October and I don’t take many days off completely from music. I’m now getting some ideas together for the next album, but I need to actually get busy and start writing. Sometimes I come up with something quickly that sort of writes itself, or I’ll have an idea, put it away and come back to it later. Sometimes a deadline’s all you need to get a piece finished.” Although Kyle lived for over a year in London, and has toured all over the UK, when we met he admitted that playing the Isle of Arts Festival was to be his first visit here. “I know of it of course, from the legendary concerts held here back in the day and more recently as well. I’ve heard it’s very beautiful and I’m looking forward to it.” If you missed his energetic performance of traditional jazz, infused with everything from funk to African beats, investigate Kyle Eastwood’s music yourself by visiting www.kyleeastwood.com - you won’t be disappointed.