Isham, Mark 1951-

PERSONAL

Born September 7, 1951, in New York, NY; son of Howard Fuller (a professor of humanities) and Patricia (a violinist; maiden name, Hammond) Isham; married Margaret Johnstone (a music publicist), May 24, 1986 (marriage ended); married Donna Linson, February 24, 1990. Education: Attended University of California, Santa Barbara; studied classical trumpet with John Cappola, Joyce Johnson, and Joe Alessi. Religion: Church of Scientology.

Addresses:

Manager—First Artists Management, 16000 Ventura Blvd., Suite 605, Encino, CA 91436.

Career:

Musician, composer, recording artist, music producer and arranger, and orchestrator; also synthesizer programmer. Sons of Champlin (band), recording artist and concert performer, prior to 1974; Rubisa Patrol, member of band, beginning 1976; Group 87, founding member of band, 1979; Mark Isham Jazz Band, founding member, c. 1990. Performed as a young man with Oakland Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Opera Orchestra; guest artist or soloist in concert with other recording artists, including Joni Mitchell, Lyle Lovett, Ziggy Marley, and Marianne Faithful; performer with Arte Lande on tour of European and U.S. cities.

Member:

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

Awards, Honors:

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, best music, 1988, for The Moderns; Grammy Award nominations, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 1988, for The Emperor's Nightingale, best New Age performance, 1988, for Castalia, best New Age performance, 1989, for Tibet, and 1990, for The Emperor's New Clothes; Grammy Award, best New Age performance, 1990, for Mark Isham; Academy Award nomination, best original score, 1993, and Grammy Award nomination, best instrumental composition written for a motion picture or for television, 1994, both for A River Runs Through It; Saturn Award nomination, best music, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, 1994, for Fire in the Sky; Golden Globe Award nomination, best original score for a motion picture, 1995, for Nell; Emmy Award nominations, outstanding individual achievement in main title theme music, 1995 and 1996, both for Chicago Hope; Emmy Award, outstanding individual achievement in main title theme music, 1997, for EZ Streets; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding main title theme music, 1998, for Nothing Sacred; award for best jazz album, Times (London), 1999, for Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project; Film and Television Music Awards, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, top box office films, 1999, for Blade, and top television series, 2000, for Family Law; Grammy Award nomination, best score soundtrack album for a motion picture, television, or other visual media, 2002, for Men of Honor; Henry Mancini Award, Film and Television Music Awards, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, 2006; cited in "top 100 jazz albums of the decade," Downbeat, for Blue Sun.

CREDITS

Film Work:

Horn player, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, Almi Cinema 5, 1981.

Musician, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Castle Hill, 1982.

Musician, Never Cry Wolf, Buena Vista, 1983.

Musician, The Times of Harvey Milk, New Yorker, 1984.

Musician, Trouble in Mind, Island Alive, 1985.

Musician, Made in Heaven, Lorimar, 1987.

Song producer and musician, The Moderns, Alive Films, 1988.

Song performer, title song, Cat Chaser, 1989.

Song performer, Everybody Wins, Orion, 1990.

Band leader for Blue Danube and musician with Rain-city Industrial art Ensemble, Love at Large, Image Entertainment, 1990.

Producer of original score, Point Break, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1991.

Trumpeter, Little Man Tate, Orion, 1991.

Music arranger, Billy Bathgate, Buena Vista, 1991.

Musician, Short Cuts, Fine Line, 1993.

Trumpet soloist, Quiz Show, Buena Vista, 1994.

Trumpet soloist, Losing Isaiah, Paramount, 1995.

Musician, Home for the Holidays, Paramount, 1995.

Music conductor and musician, Miami Rhapsody, Buena Vista, 1995.

Music arranger, Night Falls on Manhattan, Paramount, 1997.

Musician, Afterglow, Sony Pictures Classics, 1997.

Musician, Hurlyburly, Fine Line, 1998.

Music producer, Breakfast of Champions, Buena Vista, 1999.

Score producer and trumpet soloist, Body Shots, New Line Cinema, 1999.

Trumpet soloist, Rules of Engagement (also known as Les regles d'engagement, Rules of Engagement—Die Regeln des krieges, and Rules—Sekunden der entscheidung), Paramount, 2000.

Music producer and musician, Where the Money Is (also known as Ein Heisser coup and Where the Money Is—Ein Heisser coup), Gramercy/USA Films, 2000.

Orchestrator, Trixie, Sony Pictures Classics, 2000.

Score producer, Imposter, Dimension Films, 2000.

Music producer and musician, The Princess Diaries, Buena Vista, 2001.

Trumpet soloist, The Cooler, Lions Gate Films, 2003.

Music arranger, music producer, and musician, Crash (also known as L.A. Crash), Lions Gate Films, 2004.

Music producer, Twisted, Paramount, 2004.

Music producer, Racing Stripes, Warner Bros., 2005.

Music producer, Bobby, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2006.

Trumpet soloist, The Black Dahlia, Universal, 2006.

Musician, Running Scared, New Line Cinema, 2006.

Musician, "Foot Chase," Hot Fuzz, Rogue Pictures, 2007.

Film Director:

The Cowboy and the Ballerina, 1998.

Film Appearances:

Zeus, Made in Heaven, Lorimar, 1987.

Television Work; Series:

Theme music performer, High Incident, between 1995 and 1997.

Music supervisor, EZ Streets, CBS, 1996.

Television Work; Movies:

Musician, In Search of Angels, PBS, 1994.

Music producer, Shattered Mind (also known as The Terror Inside), NBC, 1996.

Musician, Winter Solstice on Ice, Arts and Entertainment, 1999.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Der Klang der bilder, 1995.

Searching for Jimi Hendrix, Bravo, 1999.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Perfomed with Lyle Lovett and Randy Newman on Soundstage, PBS.

RECORDINGS

Albums:

(With Art Lande) Rubisa Patrol, ECM, 1976.

(With Lande) Desert Marauders, ECM, 1978.

(With Van Morrison) Into the Music, Warner Bros., 1979.

(With Morrison) Common One, Warner Bros., 1980.

(With Morrison) Beautiful Vision, Warner Bros., 1980.

(With Group 87) Group 87, Columbia, 1980.

(With Morrison) Live at the Belfast Opera House, Mercury, 1983.

(With Morrison) Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Warner Bros., 1983.

Vapor Drawings, Windham Hill, 1983.

(With Group 87) A Career in Dada Processing, Capitol, 1984.

(With Group 87) We Begin, ECM, 1987.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier, BMG Kidz, 1987.

The Emperor's Nightingale, BMG Kidz, 1988.

Castalia, Virgin, 1988.

Tibet, Windham Hill, 1989.

Thumbelina, BMG Kidz, 1989.

The Emperor's New Clothes, BMG Kidz, 1990.

Mark Isham, Gold Rush, 1990.

Songs My Children Taught Me, Windham Hill, 1991.

The Boy Who Drew Cats, BMG Kidz, 1992.

Blue Sun, Columbia, 1995.

Mark Isham: A Windham Hill Retrospective, Windham Hill, 1998.

Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project, Columbia, 1999.

Pure Mark Isham, Windham Hill, 2006.

Also recorded (with Lande) Story of Baku and Eccentricities of Earl Dant, both Arch Street; (with Charles Jankel) Charles Jankel, A & M; (with Tom Fogerty) Deal It Out, Fantasy; (with America) View from the Ground, Capitol; (with Steve Miller) Singing Whale Songs in a Low Voice, Hip Pocket/Windham Hill, Sampler 84, Windham Hill, and Country, Windham Hill; (with Liz Story) Unaccountable Effect, Windham Hill; (with Will Ackerman) Past Light, Film Music, and Vapor Drawings, all Windham Hill; and The Firebird. Guest artist or studio musician on numerous albums, including Voodoo Lounge, by the Rolling Stones; Human Touch, by Bruce Springsteen; Across the Borderline, by Willie Nelson; and Toots, Film Music, by Toots Thielmans.

Videos:

The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Random House, 1987.

Joni Mitchell: Painting with Words and Music, 1998.

The Hitcher—How Do These Movies Get Made?, Kinowelt Home Entertainment, 2003.

"Moonlight Mile": A Journey to Screen, Buena Vista Home Video, 2003.

The Sound of "Miracle," Buena Vista Home Video, 2004.

The Making of "Miracle," Buena Vista Home Video, 2004.

WRITINGS

Film Music:

Never Cry Wolf, Buena Vista, 1983.

Mrs. Soffel, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1984.

The Times of Harvey Milk, New Yorker, 1984.

Additional music, Country, Buena Vista, 1984.

Trouble in Mind, Island Alive, 1985.

The Hitcher, American Film, 1986.

Portraits of Anorexia, 1986.

Made in Heaven, Lorimar, 1987.

Tibet (also known as Tibet—Widerstand des geistes), 1988.

The Moderns, Alive Films, 1988.

The Beast (also known as The Beast of War), Columbia, 1988.

Title song, Cat Chaser, 1989.

Everybody Wins, Orion, 1990.

Reversal of Fortune, Warner Bros., 1990.

Love at Large, Image Entertainment, 1990.

Mortal Thoughts, Columbia, 1991.

Point Break, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1991.

Little Man Tate, Orion, 1991.

A Midnight Clear, A & M, 1991.

Crooked Hearts, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1991.

Billy Bathgate, Buena Vista, 1991.

Cool World, Paramount, 1992.

A River Runs Through It, Sony Pictures Releasing, 1992.

The Public Eye, Universal, 1992.

Of Mice and Men, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1992.

Nowhere to Run, Sony Pictures Releasing, 1993.

Fire in the Sky, Paramount, 1993.

Made in America, 1993.

Romeo Is Bleeding, Gramercy, 1993.

Short Cuts, Fine Line, 1993.

Hidden Hawaii (also known as Hawaii: Born in Paradise), 1993.

The Getaway, Universal, 1994.

The Browning Version, Paramount, 1994.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (also known as Mrs. Parker and the Round Table), Fine Line, 1994.

Timecop, Universal, 1994.

Nell, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1994.

Thumbelina (also known as Hans Christian Andersen's "Thumbelina"), Columbia TriStar, 1994.

Safe Passage, New Line Cinema, 1994.

Quiz Show, Buena Vista, 1994.

Miami Rhapsody, Buena Vista, 1995.

Losing Isaiah, Paramount, 1995.

The Net, Sony Pictures Releasing, 1995.

Home for the Holidays, Paramount, 1995.

Fly Away Home (also known as Father Goose and Flying Wild), Columbia TriStar, 1996.

Last Dance, Buena Vista, 1996.

Night Falls on Manhattan, Paramount, 1997.

Afterglow, Sony Pictures Classics, 1997.

Kiss the Girls, Paramount, 1997.

The Education of Little Tree (also known as L'education de Little Tree), Paramount, 1997.

The Gingerbread Man, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1998.

Blade, New Line Cinema, 1998.

Free Money, 1998.

The Blood Tide, 1998.

(And song, "Love Is Where You Are") At First Sight, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1999.

Varsity Blues, Paramount, 1999.

Breakfast of Champions, Buena Vista, 1999.

October Sky, Universal, 1999.

Body Shots, New Line Cinema, 1999.

Galapagos: The Enchanted Voyage (documentary), IMAX, 1999.

(And song, "On the Threshold of Liberty") Rules of Engagement (also known as Les regles d'engagement, Rules of Engagement—Die Regeln des krieges, and Rules—Sekunden der entscheidung), Paramount, 2000.

Where the Money Is (also known as Ein Heisser coup and Where the Money Is—Ein Heisser coup), Gramercy/USA Films, 2000.

Trixie, Sony Pictures Classics, 2000.

Men of Honor (also known as Men of Honour), Twentieth Century-Fox, 2000.

Impostor, Dimension Films, 2000.

Save the Last Dance, Paramount, 2001.

Life as a House, New Line Cinema, 2001.

Hard Ball, Paramount, 2001.

Don't Say a Word, twentieth Century-Fox, 2001.

The Majestic, Warner Bros., 2001.

Moonlight Mile, Buena Vista, 2002.

The Cooler, Lions Gate Films, 2003.

Highwaymen (also known as Pourchasse), New Line Cinema, 2004.

Spartan, Warner Bros., 2004.

Miracle, Buena Vista, 2004.

(And song "For Bill") Twisted, Paramount, 2004.

(And song "Redemption") Crash (also known as L.A. Crash), Lions Gate Films, 2004.

(And song "Taking the Inside Rail") Racing Stripes, Warner Bros., 2005.

Kicking & Screaming, Universal, 2005.

In Her Shoes, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2005.

Running Scared, New Line Cinema, 2006.

Eight Below (also known as 8 Below), Buena Vista, 2006.

The Black Dahlia, Universal, 2006.

Invincible, Walt Disney, 2006.

Bobby, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2006.

Freedom Writers, Paramount, 2007.

Gracie, Picturehouse Entertainment, 2007.

Next, Paramount, 2007.

Songs Featured in Films:

"My Pander Bear," What Women Want, Paramount, 2000.

The Princess Diaries, Buena Vista, 2001.

"Foot Chase," Hot Fuzz, Rogue Pictures, 2007.

Screenplays:

The Cowboy and the Ballerina, 1998.

Television Music; Series:

(Theme music) Chicago Hope, CBS, 1995-2000.

(Score and theme music) EZ Streets, CBS, 1996.

(Score and theme music) Michael Hayes, CBS, 1997.

(Score and theme music) Nothing Sacred, ABC, 1997.

(Score) Family Law, CBS, 1999.

The Black Donnellys, NBC, 2007.

Television Music; Specials:

Song, "On the Threshold of Liberty," The Making of Liberty, 1986.

The Emperor's Nightingale, Showtime, 1987.

The Emperor's New Clothes, Showtime, 1990.

The Boy Who Drew Cats, Showtime, 1991.

The Firebird, Showtime, 1994.

Song, "Love's Ash Dissolves," In Search of Angels, PBS, 1994.

Song, "Mr. Moto's Penguin," Winter Solstice on Ice, Arts and Entertainment, 1999.

The Making of "Life as a House," 2001.

Television Music; Movies:

The Sketch Artist, Showtime, 1992.

Gotti, HBO, 1996.

The Defenders: Payback, Showtime, 1997.

The Defenders: Choice of Evils (also known as The Defenders), Showtime, 1998.

The Defenders: Taking the First, 1998.

Free Money, Starz!, 1999.

Television Music; Other:

(Score and theme music) EZ Streets (pilot), CBS, 1996.

(Contributor) From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries), HBO, 1998.

The Black Donnellys (pilot), NBC, 2007.

Videos:

From the Ground Up, New Line Home Video, 2001.

Character Building: Inside "Life as a House," New Line Home Video, 2001.

The Hitcher—How Do These Movies Get Made?, Kinowelt Home Entertainment, 2003.

Running Scared: Through the Looking Glass, New Line Cinema, 2006.

Other:

Composer, "Five Short Stories for Trumpet and Orchestra," St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, 1992.

ADAPTATIONS

Isham's compositions and his work as music producer and musician for motion pictures have been recorded on numerous original soundtrack albums.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Musicians, Volume 14, Gale, 1995.

Periodicals:

Downbeat, November, 1995, p. 30.

Los Angeles, October, 1995, p. 74.

Electronic:

Mark Isham Official Site,http://www.isham.com/, May 18, 2007.