Jazz - that true American form of music that can be sultry, soulful, swingy, or smooth. Clint Eastwood – director and star of films like Dirty Harry and The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. Add the two together and you get Eastwood After Hours.
Jazz Concert for Clint Eastwood
Eastwood After Hours is a jazz concert recorded live at Carnegie Hall, celebrating the actor and his contribution to the jazz music industry. This is a disk both jazz and Eastwood fans will enjoy listening to as well as watching.
There are over twenty-five songs performed by some of the top jazz musicians in the country and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. Most of the songs are from Eastwood’s movies, including Play Misty for Me, Honkytonk Man, Unforgiven, The Bridges of Madison County, White Hunter, Black Heart, Bird, and more. Because of his love of the music, Eastwood purposely includes a lot of jazz in his films.
Using Jazz in Eastwood Movies
During much of the concert images from the films as well as pictures of musicians past and present are shown on the screen. Between songs Mr. Eastwood explains a little about his love of jazz and recounts stories like the time he heard Roberta Flack singing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” He instantly knew he wanted that song in the movie Play Misty for Me, so he contacted the record company and made a deal.
Mr. Eastwood also reminisces about the bands and musicians of the 1940’s and how much jazz has influenced his life. Beside the concert, an additional feature on the DVD is called “Eastwood After Dark” which explains some of what went into putting the concert together, and includes interviews with some of the musicians and Mr. Eastwood. His son Kyle plays one selection in the concert (with the Kyle Eastwood Quartet) and tells how his parents exposed him to jazz at a very young age.
Eastwood’s Love of Jazz
Clint Eastwood does come onstage at the end of the concert to play a piano selection and tell the audience, “I love jazz!” Jazz was born in America, and Eastwood says the “coming generation has to learn to appreciate this great American art form.”
There is a lot of music packed into the 1 Hour 46 minute disk. The concert was recorded October 1996. Jazz is one form of music, like classical, country, and rock. There are those that like it and those that don’t. Eastwood once asked in a film, “Do you feel lucky?” Music fans of jazz will feel very lucky to have this DVD. There is also a CD of the music from the concert.
