Elmer Bernstein Concert / January 24/25, Gene Autry Museum, Los Angeles                               

by Ross Care

It was emphatically worth braving the grueling Los Angeles Friday gridlock for this unique, “once in a lifetime/only in LA” event. I prefer films of the studio era and its ensuing transitional period as American cinema gradually freed itself from decades of censorship and underwent a radical shift in style, content, and scoring in the 1950s and ‘60s. It was also the period in which Elmer Bernstein was to emerge as a key composer who would musically define this new era in both films and film music.

There was, however, a difficult early period.  According to a New York Times obituary Bernstein once stated  “I wasn't important enough to be blacklisted, so I was put on a gray list,'' but that did not end what had been a promising start in film scoring in the early ‘50s. He persisted by composing for documentaries and B-pictures (such as Robot Monster). In 1955 he introduced an intense, jazz-influenced sound for Otto Preminger's The Man With The Golden Arm, and in 1956 took on a more traditional (and intimidating) assignment when he replaced an ailing Victor Young on Cecil B. DeMille’s ultimate epic, The Ten Commandments.  
 
These two major scores proved that Bernstein could score virtually any genre, and not only was he versatile but amazingly prolific. Which must have made it a challenge to organize a representative program of his prodigiously varied work. However, with an ensemble of A-list instrumentalists and vocalists, concert producer, Henry Stanny, and host, Bruce Kimmel, succeeded in doing just that.

 

The concert was divided into two “acts” and included both instrumental and vocal performances. The instrumental ensemble brilliantly captured the duality of Bernstein’s various styles which draw on both symphonic/orchestral and jazz/pop influences. As did the idiomatic arrangements by William V. Malpede who was also music director and keyboardist.

I was curious to hear how some of Bernstein’s primarily orchestral scores would fare with this smaller instrumental combination and was amazed when a “chamber” suite from Ten Commandments evoked a whole new lyrical perspective on that epic score. And it was certainly thrilling to hear dynamic live performances of jazz main titles such as Man with the Golden Arm and Walk on the Wild Side, the latter accompanied by a clip of Saul Bass’s famous credit sequence of a black cat prowling the back alleys of the film’s seedy New Orleans setting.   

 

In a more delicate mode the chamber sound was perfect for what may be Bernstein’s most revered score, the magical To Kill A Mockingbird which provided a lyrical showcase for flutist, Sara Andon, violinist Nathalie Bonin, and cellist Circe Diaz. 

Bernstein is also well-known for his western scores and the concert ended with his “greatest hit,” the rousing theme from The Magnificent Seven.  Also included were excerpts from the big Cinerama comedy/western, The Hallelujah Trail, its gospel-tinged title song showcasing the choral ensemble. The choir was also called upon at various points during the evening, including for a more serious symphonic epic, Hawaii.

With the popularity of Dimitri Tiomkin’s “High Noon” in 1952 movie songs became a definite trend in the ‘50s, though not all film composers were capable of turning out hits. Bernstein’s songs were handled by Maegan McConnell and Robert Yacko whose varied vocal stylings reminded that Elmer could be a successful song composer as well, with several commercial successes.

A lesser-known gem was “Hello and Goodbye” with poignant lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, from a Charles Bronson film, From Noon to Three (1976). Bernstein’s Broadway work was represented by a rousing show-stopper, “Step To The Rear” from How Now, Dow Jones (1967), and the dynamic “It’s About Magic” from 1982’s Merlin. 

I was personally pleased that one of my favorite title songs (and a best-selling single for Glen Yarbrough), Baby, the Rain Must Fall, was included, in an appealing vocal performance by guitarist, Gene Micofsky. Bernstein composed both pop songs and a minimal but moving background score for this sensitive and under-rated Robert Mulligan film. 

Lee Remick & Steve McQueen - BABY, THE RAIN MUST FALL

 
This remarkable tribute was a bit like sitting in on one of the most remarkable and constantly surprising studio sessions ever. The substantial evening zipped by and I’m only sorry I could not get back to experience it for a second time on Saturday.

It truly was about magic.

+++++
 
Ross Care has written about film music for the Library of Congress, Film Score Monthly (articles and liner notes), and the book, Music in the Western: Notes from the Frontier. 

As a composer he scored Academy Award-winning animator John Canemaker’s  documentary film, Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat.