A Night At The Nutcracker

This past weekend we went up to see the West Coast premiere of our musical “A Night at the Nutcracker”. Book and lyrics by Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore, original music by Ed Alton. The Cabrillo Stage Company did an outstanding job. Many thanks to Artistic Director Jon Nordgren, Director Andrew Ceglio and the amazing cast and orchestra for their dedicated work in the production. If you’re in the Santa Cruz area, 2 weeks left to check it out.

Whitney

Currently in the middle of season 2 on NBC's "Whitney". Scoring the music for the series has been fun. Working very closely with Whitney each week on the score for each episode.

Scoring "My Boys"

Vintage Chicago blues was the idea behind the "My Boys" soundtrack. Executive Producer Betsy Thomas & Composer Ed Alton worked together to create a soundtrack for the show that felt as comfortable as a well oiled, broken-in baseball mitt. Most of the music is based on the vibrant Chicago blues scene of the 50's & 60's. "The blues provides such a huge emotional musical palette," explains Alton. "You've got joy, sorrow, romance & heartbreak and everything in between as part of the dialect." In producing the music, Alton strives for a "vintage" sound, as if the music was performed and recorded decades ago. Crowley's, the bar the gang hangs out in, always has music playing in the background. Alton creates the Crowley's music to suit the energy of the scene and provide a constant comfortable backdrop to the gang's conversations. There are also scenes that are scored with an acoustic guitar approach, in which Alton uses his National Model D resonator and an Island Tenor Ukulele. "The acoustic cues come from a slightly different place than the electric cues. They show a softer, more emotional side and sometimes a humorous side, but still with a bluesy feel." As "My Boys" completes its first season, Alton reflects, "I've had such a great time providing the score for PJ and her friends. I applaud the foresight to resist the trendy approach to scoring TV and go for something more unique & genuine. I believe the result is a much more multi-dimensional show with its own musical personality."

Guest appearance

While scoring "My Boys", Alton is usually locked in his studio months on end, but last season Ed got a reprieve for a day while filming an appearance in the "Ethics" episode of "My Boys". The scene involved Jim Gaffigan, who plays PJ's brother Andy, sitting in with the band (Alton is playing bass). Jim had never played drums before and was a bit apprehensive about it, but he did a great job!

Variety Review

click on article to enlarge

for complete review:
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117932188.html?categoryid=32&cs=1