Back in Blues
May 29, 2001
By MIKE ROSS -- Edmonton Sun
EDMONTON--By George, that George Blondheim is one tightly wound dude.
Before an interview yesterday morning that consisted mainly of rapid banter, the 44-year-old composer had already been on his 6 a.m. jog - "it helps get the blood going before that first cigarette," he explains - appeared on A-Channel's Big Breakfast and was busy writing charts for his gig with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Winspear Centre tonight.
His table is piled with sheet music when I meet him in his room at the Sheraton Hotel (which has a pool on the top floor; I can't believe how deep it is).
Phones ring, an assistant comes and goes and Blondheim keeps hitting the pause button on my tape recorder to mention something "off the record." What is it? Can't tell you. It's off the record - but he has more dirt on some people than a big wind could blow off a farmer's parched field.
The former Edmonton native will reveal one secret: "I just might sing this time."
Blondheim, who now lives in Vancouver, is in town for what has been billed as the Bye Bye Blues Reunion Concert. It's been 12 years since he scored with his score of Anne Wheeler's award-winning movie, and 10 years since the players assembled for a tribute concert at the Jubilee Auditorium - three sold-out nights. Many of the key people are back tonight, including actress-singer Rebecca Jenkins and ubiquitous saxmaster P.J. Perry.
Blondheim has had and continues to have a fairly schizophrenic career - torn between being a jazz musician doing his own thing and the far more lucrative job of doing someone else's thing on motion picture soundtracks.
A condensed resume: He played in local '70s band Privilege, studied at Grant MacEwan college but was turned down by the U of A, moved to Los Angeles and wrote soundtracks for TV and film (everything from the Annette Funicello Story to Sea Hunt), moved to Vancouver, found he couldn't get arrested there, moved back to L.A., then back to Edmonton, then Vancouver and then took a of couple years off to get his head together. His bio also states that he lived in Paris, Japan, Toronto and the "deep south," but Blondheim jumps from topic to topic so much it's hard to get an accurate timeline.
This we know for sure: He loves orchestras. He's been hooked ever since he saw Procol Harum with the ESO in 1971 - arguably the birth of symphonic rock. Blondheim has since arranged ESO concerts with such artists as Tom Cochrane, Jann Arden, Spirit of the West and k.d. lang, along with his own, of course.
"Only Cochrane still calls me," Blondheim says, shaking his head. "And I'm still tight with Spirit of the West. I think some people find me a little tough to work with. I have the energy to do stuff, but maybe I'm too intense."
His biggest break around here came with Bye Bye Blues - capturing the authentic sounds of Second World War-era dance halls - but that wasn't his first soundtrack gig in Alberta. That would be Know Your Tractor or some such thing.
"I remember sitting down with this guy for hours discussing the deep nuances between John Deere and Massey Ferguson," he says. "And I'd just left four months working with Michael Douglas doing Jewel of the Nile.''
Welcome back to Edmonton, George.
All kidding aside, he loves this city. With mentors that include jazz musician-turned-senator Tommy Banks and high school music teacher-turned-Minister of Community Development Gene Zwozdesky, Blondheim credits the local scene with giving him the breadth and variety of experience that couldn't be found in many larger cities.
Before he goes back to Vancouver to score a film, write music for Da Vinci's Inquest, play some jazz piano, put the finishing touches on his new album, produce a band and maybe cultivate a romance or two, Blondheim is mulling over an offer to start a foundation for young musicians.
Intense - and he can't say no, either. Talking about a certain Bye Bye Blues alumnus who couldn't make it because ... click, there goes the pause button again ... Blondheim says "beautiful things happen" when you commit yourself to a musical project regardless of the money or potential fame involved.
"Some people get so scared and think it's all business," he says, "And it's not all business."
The interview ends as Jenkins arrives. She says it's "fun" to work with George Blondheim, who is bustling around the room for his day-timer, Palm Pilot and long list of things to do.
The phone rings again. Has the title "hardest working man in show business" been taken yet?
Back to articles
May 29, 2001
By MIKE ROSS -- Edmonton Sun
EDMONTON--By George, that George Blondheim is one tightly wound dude.
Before an interview yesterday morning that consisted mainly of rapid banter, the 44-year-old composer had already been on his 6 a.m. jog - "it helps get the blood going before that first cigarette," he explains - appeared on A-Channel's Big Breakfast and was busy writing charts for his gig with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Winspear Centre tonight.
His table is piled with sheet music when I meet him in his room at the Sheraton Hotel (which has a pool on the top floor; I can't believe how deep it is).
Phones ring, an assistant comes and goes and Blondheim keeps hitting the pause button on my tape recorder to mention something "off the record." What is it? Can't tell you. It's off the record - but he has more dirt on some people than a big wind could blow off a farmer's parched field.
The former Edmonton native will reveal one secret: "I just might sing this time."
Blondheim, who now lives in Vancouver, is in town for what has been billed as the Bye Bye Blues Reunion Concert. It's been 12 years since he scored with his score of Anne Wheeler's award-winning movie, and 10 years since the players assembled for a tribute concert at the Jubilee Auditorium - three sold-out nights. Many of the key people are back tonight, including actress-singer Rebecca Jenkins and ubiquitous saxmaster P.J. Perry.
Blondheim has had and continues to have a fairly schizophrenic career - torn between being a jazz musician doing his own thing and the far more lucrative job of doing someone else's thing on motion picture soundtracks.
A condensed resume: He played in local '70s band Privilege, studied at Grant MacEwan college but was turned down by the U of A, moved to Los Angeles and wrote soundtracks for TV and film (everything from the Annette Funicello Story to Sea Hunt), moved to Vancouver, found he couldn't get arrested there, moved back to L.A., then back to Edmonton, then Vancouver and then took a of couple years off to get his head together. His bio also states that he lived in Paris, Japan, Toronto and the "deep south," but Blondheim jumps from topic to topic so much it's hard to get an accurate timeline.
This we know for sure: He loves orchestras. He's been hooked ever since he saw Procol Harum with the ESO in 1971 - arguably the birth of symphonic rock. Blondheim has since arranged ESO concerts with such artists as Tom Cochrane, Jann Arden, Spirit of the West and k.d. lang, along with his own, of course.
"Only Cochrane still calls me," Blondheim says, shaking his head. "And I'm still tight with Spirit of the West. I think some people find me a little tough to work with. I have the energy to do stuff, but maybe I'm too intense."
His biggest break around here came with Bye Bye Blues - capturing the authentic sounds of Second World War-era dance halls - but that wasn't his first soundtrack gig in Alberta. That would be Know Your Tractor or some such thing.
"I remember sitting down with this guy for hours discussing the deep nuances between John Deere and Massey Ferguson," he says. "And I'd just left four months working with Michael Douglas doing Jewel of the Nile.''
Welcome back to Edmonton, George.
All kidding aside, he loves this city. With mentors that include jazz musician-turned-senator Tommy Banks and high school music teacher-turned-Minister of Community Development Gene Zwozdesky, Blondheim credits the local scene with giving him the breadth and variety of experience that couldn't be found in many larger cities.
Before he goes back to Vancouver to score a film, write music for Da Vinci's Inquest, play some jazz piano, put the finishing touches on his new album, produce a band and maybe cultivate a romance or two, Blondheim is mulling over an offer to start a foundation for young musicians.
Intense - and he can't say no, either. Talking about a certain Bye Bye Blues alumnus who couldn't make it because ... click, there goes the pause button again ... Blondheim says "beautiful things happen" when you commit yourself to a musical project regardless of the money or potential fame involved.
"Some people get so scared and think it's all business," he says, "And it's not all business."
The interview ends as Jenkins arrives. She says it's "fun" to work with George Blondheim, who is bustling around the room for his day-timer, Palm Pilot and long list of things to do.
The phone rings again. Has the title "hardest working man in show business" been taken yet?
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