Oscar-nominated composer, conductor and arranger Michael Kamen died this morning (Nov. 18) after suffering from multiple sclerosis for several years, his agent said. He was 55. Further details were not immediately available.
One of Hollywood's most successful composers, Kamen worked on music for the "Lethal Weapon" series and scored "Die Hard," among many other films. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996, but did not go public about the disease until late September.
Kamen grew up in Queens, the son of liberal activists. In the late 1960s, he helped found the New York Rock'n'Roll Ensemble. In the 1970s, he scored ballets, served as musical director for David Bowie's Diamond Dogs tour and began writing scores for film.
Although he began in Hollywood working on offbeat films like "Polyester" and "Brazil," he turned more mainstream in the 1980s, working on the "Lethal Weapon" series, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "X-Men," plus the HBO series "Band of Brothers."
In 1999, Kamen conducted the San Francisco Orchestra as it backed hard rock act Metallica on its live "S&M" project. Recorded across two concerts that reworked the band's canon for symphonic arrangement, the resulting album peaked at No. 2 and has sold 2.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Looking at Michael Kamen's website it is amazing to see just how many rock bands he has worked with in the past. I know him through his work with Queensryche with which he earned a grammy award for his work on 'Silent Lucidity'. Geoff Tate gave an interesting statement on QR.com this morning -
"While in London for pre-production for the Warning record in 1984, our producer, James Guthrie, introduced me to Michael Kamen. Both of them had recently worked with Pink Floyd and James thought that a couple of our songs would benefit from Michael's string arrangements. I was in disbelief when James told me rather nonchalantly, that he had booked studio time at Abby Road (the famous studio where the Beatles had recorded so much of their work) to record Kamen's orchestra for the accompanying music to Roads to Madness and No Sanctuary. A few days later, at Abby Road, I met Michael and his little 7 year old daughter and the 35 members of the orchestra. After discussing the approach of the session, Michael passed out the sheet music he had prepared and ran the players over the various parts. At one place during one of the takes for Roads, Michael stopped the orchestra and quietly took a deep breath, looked down at his score, jotted down a couple of changes on the notation, grabbed the chart and ran across the room to the horn section. He leaned over the shoulder of one of the oboe players and after some discussion, came running back to the front podium. He picked up his baton and started them up again and on this take, the 70 something, very conservative English oboe player actually stood up from his chair and laid down an amazingly passionate melodic solo to the applause of the excited and beaming Michael who was jumping up and down with glee.
I worked with Michael again a few years later on the arrangements for the song Silent Lucidity in 1990 and he joined Queensryche on stage at the 1992 Grammy Awards in New York. We met again in Seattle in 1994 and wrote music for the film Last Action Hero and in 1995 performed together the Cyberian Rhapsody with the Seattle Symphony, which was the first ever live internet broadcast.
Michael was a great big bear of a personality with wild eyes and a thick main of unruly hair that framed his face like a lion. When he spoke, he used his hands, arms and in fact most of his body to express himself. He loved life and he loved people. He was an aggressive hugger and would grab you and wrap his big arms around till you felt completely engulfed; he hugged everyone all the time. He had a wonderful way with people and an amazing ear for music. I am proud to have known him and honored to have written music with him."
R.I.P.
One of Hollywood's most successful composers, Kamen worked on music for the "Lethal Weapon" series and scored "Die Hard," among many other films. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996, but did not go public about the disease until late September.
Kamen grew up in Queens, the son of liberal activists. In the late 1960s, he helped found the New York Rock'n'Roll Ensemble. In the 1970s, he scored ballets, served as musical director for David Bowie's Diamond Dogs tour and began writing scores for film.
Although he began in Hollywood working on offbeat films like "Polyester" and "Brazil," he turned more mainstream in the 1980s, working on the "Lethal Weapon" series, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "X-Men," plus the HBO series "Band of Brothers."
In 1999, Kamen conducted the San Francisco Orchestra as it backed hard rock act Metallica on its live "S&M" project. Recorded across two concerts that reworked the band's canon for symphonic arrangement, the resulting album peaked at No. 2 and has sold 2.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Looking at Michael Kamen's website it is amazing to see just how many rock bands he has worked with in the past. I know him through his work with Queensryche with which he earned a grammy award for his work on 'Silent Lucidity'. Geoff Tate gave an interesting statement on QR.com this morning -
"While in London for pre-production for the Warning record in 1984, our producer, James Guthrie, introduced me to Michael Kamen. Both of them had recently worked with Pink Floyd and James thought that a couple of our songs would benefit from Michael's string arrangements. I was in disbelief when James told me rather nonchalantly, that he had booked studio time at Abby Road (the famous studio where the Beatles had recorded so much of their work) to record Kamen's orchestra for the accompanying music to Roads to Madness and No Sanctuary. A few days later, at Abby Road, I met Michael and his little 7 year old daughter and the 35 members of the orchestra. After discussing the approach of the session, Michael passed out the sheet music he had prepared and ran the players over the various parts. At one place during one of the takes for Roads, Michael stopped the orchestra and quietly took a deep breath, looked down at his score, jotted down a couple of changes on the notation, grabbed the chart and ran across the room to the horn section. He leaned over the shoulder of one of the oboe players and after some discussion, came running back to the front podium. He picked up his baton and started them up again and on this take, the 70 something, very conservative English oboe player actually stood up from his chair and laid down an amazingly passionate melodic solo to the applause of the excited and beaming Michael who was jumping up and down with glee.
I worked with Michael again a few years later on the arrangements for the song Silent Lucidity in 1990 and he joined Queensryche on stage at the 1992 Grammy Awards in New York. We met again in Seattle in 1994 and wrote music for the film Last Action Hero and in 1995 performed together the Cyberian Rhapsody with the Seattle Symphony, which was the first ever live internet broadcast.
Michael was a great big bear of a personality with wild eyes and a thick main of unruly hair that framed his face like a lion. When he spoke, he used his hands, arms and in fact most of his body to express himself. He loved life and he loved people. He was an aggressive hugger and would grab you and wrap his big arms around till you felt completely engulfed; he hugged everyone all the time. He had a wonderful way with people and an amazing ear for music. I am proud to have known him and honored to have written music with him."
R.I.P.
