Composer and musician Randy Edelman chatted about his upcoming show on September 22 at Chelsea Table + Stage in New York.
Edelman has written over 100 soundtracks for such films as “Last of the Mohicans” and “My Cousin Vinny.”
On his forthcoming concert, he remarked, “My show is a tapestry of my professional and musical voyages as a soundtrack architect, and as a sing/songwriter. I present this simply with a piano.”
He continued, “I try to give some of the wide scope of what I have composed…..in all musical genres; for most of my life.”
“I share with the audience some funny and emotional behind the scene stories, medleys from some of my popular film scores, and songs that have been covered by artists, including Barry Manilow, Patti LaBelle, Olivia, Newton-John, Dionne Warwick, Bing Crosby, and others,” he elaborated.
Edelman shared that his music and songwriting are inspired simply by “everything in his life.”
On his future plans, he revealed, “Getting up; above the ground, every day and trying to contribute something fresh and meaningful to that new glorious spacious canvas.”
“I am in the midst of writing several new scores for several new movies including the new Josh Weber/Cuba Gooding Jr. holiday movie ‘Athena Saves Christmas,’ ‘Too Hot to Handle,’ the ‘Ghostbusters II’ documentary, and several others.”
“I am also working on a brand new album to be released sometime next year, and I just released what I consider a lost album that I did in Sweden some years ago called ‘Everything Is Possible.’ There is a cosmos of songs just waiting to be written and composed,” he added.
On being a composer in the digital age, now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent, he said, “Being a composer now is truly no different emotionally to what it’s ever been… passion, harmony, melody, understanding the arc of a passage of music has nothing to do with technology.”
“True I do utilize the details and the magic of what the digital world offers, but guess what? The soul still has to be there, as it did 200 years ago,” he added.
For young and aspiring musicians, he encouraged them to “forget composing.” “Practice first to be a master musician,” he said.
When asked about his thoughts on AI (artificial intelligence) on the future of the entertainment industry, he responded, “I’ll see…..jury will be out a while.”
For Edelman, the word success means “peace and contentment” in life.
Regarding his proudest professional moments, he shared, “Fortunately there are many and have occurred in several arenas. It’s always when something that I have written is flying quickly by. Be it in a film or be it sung on a recorded. I can feel that someone somewhere is responding, and I smile.”
To learn more about Randy Edelman, check out his official website.
