Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1207269
C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 0 135 nated Bunny Brunel, who has held down the low end with such jazz greats as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and The Tony Williams Lifetime. "He took me under his wing and made me learn to read music," Eastwood recalls. "Cinematic" features Eastwood's excellent London-based touring band: Andrew McCor- mack on piano, drummer Chris Higginbottom, tenor man Brandon Allen and Quentin Collins on trumpet. In addition, French singer Camille Bertault lends sultry vocals to Michel Legrand's "Les Moulins de mon Coeur"—American ears will recognize the melody from its English version, "The Windmills of your Mind," in the 1968 film, "The Thomas Crowne Affair," sung by Noel Harrison. Hugh Coleman croons "Gran Torino," co-written by the Eastwood father-and-son team, along with Jamie Cullum and Michael Stevens. The record was beautifully recorded in Paris and is a fine addi- tion to the Eastwood oeuvre and family legacy. Although Kyle plays both electric and acous- tic, "upright" bass, on "Cinematic" he chose to stay mainly with the upright. "Which instrument I play depends entirely on the song. I let the groove dictate which to use," he explains. "The acoustic seemed appropriate to this music." Most of it, anyway. Once excep- tion is the ephemeral, evocative electric work he added to the "Unforgiven" track. "We recorded this album mostly live. The band played most of them at shows before we went in- to the studio. Ideally, it's nice to have run through songs live in front of an audience before recording." The band continues to perform these songs live. "We've changed things already," Eastwood says. "Songs evolve on the road, arrangements are altered. We try to play them differently every night. It keeps things interesting." What's next? The road. The band heads to China and Japan for February and March and then several European dates through the spring. "We'll be touring with this new music for about a year or so. At this point, I'm not thinking about the next record yet." Although not yet booked, Eastwood hopes to bring his band to perform at the 2020 Monterey Jazz Festival September 25-27. "It's always great to come back and play the festival," he says. "It's one of my favorite festivals to go to and I try to make it even when I'm not playing." It's doubtful that Dino and Desi would have gotten anywhere near a recording contract if their last names were Miller or Smith. The fact that Kyle Eastwood has carved out a successful and respected jazz career without trading on his father's fame is due to talent, determination and hard work. For a tour schedule and to purchase Eastwood's music visit kyleeastwood.com. The record was beautifully recorded in Paris and is a fine addition to the Eastwood oeuvre and family legacy. Bassist Kyle Eastwood and his family divide their time between the US and Paris, where "Cinematic" was recorded. He and his band tour extensively, playing jazz clubs, concerts and festivals throughout Europe, Asia and North America.