Clint Eastwood was mentioned today, and this scene from a favorite film came to mind. Had a noteworthy chat with him about jazz once.

Admiring the content of the scene, today it includes translating into how we must use creative technology, science and ingenuity to balance the world's "instruments" of humans, animals, air, water and earth to be in tune with each other in an all-encompassing "orchestra" over defeatist global cacophony and conformities.

Asking myself what music might relate to Clint, it seems a John Coltrane-Chet Baker symbiosis are the musicians most closely analogous to his acting and filmmaking, with compelling and towering rasa, clarity, form, stunning spontaneity and distinctiveness, and stone-cold American true grit beauty that takes one's breath away.

For composers, I also surprised myself, never considering either question before today, feeling aspects of my own music are the closest to his acting and filmmaking I can think of. Come to think of it, he has been my favorite actor and filmmaker since my twenties after all.

- Michael Robinson, April 2020, Los Angeles

© 2020 Michael Robinson All rights reserved

Michael Robinson is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer (musicologist).