Kyle Eastwood
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Kyle Eastwood is a jazz musician and the son of actor-director Clint Eastwood and Maggie Johnson. He was born on May 19, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Carmel, California. He studied film at the University of Southern California for two years before embarking on a music career. After becoming a session player in the early '90s and leading his own quartet, he released his first solo CD, From There to Here, in 1998. His most recent CD, Now, was released in 2006 by Rendezvous. Eastwood plays the upright, acoustic, and double bass guitar.
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[edit] Musical Background
Eastwood comes from a musical family, as explained in an October 27, 2006, article from The Independent: "When I told my father I wanted to be a musician he was happy about it. Music has always been important to my family. My parents gave me my taste in music and my love of jazz from an early age. My father plays piano, my mother used to play, and my mother's mother was a music teacher at Northwestern University in Illinois."
It comes as little surprise, then, that music was a prominent fixture in the Eastwood home. According to his biography with Hopper Management, Eastwood grew up listening to jazz records by legends such as Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, and the Stan Kenton Big Band with his parents, both jazz lovers. Eastwood attended the Monterey Jazz Festival numerous times with his parents, as well. "One advantage of having a famous father was I got to go backstage," Eastwood explained in an interview conducted by stepmother Dina Ruiz Eastwood. "I met a lot of artists, greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan. Looking back on that, I can see how much the musicians I met there influenced my career."
Eastwood began tinkering with the electric bass guitar in high school, learning R&B, Motown, and reggae tunes by ear. At the age of 18, Eastwood began jamming with friends for fun, ultimately deciding that music was what he wanted to do. After studying with French bassist Bunny Brunel, he began playing gigs around the New York and Los Angeles areas, eventually forming the Kyle Eastwood Quartet, who contributed to 1996's Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall, a concert saluting Clint Eastwood and his love of jazz. His father has always been supportive of, and interested in, his work, as Eastwood told The Independent: "As far as my father is concerned, as long as I was serious about my music career, he was supportive of me."
Two years later, in 1998, Sony released his first CD, From There to Here, a collection of both jazz standards and original compositions. After signing with the UK's Candid Records in 2004, Eastwood moved to Dave Koz's label, Rendezvous, which has released his last two albums: 2005's Paris Blue, and 2006's Now.
In addition to his solo albums, Eastwood has also contributed music to four of his father's films: Mystic River (2002), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).
While Eastwood has never denied that having a famous father has helped his career to a degree, he has said that he hopes that his accomplishments as a musician, composer, and arranger will stand on their own. "Being the son of someone that famous has its advantages and drawbacks," he told The Independent. "I guess I try not to think about it really. First and foremost I think of him as my father, not the moviestar stuff. He's just my dad. I just do what I do and hope people judge my music on its own merits."
[edit] Family Life
The son of Clint Eastwood and Maggie Johnson, he is the older brother of actress, model and fashion designer Alison Eastwood. He has one daughter, Graylen (b. 1994), with ex-wife Laura Gomez.
[edit] Trivia
- Provided the voice of "Daddy" in the 8th PBS ident, "Daddy and Son." (2007)
- Nominated with partner Michael Stevens for a 2006 Chicago Film Critics Association award for Original Score (Letters from Iwo Jima).
- "Song for Ruth" on 2006's Now is dedicated to his grandmother, Ruth Eastwood.
- His father, Clint Eastwood, makes a cameo on his 2005 release Paris Blue, whistling on the track "Big Noise (from Winnetka)."
- Provided the voice of DJ Andy Wright for the PC game "The Movies" (2005).
- Left the University of Southern California, where he was a film studies major, in 1986 to pursue music.
- According to NotStarring.com, he reportedly auditioned for the role of Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984) which ultimately went to Ralph Macchio.
- Attended Pebble Beach High School.
[edit] Discography
- Now (2006)
- Paris Blue (2005)
- From There to Here (1998)
[edit] Filmography - Composer/Performer/Arranger
- Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) - composer, score with Michael Stevens
- Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - arranger
- Million Dollar Baby (2004) - composer, "Boxing Baby", "Solferino", "Blue Diner"
- Mystic River (2002) - composer, "Cosmo", "Black Emerald Blues"
- Regarding Henry (1991) - uncredited performer
[edit] Filmography - Actor
- The Bridges of Madison County (1995) - James Rivers Band
- Honkytonk Man (1982) - Whit Stovall
- Bronco Billy (1980) - orphan (uncredited)
- The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) - Josey's son (uncredited)
[edit] External links
- KyleEastwood.com
- Kyle Eastwood on MySpace
- Kyle Eastwood videos at YouTube
- Kyle Eastwood at IMDb
- Kyle Eastwood at the All Music Guide
- "How Do I Look?" interview with Ben Walsh for The Independent
- "Kyle Eastwood: Going His Way" article by Mike Zwerin for the International Herald Tribune
- Hopper Management Biography
