I plan to use my Reel Change funds to boost my overall music budget. Specifically, I’m excited this support will give me the flexibility to compose for the appropriate number of live musicians and ensure that they are recorded and mixed to the highest possible standards. Recording players who might be better suited for specific cues, may require that I hire more than one player on certain instruments. This is a latitude I‘ve not had in past projects, so it is possible I may opt to use some of this support in this way.

The score will probably feature a quartet/quintet, playing in the aesthetic and emotionality of 1960’s jazz. This is in support of the director’s desire to draw the viewer into the time period of the archival footage showing the late 1960’s events that the film’s story explores. I hope to have space to weave into the music, some underscore that draws on some minimal orchestral textures as well.

Many of the film’s themes explore difficult social and racial dynamics which place an expectation on the score that it balance a sense of urgency with optimism. I may ultimately return to the jazz music of this time period to rediscover and reconsider how I might walk this aesthetic line.

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For over 30 years, two-time Juno Award winning pianist/composer Andy Milne has demonstrated boundless versatility, collaborating with artists spanning multiple genres. A fearless improviser and respected voice at the heart of New York’s creative jazz scene, he has recorded and toured throughout the world with Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, Carlos Ward, Carla Cook and Steve Coleman, and has collaborated with a range of artists including Andrew Cyrille, Sekou Sundiata, Avery Brooks, Bruce Cockburn, Fred Hersch, Ben Monder, Dianne Reeves, Jen Shyu and Tyshawn Sorey.

Milne has also scored films, including seven Star Trek themed documentaries for acclaimed actor/director William Shatner and the recent CBC Television series “Black Life: Untold Stories”. He has released 12 recordings as a leader or co-leader, is a Yamaha Artist and a full-time assistant professor of music at The University of Michigan. Milne has received numerous awards and commissions, including the prestigious Civitella Fellowship in Italy.