John Altman (composer)

John Altman (born December 5, 1949) is an Emmy Award-winning British soundtrack composer and a music arranger, orchestrator, and conductor.

Born in London, Altman was introduced to the music of the 1930s and 1940s at an early age by an uncle who arranged and composed music for big bands and conducted for Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy, among others. His only formal musical training was piano lessons as a child [ [http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=61 Soundtrack.net interview with Altman] ] . While enrolled at the University of Sussex he was involved in session work and gigs with Fleetwood Mac and Nico. His later studies at Birkbeck College were interrupted when he left school to work with Hot Chocolate as musical director for their concert tour for two years [ [http://www.jazzcds.co.uk/artist_id_8/biography_id_8 John Altman bio at JazzCDs.co.uk] ] . He also played saxophone in rock bands and with blues and jazz groups with such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Little Richard, and Van Morrison [ [http://www.bettina-werner.com/JohnAltmanBiog.htm John Altman bio at Bettina-Werner.com] ] .

In the mid-1970s, Altman began arranging/conducting and worked with Alison Moyet, Aled Jones, Rod Stewart, George Michael, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Graham Parker, Murray Head, and Monty Python. For the latter he arranged the music for their "Rutles" television special and later contributed to "The Life of Brian". He also was a frequent guest conductor for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Altman's screen career began as the musical arranger/director for the 1978 film "Just a Gigolo". He continued in this capacity for such films as "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball" and numerous television productions, including "Shadowlands" and adaptations of all of the dozen Agatha Christie novels featuring Miss Marple. He served as the historical music advisor and arranged all the period music for "Titanic" and was the first Western composer to score a Russian film ("Tsareubiytsa", aka "The Assassin of the Tsar").

Altman's credits as a film score composer include "Hear My Song", "Funny Bones", "Beautiful Thing", "The Matchmaker", "Little Voice", "Legionnaire", "Hope Springs", "Shall We Dance?", and "Akasha Gopuram". His latest project, "Shoot on Sight", is scheduled for release in 2008.

Altman is the most prolific writer of music for commercials, having scored more than 4,000 international ads. In 2002, "Campaign" named him one of the 100 most influential figures in contemporary British advertising and one of the 5 top composers. His compositions for Levis and Renault won the Campaign Award for Best Soundtracks in 2003 and 2004. He currently is working with Ridley Scott on a promotional film for Prada.

Altman won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special for "RKO 281" and was nominated in the same category for "The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone". He won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music for "Hear My Song", the Television and Radio Industries Club Award for TV Theme Music of the Year 1993 for "Peak Practice", and the ASCAP Film Award for "Shall We Dance?" and "RKO 281".

The John Altman Big Band frequently performs in the US and UK. Personnel includes Wayne Bergeron, Andy Martin, Pete Christlieb, and Grant Geissman.

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*imdb name|0022903|John Altman