STEVE BRAMSON SCORES DON McKAY


Composer Steve Bramson is probably best known for his work on the long-running TV series JAG, scoring over 200 episodes in its ten-year run. He has since gone on to score episodes of NCIS, and has also provided music for such diverse projects as Young Indiana Jones, The Nine, Journeyman, and Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. He also won an Emmy for his work on Tiny Toon Adventures, having also been nominated ofr JAG.
His most recent project is for Jake Goldberger's thriller Don McKay, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month, and stars Thomas Hayden Church and Elisabeth Shue. For the film, Bramson utilises live musicians and electronics and, thanks to the composer's publicists, Costa Communications, I can give you an idea of what to expect, should you choose to go see it.
The disc they kindly sent me runs a little under 38 minutes and commences on quite a low-key note with "Don Visits Sonny." In fact, a good deal of the score is restrained, cold and mysterious, with much delicate piano work; but there are some wild tribal sounds to be found in "Bee Sting," and the tense "Price Calls" builds to a powerful conclusion, before continuing quite menacingly in "Still Afoot For Sonny." The following "The Roast" also has its moments, before the final tracks return us to the restrained mode of the opening, if perhaps a little warmer at the end of "I Was Just Lonely."
Unfortunately, there is no news of a commercial release for Bramson's score.