John Williams in Jazz

The Magic

The Harry Potter series of books has been enjoyed for years by children of all ages. Also, the Harry Potter movies have extended the allure of these literary works.

John Williams, one of the most prolific film composers of our time, wrote the brilliant score for "the Sorcerer's Stone" and for all subsequent works to date in the Harry Potter movie series. Upon the debut of the movie, the John Williams' score entranced jazz pianist Mark Kramer. In Kramer's view, the score seemed to be steeped in novel musical influences, including mildly camouflaged European based jazz. Kramer subsequently learned that John Williams had in part started out as a jazz pianist.

Mark Kramer, who has made something of a specialty in transforming and recording unlikely material into real jazz - (EVITA, MOZART, THE ROLLING STONES) - imagined the Williams score as a full length jazz work. Mark believed that the beautiful melodies of the score could be rendered in such a way as to not only maintain their original integrity, but also to provide them in a very clear form. Thus they could be readily embraced by "children" of all ages.

As in most of Kramer's previous efforts, he analyzed the score by listening to it, and extracted the exact melodies, feelings, and orchestral elements. Following this, the music was re-harmonized and arranged for jazz trio.

Whereas the music of a movie score can be reams thick, Kramer managed to distill the work to a series of what are called "lead sheets". Each lead sheet covered one or two original melody lines of each section of the score, as well as broad sketches of the original harmonies. In many cases the original bass lines were used as needed. Substituted jazz harmonies, and jazz articulations of melodies, as well as sections marked for improvisation were all indicated in the lead sheets. Importantly, the improvisations that are heard on this CD follow the unusual harmonic structures set forth by Williams.

Unlike usual jazz recording sessions, these were not the so-called "blowing sessions." Rather each piece required a novel and creative approach by the group. Thus, during the recording process there were many experiments. One hears the creativity of drummer John Mosemann, a long time member of Mark's trio, and a special guest appearance by the talented bassist Matt Parrish. Together, Mark, Matt, and John create something distinctive out of the film score material.

The end result of all of this is a magical work for jazz trio that 1) complements the books and images of Harry Potter, 2) can be whistled or hummed by children, 3) can be appreciated as an independent work by fans of jazz, 4) a potent vehicle for music education, and 5) can be enjoyed by fans of John Williams and classical music.

The release of Harry Potter Jazz has been delayed for 3 years due to some issues that were out of control of the producers of this work.

Happily, two events occurred in 2005 which prompted this corporation to activate the dormant "Harry Potter Jazz." Firstly, a classical/jazz music catalogue requested all of Kramer's collection of unreleased works. Out of all Kramer's unpublished productions, "Harry Potter Jazz" stood out in Kramer's view as a critical academic achievement; one likely to be studied and enjoyed. Secondly, Kramer's company noted that the Harry Fox Agency had sometime between 2002 and 2005 posted the compulsory license notices for Warner/Chappel/John Williams for all of the selections from the Sorcerer's Stone that were used in Kramer's recording. Thus, automatic compulsory licenses were available.

The decision to release HARRY POTTER JAZZ was ultimately made in good faith. Warner Brothers had been given a chance to champion and distribute the work, but passed on it. After careful consideration and consultation it was opined that HARRY POTTER JAZZ was more of a tribute to John Williams and Warner Brothers, than something which would have any chance of tarnishing the image or hurting in any way the bottom line of HARRY POTTER. After all, HARRY POTTER JAZZ is a sophisticated and rich undertaking. As such, if it has any impact at all, it is projected to be in the academic and social arenas, rather than in net profits. The work does not infringe on Warner Brothers/* music copyrights. For Warner Brothers/* to attempt to deny a right which is guaranteed by USA compulsory mechanical copyright laws could be construed as crudely monopolistic. Further, such a stance would not appear to be in the spirit of prevailing copyright guidelines and laws as they pertain to intellectual property of music. It is recognized that HARRY POTTER, as much as it is a man's name, may also be a trademark of WARNER BROTHERS. However, the music of John Williams on the initial HARRY POTTER movie, is in the public domain. Such music cannot be fully identified without using the name: HARRY POTTER. Thus, this might represent a weak "catch 22" if Warner Brothers decided to pursue it. The music is allowed to be released by law, but possibly not the name - HARRY POTTER - which identifies it. This, after consultation, we have been told, would be a highly unreasonable situation for WB to take. If Warner Brothers took up a cause to censure our work by protecting their copyright on the name HARRY POTTER, even while they were being paid fairly according to law for our right to use the music, this might would generate notoriety to the point of guaranteeing an overwhelming success on our project. We are not looking for an overwhelming success. We feel, that HARRY POTTER JAZZ has about as much chance for overwhelming commercial success and recognition as does Capitalism on Venus.

Thus, with a modicum of risk of displeasing Warner Brothers, but with utmost enthusiasm for their efforts, and for those few people who may ultimately hear and enjoy this recording, we are very pleased to bring you our version of HARRY POTTER JAZZ. We could have entitled it HARRY |*OTTER or HARRY HOTTER JAZZ, but why? We have prepaid the advance royalties. So, let's rock and roll - or in this case riff and bop.

Roy King For Mark Kramer Trio, LTD.