EXCLUSIVES

Alan has worked as a synthesist, programmer or pianist with such illustrious composers as John Williams and Quincy Jones. Aside from film, Alan has also composed numerous commercials and co-composed the award winning CBS Evening News Theme. As a musician, he has played with Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Santana and Barbara Streisand.

Recently, MacDirectory pinned down the ultra-creative Pasqua on what makes him tick as a musician and a technology user.

MacDirectory: How do you use your Mac?

Alan Pasqua: "I use my Mac for composing, editing music, compiling, burning CDs and, of course, all the other office-type applications that go along with that. I also use it for hard disk recording."

MD: How long have you been using computers for composing?

AP: "I was into it in the early MIDI daysprobably around 1985."

MD: Do you think some composers are hesitant to rely so heavily on the computer?

AP: "I dont know actually. Once you realize how powerful it is its such a radical departure that I guess it might scare people. But if you can get past that, it blows anything else so far out of the water. Its not even close."

MD: What kind of software are you currently using?

AP: " I recently switched to [Emagics] Logic Audio last year. I had just finished working on a Lee Ritenour record, and Lee was a big fan of Logic. He said, 'Man, youve got to get this. Its the greatest.' I would hear my colleagues mention that their sequencers didnt feel good. I never was sure what they were talking about. When I got Logic up and running, Ill never forget the first time I took my keyboard and played freely, just to bang some notes in there. As I was playing I saw the notes show up on the score page - and that freaked me out. (Laughs) Then, I played it back and I couldnt believe the incredible degree of sensitivity. I finally heard it! From all the incremental pedaling that it would accept, to the touchit was just insane."

MD: What are some of the ways that the Mac benefits film composers and makes your work easier?

AP: "I couldnt imagine writing the score for The Waterboy without the Mac, because the music needed to be re-arranged with every change the directors made to the film. There is a high level of instant gratification when you use a sophisticated sequencer program. You play an idea in, and can hear it back immediately. You can hear it as an English horn, as an oboe, a bass clarinet or whatever. The old-school composers that sat at their piano with a pencil and a score pad never got to hear their music until they were in a studio - and then they would have to make changes. I did MIDI mock-ups for the director, for the producer, for Adam Sandler, and then recorded them to two audio tracks. When they came over, we just synced up the music to the certain area of the picture that we were looking at. It makes it much easier. You dont have to go back in on the next day and rewrite everything for each minor change."

MD: How pervasive is the Mac in your industry?

AP: "It really is the only platform. The PC is beginning to play a larger role. But for now, the Mac is what the professionals are using."

MD: What are some of your musical projects?

AP: "In 1976, I joined The New Tony Williams Lifetime, and we created Believe It and Million Dollar Legs. Since then, I have played with a huge spectrum of jazz musicians, including Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, and Gary Peacock, among others.

"In 1994, I debuted my album Milagro with Postcards, which many critics praised. My newer album, Dedications, pays tribute to the positive influences in my life. Art, music, spirituality, family ... I draw upon these whenever I'm playing or composing."

MD: What are some of your current projects?

AP: "I am getting ready to do a jazz record with Kenny Warner, a great jazz pianist from New York. He and I are going to record three nights live in Los Angeles at the Jazz Bakery. Its a series where they are taking one pianist from the West Coast and one from the East Coast. Its interesting because we have only spoken on the phone - well never have had a rehearsal and never have played together. Well just walk out on the stage, hit record and put out a CD from that. I also just signed on with a film agency called the Kordek Agency, and we are actively pursuing our next feature film. There is a lot of stuff in the works, but too early to report."