b. 1937 d.2000
Chicago born, Oscar winning songwriter, keyboardist, and musical arranger. Jack Nitzsche worked with musicians as varied as
Miles Davis,
Doris Day,
The Monkees,
Taj Mahal, and Phil Spector. It was Nitzsche's arrangements for
Phil Spector that helped create the famous
Wall of Sound.
Nitzsche played piano on several of Neil Young's albums and was a session keyboardist and arranger for the Rolling Stones. He also performed with Marianne Faithful, Jack DeShannon, and the Neville Brothers among others.
He was best known for his musical arrangements -- he scored more than 30 films, including The Exorcist, Jewel of the Nile, Stand By Me, An Officer and a Gentleman, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Though born in Chicago, he grew up in Michigan before moving west in 1955 to attend the Westlake College of Music in Hollywood, CA. He remained based in California the rest of his life.
Filmography
The Crossing Guard (1995)
Blue Sky (1994)
The Indian Runner (1991)
The Last of the Finest (1990) aka Blue Heat aka Street Legal
Mermaids (1990)
Revenge (1990)
The Hot Spot (1990)
Next of Kin (1989)
The Seventh Sign (1988)
Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986)
Streets of Gold (1986)
The Whoopee Boys (1986)
Stand by Me (1986)
Stripper (1985)
The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Windy City (1984)
Starman (1984)
The Razor's Edge (1984)
Without a Trace (1983)
Breathless (1983)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Cannery Row (1982)
Personal Best (1982)
Cutter's Way (1981) aka Cutter and Bone
Heart Beat (1980)
Cruising (1980)
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979)
Hardcore (1979) aka The Hardcore Life (UK)
Blue Collar (1978)
Heroes (1977)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
The Exorcist (1973)
Greaser's Palace (1972)
Performance (1970)
Village of the Giants (1965)
Sources:
The New York Times , August 31, 2000
The Internet Movie Database -- www.imdb.com