Mark Isham
American musician and film composer (born 1951)
title: "Mark Isham" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1951-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "20th-century-american-jazz-composers", "21st-century-american-male-musicians", "21st-century-american-jazz-composers", "american-electronic-composers", "american-film-score-composers", "american-jazz-trumpeters", "american-male-film-score-composers", "american-male-jazz-composers", "american-male-trumpeters", "american-scientologists", "american-television-composers", "chamber-jazz-trumpeters", "composers-from-new-york-city", "ecm-records-artists", "grammy-award-winners", "jazz-musicians-from-new-york-(state)", "la-la-land-records-artists", "american-male-television-composers", "new-age-synthesizer-players", "post-bop-trumpeters", "primetime-emmy-award-winners", "varèse-sarabande-records-artists", "virgin-records-artists", "windham-hill-records-artists", "animated-film-score-composers"] description: "American musician and film composer (born 1951)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Isham" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American musician and film composer (born 1951) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Mark Isham |
| background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| birth_name | Mark Ware Isham |
| birth_place | New York City, U.S. |
| birth_date | |
| instrument | |
| genre | |
| occupation | |
| years_active | 1976–present |
| label | |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Mark Isham | image = | caption = | image_size = | landscape = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Mark Ware Isham | alias = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | birth_date = | death_date = | origin = | instrument = | genre = | occupation = | years_active = 1976–present | label = | associated_acts = | website =
Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of film scores, and has scored over 200 film and television productions since his debut in 1983.
Isham is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, winning Best New Age Album for his 1990 self-titled album. He was nominated for an Academy Award for A River Runs Through It (1992), and a Golden Globe Award for Nell (1994). He has also been nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for EZ Streets.
Early life
Isham was born in New York City, the son of Patricia (née Hammond), a violinist, and Howard Fuller Isham, a professor of humanities. He studied trumpet from a very young age, and made his professional debut at the age of 12. When he was a teenager, Isham and his family moved to the San Francisco bay area, where he played with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
Career
|title="Army Strong" (2006) |filename="Army Strong" (2006), by Mark Isham.mp3 |description="Army Strong", composed by Isham in 2006.}} His discography is extensive and varied, including participation with artists including David Sylvian, Group 87, Art Lande, Pharoah Sanders, Van Morrison, David Torn, and sessions with people like Brian Wilson, Joni Mitchell, Terry Bozzio, Bill Bruford, XTC, and Siouxsie Sioux. His musical styles include crossover jazz, post-bop, ambient, progressive electronic, chamber jazz, and new age.
Film and television scores
He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and television series, including The Hitcher, Reversal of Fortune, Point Break, A Midnight Clear, A River Runs Through It, Of Mice and Men, Warrior, Nell, Blade, Crash, The Black Dahlia, The Lucky One, October Sky, and Once Upon a Time.
Isham acted as well in Made in Heaven by Alan Rudolph (1987) and directed The Cowboy and the Ballerina in 1998.
Personal life
Isham is married to Donna Isham. He is a Scientologist.
Discography
Studio albums and compilations
- 1983 Vapor Drawings
- 1985 Film Music
- 1987 We Begin (with Art Lande)
- 1988 Castalia
- 1989 Tibet – a soundtrack
- 1990 Mark Isham
- 1991 Songs My Children Taught Me (music only, from the first four Rabbit Ears titles, see below)
- 1995 Blue Sun
- 1998 Mark Isham: A Windham Hill Retrospective
- 1999 Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project
- 2009 Bittersweet with Kate Ceberano
- 2015 The Longest Ride (Original Score Album).
Rabbit Ears Storybook Classics
- 1987 The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Narrated by Jeremy Irons)
- 1988 The Emperor and the Nightingale (Narrated by Glenn Close)
- 1989 Thumbelina (Narrated by Kelly McGillis)
- 1990 The Emperor's New Clothes (Narrated by John Gielgud)
- 1992 The Boy Who Drew Cats (Narrated by William Hurt)
- 1994 The Firebird (Narrated by Susan Sarandon)
Other
- 2000 Hymn of Asia: L. Ron Hubbard (Instrument Orchestration and Choral Arrangements)
- 2006 Theme to the United States Army's Army Strong campaign
- 2007 Human the Death Dance by Sage Francis (Production on "Good Fashion" and "Water Line")
- 2009 Dallas et Kate with Kate Ceberano
As member
;With Group 87
- Group 87 (Columbia Records, 1980)
- A Career in Dada Processing (Capitol Records, 1984)
As sideman
;With Art Lande
- Rubisa Patrol (ECM, 1976)
- Desert Marauders (ECM 1978) ;With Pharoah Sanders
- Journey to the One (Theresa, 1980) ;With Van Morrison
- Into the Music (Mercury, 1979)
- Common One (Mercury, 1980)
- Beautiful Vision (Mercury, 1982)
- Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (Mercury, 1983)
- Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (Mercury, 1984) ;With David Sylvian
- Brilliant Trees (Virgin, 1984)
- Secrets of the Beehive (Virgin, 1987) ;With David Torn
- Cloud About Mercury (ECM, 1987) ;With Andy Summers
- Charming Snakes (Private Music, 1990)
Contributions to soundtracks
Films
::data[format=table]
Television series
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Chicago Hope | "Pilot" | |
| 1996 | EZ Streets | 2 | |
| 1997 | Michael Hayes | "Prequel" | |
| 1997 | Nothing Sacred | TV series theme | |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | 2 | |
| 1999 | Family Law | 18 | |
| 2007 | The Black Donnellys | 18 | |
| 2008–2009 | Crash | 26 | |
| 2011–2018 | Once Upon a Time | 147 | |
| 2012 | Beauty and the Beast | "Pilot" | |
| 2013–2014 | Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | 7 | |
| 2015 | Blood & Oil | 10 | |
| 2015 | American Crime | 21 | |
| 2017 | Black Mirror | "Arkangel" | |
| 2017 | Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | "Autofac," "Safe and Sound" | |
| 2018–2019 | Marvel's Cloak & Dagger | 20 | |
| 2019 | Godfather of Harlem | 10 | |
| 2020 | Little Fires Everywhere | 8 | |
| 2020 | Amazing Stories | "The Rift" | |
| 2021 | The Nevers | ||
| 2021 | Sex/Life | 8 | |
| 2022 | The Cleaning Lady | ||
| 2023 | Justified: City Primeval | ||
| :: |
Documentaries and shorts
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Times of Harvey Milk | Rob Epstein | |
| 1985 | Portraits of Anorexia | ||
| 1985 | Rabbit Ears: The Steadfast Tin Soldier | ||
| 1990 | Tibet | ||
| 1993 | Hawaii: Born in Paradise | Robert Hillmann | |
| 1993 | Hidden Hawaii | Robert Hillmann | |
| 1998 | The Blood Tide | ||
| 1999 | Galapagos | ||
| 2001 | From the Ground Up | Laura Nix | |
| 2011 | "Morning" | Dror Soref | |
| 2017 | Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992 | John Ridley | |
| :: |
Filmography
As director ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Cowboy and the Ballerina | Mark Isham | |
| :: |
As screenwriter ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Cowboy and the Ballerina | Mark Isham | |
| :: |
As actor ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Made in Heaven | Alan Rudolph | |
| :: |
References
References
- Huey, Steve. "Mark Isham Biography".
- "Movies". The New York Times.
- Source : [https://isham.com/bio/ official bio].
- (1997). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Virgin Books]].
- "Mark Isham Biography (1951-)".
- (1995). "Siouxsie on Hector Zazou's 'Songs from the Cold Seas' - CD Columbia". Columbia CD.
- [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mark-isham-mn0000236246/biography Artist Biography by Steve Huey] on ''Allmusic.com''.
- Wright, Lawrence. (February 14, 2011). "The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology".
- Richardson, John M.. (September 11, 1993). "The Scientology Church of Hollywood". Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc.
- Nickerson, Thomas. (November 9, 2006). "The making of Army Strong". [[United States Army]].
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