James Horner Sneakers (1992)
James Horner (born August 14, 1953, Los Angeles; died June 22, 2015, Ventura County, California) composed the score for Sneakers (1992) in collaboration with Branford Marsalis, whose soprano-saxophone solos thread through the film's heist sequences and closing credits.
The Sneakers score is one of Horner's most restrained
In 1992 Horner was already known for big orchestral statements — Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Aliens (1986), Glory (1989), Field of Dreams (1989). Sneakers gave him a script that wanted understatement.
"Horner used the saxophone the way a noir score would use a clarinet. It signals that this is not actually a thriller. It is a hangout." — Jon Burlingame, Variety (2015)
"James understood that this movie wasn't about action. It was about people in a van listening to one of them think. So we wrote for that." — Phil Alden Robinson, The A.V. Club (2012)
The Sneakers/Robinson collaboration was the second after Field of Dreams, where Horner had also written for restraint.
Branford Marsalis carried the melody
Marsalis recorded all of the soprano-saxophone material live with the orchestra rather than overdubbing — a choice Horner said he made for the breath-and-room sound it produced.
"Horner wanted the sax to sound like one person playing in a room, not a recording. So we did it that way." — Branford Marsalis, JazzTimes (2003)
The soundtrack album was released by Columbia Records in 1992 and remained one of Horner's better-selling non-blockbuster scores.
Selected scores
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | Breakthrough |
| 1986 | Aliens | Oscar nomination |
| 1989 | Glory | Civil War score |
| 1989 | Field of Dreams | First Robinson collaboration |
| 1991 | The Rocketeer | |
| 1992 | Sneakers | with Branford Marsalis |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | Oscar nomination |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Oscar nomination |
| 1997 | Titanic | Two Oscars (Score, Song) |
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind | Oscar nomination |
| 2009 | Avatar | Oscar nomination |
Horner died in a plane crash on June 22, 2015, while flying his own aircraft in Ventura County, California.