Amanda Witt
In her score for American Fiction, composer Laura Karpman was able to bring together her love for both jazz and classical music... A novelist, Thelonious Ellison (everyone calls him "Monk") is frustrated by a publishing industry that seems to only want one thing from Black authors: stereotypical stories of inner city strife, with gangs and drugs... and decides to put that theory to the test. As complicated family dynamics unfold, Laura Karpman's music pivots and turns with the drama. She says using her own themes (rather than, say, music by Thelonious Monk himself) allowed her to be more flexible, and adapt to the moment. And a key ingredient in the score is the soulful piano that she inherited from her father, that came with a rich Hollywood past.
You can listen to the full interview at 7pm Wednesday, and listen again back here after it airs!
