Over the years, my interests have been consistent. I like to play music, I like to compose music, I like to produce music, I like to engineer & mix music, I like to write about music and recording, and if I were to have a gravestone, if I could be so bold as to request what would be written on it, it would be something like this: “He greatly enjoyed friendly creative collaboration.” As I’ve grown older, experience has taught me that I’m happiest and most fulfilled when I can wrap all of my interests up in projects that require using all of the skills I’ve spent my life pursuing, all at once! Film scoring does just that—scratching every itch simultaneously. I’ve scored numerous other projects than the ones represented here and hope to have the privilege of doing a lot more scoring before my time is up. I feel I’ve really only scratched the surface of what I’m capable of doing…
Film scoring is an incredibly collaborative activity—I like to develop a close working relationship with the director, producers, music supervisor, and any other team members with whom I find myself working on a film project. I aspire to be true to my own musical sensibilities but only in service to the greater purpose of achieving the vision of the filmmaker. As such, every bit of music you’ll hear below was carefully crafted to meet with my teammates’ needs and wants and therefore I hope it reflects their sensibilities equally as much as my own. Below are a handful of scenes I’ve scored, for a variety of films and filmmakers. I’d like to thank these filmmakers both for entrusting me to handle this important aspect of their projects, and for allowing me to post these excerpts here. All of these clips are here solely for promotional purposes; all are copyrighted and not for sale. Re-use of any portion of all of these clips is strictly forbidden! All compositions and performances are by me except where otherwise noted.
Of my compositions (in general), the following has been published:
"Kaphan's original compositions range from Harold Budd-like soundscapes to luxurious cosmic cowboy themes to a couple of sonically trippy tracks reminiscent of Brian Eno's better works." - Music Connection
"Kaphan makes Zen music for dustbowl airports. Bewitching instrumentals, sweet dreams of light and flight in which Kaphan's licks ring like prayer bells across an open Texas plain."- Rolling Stone Magazine
A few words from filmmakers with whom Bruce has collaborated.
Director Judy Irving of the clips below from "Cold Refuge", "Pelican Dreams", and "Settling In", writes:
"Filmmakers often fall in love with their 'temp music' – tracks they use while editing – and are then shocked and disappointed by the 'final music' they replace it with. Fortunately I didn’t have to endure that. For a feature documentary I was making called Pelican Dreams, I’d used Bruce Kaphan’s soaring 'Arc of Flight' (from his CD Slider) as a temp cue, and it worked so well that it became – with slight adjustments – the final music for a slow-motion flying sequence. Later I cribbed another cue, 'High Desert,' and we made that work too. Long story short, Bruce Kaphan eventually composed the entire score for Pelican Dreams. I’m a very slow editor, and with utmost patience over several years, he composed dozens of cues, not only for the 80-minute movie, but for another 80 minutes of short-film Extras. To me – a filmmaker who cannot speak the technical language of music – the most important quality in a composer is the ability to collaborate on an intuitive level.
Flash forward several years. We’ve continued our collaboration on several experimental music videos and a new feature, Cold Refuge, a film about how swimming in open water mitigates life’s challenges like grief, stress, disease, discrimination, and disability.
Bruce’s rare combination of massive talent, egoless tact, and inspired musical choices has resulted in truly magical scores for all of these projects. I try to make films that move people, and music is key to that. I want to work with him until the day I die."
Director Terry Rietta of the clips below from "Crank Calls", "That Night We Met", "and Olympus Squeaky", writes:
"It goes without saying that Bruce will apply his phenomenal taste, talent, precision and care to your project. The surprise is his ability to make you see your own work with fresh eyes, and remind you why you made the film in the first place."
Director Brandy Brawner, of the clip below from "Adolescents of Chymera" writes:
"As a filmmaker, I’ve worked with Bruce on a dramatic feature, on documentaries, on shorts and experimental films. Not being a musician myself, I’m often enthralled by Bruce’s abilities to listen to my vague impressionistic thoughts about music for a scene and then translate my words into what I consider music that is far richer in relationship to the visuals than what I conceived possible. Bruce’s intelligence, experience and passion for scoring results in his adding psychological and emotional layers to the viewer’s experience that is both discreet and affective. As an artistic collaborator, Bruce is elegant in his professionalism, deeply committed to open versatile communication and has a standard that results in music that is exceptionally fulfilling."
excerpt from Cold Refuge
Cold Refuge is Judy Irving’s (The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, Dark Circle, Pelican Dreams) latest film, still in pre-release as of September, 2022. This film follows a number of cold water swimmers, exploring their love for this unusual pursuit. This clip comes from the very beginning of the film. Featured players include Dillon Vado on drums and vibes, John Lee Sanders on soprano sax, and Steve Adams on flute. I’ve now worked on a couple of feature length films and a couple of short films for Judy. I love Judy’s style—it’s direct and honest—just like she is; there’s not a single ounce of pretense. Collaborating with her has been one of the highlights of my life.
excerpt from Pelican Dreams
Another Judy Irving film, Pelican Dreams was the first film I worked on with/for Judy. The film is a love letter from Judy to her lifelong favorite bird, the pelican. This clip comes at the end of the film. The evolution of this score came from Judy’s “temp score” use of a couple of cuts from my album, Slider—Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar. As often happens, the temp score stuck and as a result the remainder of the score evolved out of that kernel sound.
That Night We Met
I love the short films that Terry Rietta has produced—his insight, wit, and dry humor shine like a laser off the screen. That Night We Met is the most recent film I’ve scored for Terry—I hadn’t previously been asked to provide music for an otherwise silent film—I have to say that I greatly enjoyed the challenge—since the inception of the “talkies,” underscore isn’t so often the only sonic element in a soundtrack! Come to think of it, if it’s the only sound, is it still underscore?
excerpt from Bridgerton
This is the only clip on this page that hasn’t been commercially released. I’m a longtime customer of Spitfire Audio, a producer of sample libraries; I love the quality of their work. Recently they sponsored a competition, inviting composers to score a scene from the Netflix show, Bridgerton. At the time I’m writing this, the deadline for entering the competition has passed and now the judges are listening and judging. Winners will be announced October 6, 2022. Mostly utilizing sounds from their BBC Symphony Orchestra library, this score is definitely different than anything else I’ve ever done. It was fun trying to create something relevant to this very posh Regency Era program, and for someone who’s been producing music for decades, the quality of this library still stuns me—music technology has been evolving at a ferocious clip! It’s a great time to be alive and doing this kind of work!
excerpt from Crank Calls
Another short film by writer/director Terry Rietta, Crank Calls is a dark comedy. Ever since working on this film, for myself and everyone I know who’s seen it, “Crank Calls” has become a verb… You’ll have to watch the film to understand, and I highly recommend that you do! I felt very lucky to have my score interpreted and enhanced by Rich Kuhns on piano and accordion, Irene Sazer on violin, Jack Hines on bass and Michaelle Goerlitz on all percussion.
excerpt from Masked & Anonymous
Masked & Anonymous is a Larry Charles directed, Sony Pictures Classics feature film that stars Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Luke Wilson, Ed Harris, Val Kylmer and many others. Joining me in the performance on this cue was John Hanes on drums, Victor Krummenacher on bass, and Doug Hilsinger on electric guitar. My assignment as composer was to try to include a hint of Bob Dylan thematic material in each cue in the film, hence my credit reads Underscore Adapted By Bruce Kaphan. Can you hear the tiny hint of Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall???
excerpt from No Easy Way
No Easy Way is a Jeffrey Fine feature film that stars Khandi Alexander and Alan Boyce. I scored the film with Mark Eitzel of American Music Club—this cue was one I authored singlehandedly. Featured are the world-famous Turtle Island String Quartet, Dave Peterson on Oboe, and Joan McMillen on piano.
excerpt from Adolescents of Chymera
Adolescents of Chymera Director Brandy Brawner and I go WAY back to some of my very first efforts at film music. Brandy’s faith in and commitment to having me do the music and post production audio editing for "Adolescents of Chymera” helped me gather the courage to purchase my first Pro Tools rig, back when a 9GB drive cost $1,300 and a whole Pro Tools rig many times that much! "Adolescents of Chymera" is available on Amazon Prime Video.
excerpt from Cold Refuge
Another clip from Judy Irving’s film, Cold Refuge, in this scene, under the tutelage of an experienced cold water swimmer, a newcomer to cold water swimming braves the icy cold water of San Francisco Bay in January! Featured are Dillon Vado on drums and vibes, and Steve Adams on soprano sax.
excerpt from Settling In
This is an excerpt from a Judy Irving short. After we finished creating it, the decision was made not to post it online out of concern for the possibility of environmental damage that audobon tourism might attract. This is why this is an excerpt only—the location is made obvious in the section I’ve cut out!
excerpt from Cold refuge
A short “transition” clip From Judy Irving’s Cold Refuge, this features Matt Brubeck on cello and Steve Adams on soprano sax.
excerpt from Crank Calls
Another clip from Terry Rietta’s Crank Calls, to understand how hilarious this clip is, you’d have to watch the whole film, which is well worth the effort if you can find it! Again, thanks to the inspired performances by Rich Kuhns on piano and accordion, Irene Sazer on violin, Jack Hines on bass and Michaelle Goerlitz on all percussion.
excerpt from Cold Refuge
Another clip from Judy Irving’s film, Cold Refuge, in this scene, one of the main characters in the film, driven by his passion for adaptive sports, moves from cold water swimming in San Francisco Bay to downhill skiing in Colorado. Once again, I’m joined by the erstwhile Dillon Vado on drums.
Olympus DigitalStylus
This advertisement for the Olympus DigitalStylus was produced and directed by Terry Rietta. Silly, but a different angle on sounds and styles at my fingertips.
excerpt from Masked & Anonymous
Another clip from Masked & Anonymous. This isn’t my composition—it’s Bob Dylan’s Angelina-this is my adaptation and arrangement of that song. I rarely find an opportunity to play guitar in this style, and I love Rich Kuhns’ beautiful accordion playing, so since it’s my web page, (my rules), I wanted to include it!
