Mark Isham, recipient of ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film Music, continues to be one of the most prolific and provocative artists on the scene. His gift for creating unforgettable melodies and his love of fresh, innovative sonic palettes earned him an Emmy, a Grammy, and a multitude of Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe nominations. Isham’s musical signature is evident in his memorable scores for notable films such as Crash, which won the Oscar for Best Picture, Bobby, which was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture, and he earned an Oscar nomination for best Original Score for the 90s classic A River Runs Through It as well as Golden Globe nomination for best Original Score for 20th Century’s Nell. He has collaborated with acclaimed directors and artists such as Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Brian De Palma, Chick Corea, Jodie Foster, Robert Altman, Sting, Will.i.am, Sidney Lumet, and Mick Jagger.
Over the course of his career, Mark Isham has scored over 125 films. After A River Runs Through It, Isham scored 90s classics from indies such as Robert Altman’s Short Cuts and Robert Redford’s Quiz Show, to box office hits Blade and October Sky. In addition to his ongoing collaboration with Redford, Isham’s work with George Tillman Jr. cultivated three features: Men of Honor starring Robert De Niro, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete which he co-scored with Alicia Keys, and 20th Century’s The Longest Ride. Isham’s diverse body of work also includes acclaimed dramas such as Walt Disney Pictures’ Invincible, Paramount Pictures’ Freedom Writers directed by Richard LaGravenese, The Secret Life of Bees produced by Searchlight Pictures, Dreamworks’ A Dog’s Journey, and Universal Pictures’ Crime drama The Black Dahlia for which he won the IFMCA Award for Best Original score. He also wrote music for the acclaimed Warner Bros.’ box office Hit 42 starring Chadwick Boseman as the iconic Jackie Robinson. Alongside Craig Harris, Isham co-scored Shaka King’s two timed Oscar Award winning hit Judas and the Black Messiah. Isham also has a catalogue of blockbuster action comedies including The Accountant starring Ben Affleck, Togo starring Willem Dafoe, The Mechanic and Mechanic Resurrection starring Jason Statham and two action features starring Liam Neeson: Honest Thief and Blacklight. Most recently, Isham scored the comedic feature The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicholas Cage and Peacock’s Shooting Stars directed by Chris Robinson.
Equally renown on the small screen, Isham has collected six Emmy nominations, and a win for his Main Title theme to EZ Streets. His eclectic scores for iconic series include Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, ABC’s Once Upon A Time, American Crime, Amazon Prime’s Philip K. Dick’s Electric, the hit Netflix series Black Mirror, the Freeform Series Cloak & Dagger, HBO’s The Nevers created by Joss Whedon, the FX series Justified: City Primeval starring Timothy Olyphant, the Epix series Godfather of Harlem, and The Cleaning Lady created by Miranda Kwok. Up next for Isham is the Apple TV+ documentary mini-series Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend which streams next month, and Chris Brancato’s Hotel Cocaine, slated for release summer 2024 with MGM.
The New York native showed an early gift on the trumpet, and endures as a mainstay instrumentalist who’s recorded with Herbie Hancock and Bobby McFerrin, and performed with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, and Kenny Loggins. He has released nine solo albums, earned two Grammy nominations for his album Castalia and Tibet, and won a Grammy for the Virgin Records produced album Mark Isham.