Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Burke.
Hi Alexander, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you so much. It’s my pleasure.
I am a Composer, Producer, Music Director and multi-instrumentalist.
When I was a kid, my neighbor started taking piano lessons and it occurred to me I could learn an instrument as well, so I asked my family for a piano.
My grandparents gave me a Casio electronic keyboard, which I still have. I started practicing around the clock, playing every chance I had and anywhere I could.
I played at a retirement center after school and often during my lunch breaks.
The seniors would bring me the sheet music for songs they wanted me to play and often let me keep it. Sheet music and albums were priceless to me.
It was long before the days of Spotify and I was suddenly exposed to a large collection of amazing songs and composers I might not have discovered otherwise.
Aside from performing, I’d always wanted to compose music for film and television. I had no idea how to learn scoring, so I would watch TV with the volume muted and create my own live scores as though I was accompanying a silent movie. Eventually, I played for my grandmother’s senior improvisation team, “The Geri-Actors.”
I was lucky enough to be hired at Second City Chicago shortly after moving into the area for college. I played for thousands of improvised musicals and sketch shows, and enjoyed endless madcap madness and adventures.
It was one of the best times of my life so far.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I didn’t have a car in Chicago so I wheeled my vibraphone along the street for miles to play gigs, sometimes just to sit in for one song. I wheeled it through the snow for half the year and in 100-degree days during the summer. There are a handful of articles about my adventures in local papers from the early 2000s.
I was grateful for the opportunity to play with many of my heroes and some of the musicians whose music I’d played at the senior centers. I only had to wheel my instrument to the venue and the musicians were incredibly supportive.
After the shows, they would frequently buy meals for me and tell me stories of their time playing with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and many other legends, as well as tales and inspiration for many of the musical standards they’d created.
When everyone went home, often around 2 or 3am, I wheeled my vibraphone home, first to my dorm then a couple of years later back to the little place in Wicker Park I shared with a bevy of other young musicians.
My career had really started taking off shortly before the economy crashed in 2008. At 24 years old, I was one of the youngest working television composers, scoring a TBS show called “Frank TV.”
Between the economy crashing and the writer’s strike, I found myself working as a production assistant, carrying camera equipment up and down a 6th floor walk-up in Manhattan for a production company until I could recover my financial footing. It felt like starting over.
In retrospect, I’m thankful I didn’t have an escape route and simply had to push through.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I recently played with Bob Dylan for his concert film “Shadow Kingdom” which was released late last year. That was an extraordinary experience.
The part of live music I love the most is the near-telepathic dialogue between musicians. Being singularly focused on supporting Bob with the other amazing musicians involved felt like communication on a completely new plateau for me. I found myself immersed in the moment in a way I’d never experienced before.
Although I play music live and in the studio nearly every day, my primary focus is film, television and stage composing. The more I compose, the deeper I fall in love with the process.
My style has evolved as a result of being a multi-instrumentalist and from developing my sonic brand, making a score unique to the film so the film is instantly recognizable solely from hearing the music.
I strive to compose my scores so they can be identified from the first moment, not only from the melody and orchestration but also from the mixing and recording techniques.
I’m also a perpetual student at heart, as I think most artists are, and scoring films pushes me to constantly study and learn everything I can.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I was a huge fan of Taj Mahal from a very young age. When I was fourteen, I saw him perform.
Since I had opened for Leon Russell at the same venue the week before and I knew the staff, I was able to walk backstage and into Taj’s dressing room.
He offered me a can of sprite which I kept on my desk for years.
He also played “Queen Bee” for me and a few other songs.
My visit with him left me inspired.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alexanderburke.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burke.alexander/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alexanderburke/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2596528/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Main – Michelle Shiers Lights – Sven Doornkaat Studio – Michelle Shiers Suit – Sven Doornkaat Yoga – Michelle Shiers New Years – Sarah Ellen Coffee – Zachary Dripps Dog – Christina Kesten
