| Paul Buckmaster | |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth Name: | Paul John Buckmaster |
| Birth Date: | 13 June 1946 |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genre: | Classical, rock, pop, social music, country, film score |
| Occupation: | Musician, composer, arranger, film composer, conductor |
| Instrument: | Cello, synthesizer |
Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades.
He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Shawn Phillips, Elton John, Harry Nilsson, The Rolling Stones, Carly Simon, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, and the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, followed by his contributions to the recordings of many other artists, including Stevie Nicks, Lionel Richie, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Rogers, Guns N' Roses, Taylor Swift, Something Corporate, Train, and Heart.
Paul Buckmaster was born in London on 13 June 1946. His father, John Caravoglia Buckmaster, was an English actor and his mother, Ermenegilda ("Gilda") Maltese, was an Italian concert pianist and graduate of the Naples Conservatory of Music.[1]
At age four, Buckmaster started attending a small private school in London called the London Violoncello School, and continued studying cello under several private teachers until he was ten. In 1957, his mother took him and his two siblings to Naples, where he auditioned with cello professor Willy La Volpe, to be assessed as eligible for a scholarship. From 1958 to 1962 he divided his time between studying music in Naples and working for his GCEs in London, then won a scholarship to study the cello at the Royal Academy of Music, from which he graduated with a performance diploma in 1967.[1]
Buckmaster displayed professional mastery as a cellist. After leading a small orchestral group during a two-month tour with the Bee Gees in 1968,[2] he started his career as an orchestral arranger on various hit songs, including David Bowie's "Space Oddity" (1969),[3] [4] and contributed orchestral collaborations on a number of early albums by Elton John (1969–72), as well as on the songs "Sway" and "Moonlight Mile" on The Rolling Stones' album Sticky Fingers (1971). Buckmaster contributed string and horn arrangements to Leonard Cohen's 1971 album, Songs of Love and Hate.[5]
He assisted Miles Davis with the preparation of On the Corner (1972) and wrote the arrangements for the studio sessions, in which he also participated, at Davis' request, by humming bass lines and rhythms to lead the musicians. These arrangements were often used as a starting point to be transformed until what was being played bore no resemblance to what he had written. This was in keeping with the Stockhausian approach that Buckmaster and Davis had discussed in the weeks leading up to the session.[1]
As a member of Third Ear Band, Buckmaster co-wrote and performed on Music from Macbeth, the soundtrack album to Roman Polanski's film Macbeth (1972). Buckmaster wrote some instrumental tracks for Harry Nilsson's film Son of Dracula (1974).[6] He also played with Bowie and his band in the recordings for the original soundtrack to the science fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), in which Bowie starred as Thomas Jerome Newton. Buckmaster stated in Mojo magazine's feature "60 Years of Bowie", that he had played cello on the original soundtrack recordings,[7] on which Carlos Alomar, J. Peter Robinson and others were also included:
Later, the film's director Nicolas Roeg decided not to use the recordings but rather existing songs as the soundtrack for the movie.[8]
In 1995 Buckmaster composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced the original score to Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys.[9] He also composed the score for the 1997 film Most Wanted.[10]
Buckmaster had two siblings, Rosemary and Adrian. He married Diana Lewis in 1970; they divorced three years later. From a relationship with Rosalie Van Leer, he had a son, Banten. Buckmaster died on 7 November 2017, aged 71, in Los Angeles from undisclosed causes.[1]
Buckmaster won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for his work on American rock band Train's 2001 single "Drops of Jupiter".[11]
| Year | Artist | Song | Album | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Whatever You Do" "Party of One" | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 2017 | "The Promise" | Chris Cornell (2018) | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2016 | "I Don't Think About You" | Meaning of Life | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2016 | Max&Friends |
| Max&Friends | Co-composer, arranger, conductor | |
| 2016 |
| idina. | Arranger | ||
| 2016 |
| Beautiful Broken | Arranger | ||
| 2015 | "I Remember You" | Under One Sky | Arranger | ||
| 2014 | "...interlude" | Storyline | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2014 | "Legends Never Die" | Ferras | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2013 | Magnetic | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 2012 |
| The Sound of the Life of the Mind | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2010 |
| Speak Now | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2009 | "I See You" | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 2008 |
| Chinese Democracy | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2007 | "The Ocean" | The Sun and the Moon | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2007 | "Happy Ending" | Life in Cartoon Motion | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2007 | "Ordinary World" | Katharine McPhee | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2007 | "Lost" | Call Me Irresponsible | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2007 |
| Mig | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2006 | "Still" | Over the Hedge (Soundtrack) | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2006 |
| Coming Home | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2006 |
| Water & Bridges | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2006 | "Invincible" | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 2006 |
| Comatose | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2006 | "Awake" | Bianca Ryan | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 | "Wildflower" | Have a Nice Day | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 |
| Some Hearts | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 | "Paris" | Fireflies | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 | "Landed" | Songs for Silverman | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 | "Beautiful Side of Somewhere" | Rebel, Sweetheart | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 |
| One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2005 |
| Fires | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2004 |
| Be Here | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2004 | "Secret World" | Everybody Loves a Happy Ending | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2004 | Third Day |
| Wire | Arranger, conductor | |
| 2003 |
| My Private Nation | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2003 | "No Blue Sky" | The Thorns | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2003 |
| North | Arranger, conductor, performer | ||
| 2003 | "I'll Stay With You" | Leave the Light On | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2003 | "Nos Hizo Falta Tiempo" | 33 | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2003 | "Run Away" | Birds of Pray | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2003 | Wilshire |
| New Universe | Arranger, conductor | |
| 2002 |
| Cry | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2002 | "She's My Kind of Rain" | Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2002 |
| Leaving Through the Window | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 2001 | "Drops of Jupiter" | Drops of Jupiter | Arranger, conductor 2002 Grammy Winner Arrangement of the Year | ||
| 2001 |
| Arranger, conductor | |||
| 2000 | "Too Late (Reprise)" (Hidden instrumental track) | Return of Saturn | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1999 | Under My Eyes | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1999 |
| Tal Bachman | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1999 | "Sola Otra Vez" | Lara Fabian | Arranger | ||
| 1998 | "Time" | Supernatural | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1997 | "She Said" | Scream 2 Soundtrack | Arranger, conductor, co-composer | ||
| 1996 |
| Recovering the Satellites | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1996 | "Falling into You" | Falling into You | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1995 | Made in England | Composer, arranger, conductor | |||
| 1995 | "Blue" | Tomorrow the Green Grass | Arranger | ||
| 1993 | This Time | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1992 |
| Back to Front | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1991 |
| Leap of Faith | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1991 | Don't Get Weird on Me Babe | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1985 | "Hard Woman" | She's the Boss | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1983 | North of a Miracle | Arranger[12] | |||
| 1983 | "Beauty and the Beast" | The Wild Heart | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1981 | "Profession of Violence" | The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1978 | A Single Man | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1977 | Terrapin Station | Arranger, conductor (side two) | |||
| 1976 | Blue Moves | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1975 | O My Love | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1974 | "Ife" | Big Fun | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1974 | Hotcakes | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1974 | Angelo Branduardi | Arranger, conductor, producer, co-composer | |||
| 1973 |
| Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1973 | "Lady of the Blue Rose" | Bright White | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1973 | No Sweat | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1972 | On the Corner | Arranger, conductor, electric cello | |||
| 1972 | "You're So Vain" | No Secrets | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1972 | "Spaceman" | Son of Schmilsson | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1971 |
| Madman Across the Water | Arranger, conductor, musical director | ||
| 1971 | Sticky Fingers | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1971 | Chitinous Ensemble | Chitinous Ensemble | Musical director, electric piano, cello | ||
| 1971 | Songs of Love and Hate | Arranger, conductor | |||
| 1971 | "Without You" | Nilsson Schmilsson | Arranger, conductor | ||
| 1971 |
| Friends | Arranger, conductor, musical director | ||
| 1971 | Pick Up a Bone | Arranger, electric cello | |||
| 1970 | Tumbleweed Connection | Arranger, conductor, musical director | |||
| 1970 |
| Elton John | Arranger, conductor, musical director | ||
| 1970 | "F Sharp Splendor" (instrumental) | Second Contribution | Arranger, musical director, keyboards | ||
| 1970 | "Mona, The Whole Trip" | Mona – The Carnivorous Circus | Solo cello | ||
| 1970 |
| Arranger, cello | |||
| 1970 | "Aviator" | Fully Qualified Survivor | Solo cello | ||
| 1969 | Joy of a Toy | Solo cello | |||
| 1969 | Space Oddity | Arranger, conductor, cello | |||
| 1969 | "Odessa (City on the Black Sea)" | Odessa | Cello |