New Soundtrack – ‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ Documentary Score By Kathryn Bostic

An animated opening collage of Morrison images by artist Mickalene Thomas is also superb. So is the score — with its memorable use of fiddle, violin and upright bass — by Kathryn Bostic. – Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

Here she’s building a tippy-toe bass line, moody motifs, aching laments—plus a  final vocal/piano/keyboards Bostic original, High Above the Water, boasting the kind of gospel stride and soul windows that organist Shirley Scott once splashed around. – Kurt Brokaw, The Independent

Described by The Independent as “2019’s Must-See Documentary”, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (American Masters) opened in US theaters in June.  The score by Kathryn Bostic (Dear White People, Middle of Nowhere) is out now digitally worldwide on Lakeshore Records.  Earlier this year, Kathryn became first African American female composer to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Soundtrack Available Now: [Download/Listen]

ABOUT KATHRYN BOSTIC

Composer and artist KATHRYN BOSTIC is known for her work on award-winning films, TV and live theater. In 2016 she became the first female African-American score composer in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. She is also a member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including the prestigious Sundance Institute Time Warner Fellowship, Sundance Fellowship for Feature Film Scoring, Sundance/ Skywalker Documentary Film Scoring, BMI Conducting Fellowship, and Best Music in Film by the African American Film Critics Association.

Bostic has written for Broadway, most notably collaborating with the award-winning playwright August Wilson. Reflecting on Mr. Wilson’s career she was inspired to compose “The August Wilson Symphony” and her song “State of Grace” which received its world premiere in January 2018 by the Grammy award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra helmed by Grammy award-winning conductor and composer Lucas Richman. In addition, she has been nominated for several additional awards in theater including the Ovation Award, NAACP Theater Award and a Drama Desk nominee for “Outstanding Music in a Play.” As a singer, Bostic has toured and recorded with several renowned artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Nas and David Byrne. She has also performed with her own quartet in several jazz festivals and venues including the Pori Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s London, Blue Note Tokyo and Osaka, Birdland NYC.

TRACKLIST

01. Toni Morrison Main Title
02. Morning Writer Craft
03. Melting Pot Lorain
04. Mexico Story
05. Gottlieb History
06. Howard
07. Editor versus Writer
08. Toni Editor Mission
09. It Takes a Village
10. Great Grandmother
11. Ali Gender Game
12. Stereotyping Black Writers
13. Inner Life
14. Pilot Ancestors
15. High Above the Water – End Title

 
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the legendary storyteller and Nobel prize-winner. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature. Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, Morrison reflects on her lifelong deconstruction of the master narrative. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed works, including novels “The Bluest Eye,” “Sula” and “Song of Solomon,” her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University.

In addition to Ms. Morrison, the film features interviews with Hilton Als, Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez and Oprah Winfrey, who turned Morrison’s novel “Beloved” into a feature film. Using Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ elegant portrait-style interviews, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am includes original music by Kathryn Bostic, a specially created opening sequence by artist Mickalene Thomas, and evocative works by other contemporary African-American artists including Kara Walker, Rashid Johnson and Kerry James Marshall.

The film directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders was released in theaters on June 21 by Magnolia Pictures.

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison passed away at the age of 88 on August 5, 2019.

Magnolia Pictures presents TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM, now playing in theaters (get tickets).

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