A FORMER Disney film and TV composer is bringing his newest performance to Colchester Arts Centre.
Jason Frederick, 53, was born in Canada and lived and worked in Los Angeles for ten years.
He learned from the likes of Joe Harnell who wrote the score for the Incredible Hulk, and Elmer Bernstein who did Ghostbusters, before launching his own career.
Disney’s 101 Dalmatians 2 was just one of his highlights.
Now he is leaning back into the music and films which originally inspired him as a child - classic horror.
Jason said: “People can experience something that’s between a concert and watching a movie.
“Even if you’re a horror connoisseur and think you’ve seen everything, it is a bit new and different.”
Jason will perform his new score live to a mash-up of two classic 1960s horror films, featuring the faces of Christopher Lee and Vincent Price.
The film is titled ‘Witches of the Dead’.
Jason said: “One of my main influences was being finally allowed to watch films after midnight, when really strange films would get shown on cable television.
“I loved the music of films like the classic Frankenstein, and they were a big influence on why I wanted to write music professionally.”
Jason has created something which sounds like it “belongs in a film from the 1960s", but has some modern production ideas to it.
He arranges his set with the instruments around him - an electronic organ from 1964, a bass guitar which he plays with a bow, and even a glockenspiel - and moves between the instruments as he plays live.
He said: “For 80 per cent of the performance I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, but in the moment, you throw out 20 per cent of them to try something different.
“Being able to take a score and present it to a live audience is always endlessly fascinating and exciting.
“It’s a completely unique experience, and whether you like music or classic horror films, there’s something in it for everybody.”
Witches of the Dead is at Colchester Arts Centre on September 8.
Tickets are £10 (£8 concessions), with doors opening at 7.30pm before the show at 8pm.
Visit www.colchesterartscentre.com.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here