Jan: That's a tough one. I think that you have to really love it, believe in yourself, and I think you have to move to do L.A.! [Chuckle]
Ed: So you don't recommend doing what you did, and do it out of Connecticut!
Jan: Even when I was doing it, nobody else was doing it. It was strictly because an arrangement between me and Michael Mann, who was give me the freedom, and he trusted me enough to do it. But people in general, who are in charge of TV shows-or film (producers and directors)-they really want to be right on top of you. Because they don't believe that you can come up with anything good enough unless they supervise you. [They think that] by them supervising you, they make it better. It sounds stupid, but that's how it is.
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Hmmm... really bad movie. A Night In Heaven or Gimme An 'F'? From the reviews, it appears either one might qualify.
2 - Michael King
I'll simply include the review of the Miami Vice set that I posted to Amazon.com:
This is the soundtrack album for "Miami Vice" that should have been released 15 years ago.
It contains most of the music from Jan Hammer's defacto "Miami Vice" score, "Escape from Television" on disc 1, but the real treasure is on disc 2 - nearly all of the music there is previously unreleased in the US, and conveys the flavor of the quintessential 80's television series.
You know the story by now, but the style of "Miami Vice" set the stage for action television and movies of today. Jump cuts, strong musical tracks, noir-driven sequences; all mainstays of contemporary shows like "CSI" and "ER" have "Miami Vice" to thank for setting the table.
This set lets you feel the wind in your hair, hear the roar of the Ferrari motor and recall the question: "How would you like a career in Southern law enforcement?"
3 - A. Farrow
This Is a Very Good Jan Hammer Interview That Was Done Here On This Webpage!!,I've Been Following The Career of Jan Hammer Ever Since I Started Tuning Into Miami Vice Back In 1985 When The Show Was Ending It's 2nd Season and I Was Very Happy When I Found Out That He Released a 2 CD Set W. Some of The Instrumentals That He Did for The Series When He Was Scoring from 1984 to 1988!!.I'm Hoping to See More Stuff of Jan's In The Near Future Maybe Even Another MV CD Revival as Well!!.There's Been Some Talk About A Movie Version of Miami Vice and If It Is I'm Hoping That They'll Get Jan to Do The Film Score as Well!!
4 - Ed Driscoll
A. Farrow,
Thanks for the kind words--glad you liked the interview!
Ed
5 - Amador
The best interview I ever read about the legendary Jan Hammer!!