Faculty News

Williamson Performs on 'Public Enemies' Soundtrack

Music faculty member Bruce Williamson can be heard performing the jazz classic "Bye Bye Blackbird" with Diana Krall on the soundtrack for Public Enemies, a new movie starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard. He also played on the soundtrack for the recent PBS documentary, Antonia Pantoja ¡Presente!

Public Enemies cover

Williamson will be returning in the fall from a one-term sabbatical, for which he received a grant from The Armour Foundation for Jazz Composition. The Armour Foundation funds solitary, reflective, project-based retreats for "people of accomplishment in a variety of fields of endeavor." The retreats are structured in the vision of Carl Jung, and were created by the late Dr. James Armour—a follower of Jung and professor of psychology at Southeastern Illinois College. Grant recipients stay at "The Cave House" in southern Illinois, overlooking the Ohio River.

 “It was complete isolation,” said Bruce, “nobody else but me—no distractions. I could work, eat, sleep, and play piano or saxophone whenever I wanted—day or night. It was quite productive for me. I wrote about 5 or 6 new pieces (one has already been recorded for an upcoming CD), and I got to know myself better.”

For more on Bruce Williamson, click here.