Blake Leyh (born in Syracuse, New York in 1962) is a composer, sound designer, and music supervisor.
Leyh's prominent credits include music supervising HBO's television show ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
'', most notably the end theme called "The Fall" written by Leyh especially for the show and composing original scores for the films of
Kirby Dick
Kirby Bryan Dick (born August 23, 1952) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing documentary films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature for directing ''Twist of Fait ...
(including the
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
-nominated ''
Twist of Faith
''Twist of Faith'' is a 2004 American documentary film about a man who confronts the Catholic Church about the abuse he suffered as a teenager, directed by Kirby Dick. The film was produced for the cable network HBO and screened at the 2005 Su ...
'' and ''
SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist'') and sound design for the films of
Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
,
Ang Lee
Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...
,
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
,
John Waters
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...
, and
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
. He has also released several CDs of original music, and was employed as a composer and sound designer at
Beatnik
Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle.
History
In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...
during the late 90s.
He wrote the scores for the award-winning
documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell
''Pray the Devil Back to Hell'' is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary. The film had its thea ...
and
Killing KasztnerThe Holywood Reporter, October 20, 2009
/ref> Leyh lives in Harlem, New York City.
Awards
* In 1990 Leyh won a '' Golden Reel Award'' for Best Sound Editing on ''The Abyss
''The Abyss'' is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a US search and recovery team ...
''.
* In 1992 Leyh won a '' Golden Reel Award'' for Best Sound Editing on ''Barton Fink
''Barton Fink'' is a 1991 American historical drama, period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City play ...
''.
* In 2010 Leyh was nominated for a Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for his role as producer on the '' Treme'' soundtrack album
* In 2014 Leyh won an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for his role as music mixer on the HBO television series '' Treme''
External links
Official web site
*
Baltimore City Paper interview about music in The Wire
Audio interview with Gbenga Akinnagbe, Jamie Hector, Clarke Peters, and Blake Leyh - The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC
On selecting local music from the Baltimore scene for The Wire
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyh, Blake
American film score composers
Living people
1962 births
Musicians from Syracuse, New York