Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his

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collaborations with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

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, and the

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in the 1970s, followed by his contributions to the recordings of many other artists, including

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, and

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Early life

Paul Buckmaster was born in London on 13 June 1946. His father, John Caravoglia Buckmaster, was an English actor and his mother, Ermenegilda ("Gilda") Maltese, was an Italian concert pianist and graduate of the Naples Conservatory of Music. At age four, Buckmaster started attending a small private school in London called the London Violoncello School, and continued studying cello under several private teachers until he was ten. In 1957, his mother took him and his two siblings to Naples, where he auditioned with cello professor Willy La Volpe, to be assessed as eligible for a scholarship. From 1958 to 1962 he divided his time between studying music in Naples and working for his GCEs in London, then won a scholarship to study the cello at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, from which he graduated with a performance diploma in 1967.

Career

Studio work

Buckmaster displayed professional mastery as a cellist. After leading a small orchestral group during a two-month tour with the

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in 1968, he started his career as an orchestral arranger on various hit songs, including

's "

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" (1969), and contributed

collaborations on a number of early albums by

(1969–72), as well as on the songs " Sway" and " Moonlight Mile" on

' album ''

Sticky Fingers ''Sticky Fingers'' is the 9th British and 11th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca ...

'' (1971). Buckmaster contributed string and horn arrangements to

's 1971 album, ''

Songs of Love and Hate ''Songs of Love and Hate'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on March 19, 1971, through Columbia Records. Recording and composition Cohen reunited with produ ...

''. He also helped

with the preparation of ''

On the Corner ''On the Corner'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and July 1972 and released on October 11 of the same year by Columbia Records. The album continued Davis's exploration o ...

'' (1972) and wrote the arrangements for the studio sessions, in which he also participated, at Davis' request, by humming bass lines and rhythms to lead the musicians. These arrangements were often used as a starting point to be transformed until what was being played bore no resemblance to what he had written. This was in keeping with the Stockhausian approach that Buckmaster and Davis had discussed in the weeks leading up to the session.

Film work

Buckmaster wrote some instrumental tracks for

's film '' Son of Dracula'' (1974). He also played with Bowie and his band in the recordings for the original soundtrack to the science fiction film ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...

'' (1976), in which Bowie starred as Thomas Jerome Newton. Buckmaster stated in ''

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'' magazine's feature "60 Years of Bowie", that he had played cello on the original soundtrack recordings, on which

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and others were also included: Later, the film's director

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing '' Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...

decided not to use the recordings but rather existing songs as the soundtrack for the movie. In 1995 Buckmaster composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced the original score to

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's ''

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''. He also composed the score for the 1997 film ''

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''.

Personal life

Buckmaster's siblings are Rosemary and Adrian. He married Diana Lewis in 1970, divorced three years later. From a relationship with Rosalie Van Leer, they had a son Banten. Buckmaster died on 7 November 2017 in Los Angeles.

Awards

Buckmaster won the 2002

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) The 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 ...

for ''

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''.

Early life

Career

Studio work

Film work

Personal life

Awards

Selected discography

Explanatory footnotes

References

External links