Music

“My vision…is a world where every person, regardless of sex, race or color, political beliefs, will all have a chance to develop to his or her fullest potential.”                  Marii Hasegawa

About the Music

The soundtrack for Marii Hasegawa: Gentle Woman of a Dangerous Kind is a collection of classical works by Jamie K. Sims.

The opening theme, “Gentle Woman of a Dangerous Kind,” was written for the film in the mid-1990s, when the project was starting. The additional solo piano works used were written over the past two decades, and were part of a group of piano memorials titled Piano Portraits. Composer Sims performed and recorded these at Alive Studios in Harrisonburg, VA., with Chris Stup as engineer.

“Swans,” heard during the relocation of the Japanese during WWII, is the first movement of Kenilworth Lake, a two-movement piece for flute and piano. Susan Hayes plays flute with Narciso Solero on piano, as part of the EcoVoce Ensemble. This is a live concert recording from 2004 in Alexandria, VA., and was engineered by Ed Kelly of Mobile Master.

“Southern Crescent” and “Midnight Mockingbird” started out as part of a song cycle, Magnolia Opera, for soprano and piano. Parts of these works, in instrumental form, are heard throughout the film, with the last section of “Midnight Mockingbird” ending the closing credits. In these instrumental versions the alto and soprano saxophones are played by Douglas Wandersee, with Sims playing piano. Also recorded at Alive Studios, the sessions were engineered by Robby Meadows and Chris Stup.

All music was mastered by Brent Lambert at Kitchen Mastering in Carrboro, N.C.

Jamie K. Sims grew up in Alabama and North Carolina as a dancer in a musical family. After an injury thwarted her dance career, her focus turned to music. She lived in New York, NY, for 17 years – writing, performing, and teaching – before moving to Virginia. She is best known for 80s group, The Cosmopolitans.

Gentle Woman of a Dangerous Kind: Documentary Film Score, the compete film score, with added music, is available on CD and as downloads from Mooscular Phonic Tunes Records, and can be found at local and online stores, iTunes, CD Baby, and at JamieKSims.com. See more on Facebook and MySpace.