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Now streaming on HBO Max, Gaz Alazraki’s remake of Father of the Bride reimagined the beloved classic about a daughter’s upcoming wedding anniversary with a few twists – he moved from Connecticut to Miami and from a white family to a wealthy Cuban . American breed led by Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan, parents of Adria Arjona. Diego Boneta portrays the groom, a lawyer from a Mexican family.
For the score, Alazraki turned to composer Terence Blanchard, whose credits include “Mo Better Blues”, “Da 5 Bloods” and “BlacKkKlansman”. As heard on the track “Saving Wedding Montage” (heard above), Blanchard has provided his own update – a score with his signature jazz sound.
More of diversity
How did you approach the score with the film set in Miami?
When I first read the script I wondered if they wanted me to do a Latin soundtrack because the film has some great Latin artists. But Gaz didn’t want that. He wanted a jazz score to counter what he had already built into the film.
When you say jazz it can mean a whole host of things, so it took us a minute to figure out what he was looking for. He threw out some names like Charlie Christian, an American jazz guitarist, and that changed my whole direction.
I had also written a few different approaches to the film and once we had those it was all about finding great musicians who could bring the score to life.
What conversations did you have about weaving the score into the film?
I worked with the music producer and talked to him about ideas for the musicians who would play in the orchestra. It was all about finding the right tone. We discussed it scene by scene. Achieving drama is something I can do in my sleep. I was probably conceived while my mom was watching drama, but comedy is scary because you don’t want to screw up a joke. Gaz came to New Orleans to sit down and walk through the scenes. It was the first time someone was in the room while I was writing and playing with Gaz who said, “More of this.”
Were there any comedy specific tools you used?
We played the comedy while being musically serious. If you look at Andy’s character, Billy, he’s very conservative and traditional. He loves jazz. So the trick was not to play up the comedy, but to let that music respond to who this guy is. Through that lens, you can juxtapose these other characters. There was no need to do the comedy up there, especially with the daughter because she’s the most likeable character in the whole movie.
If we tried to put comedy in the score I think it would have ruined it. The whole movie comes to that moment when Andy’s character, Billy, turns around and says, “This isn’t the wedding you wanted.” So the music had to stay in his world.
Did the characters have motives and cues?
There were certain themes. Billy had his theme. There was one for his wife [Ingrid]. When you write music and it starts working for the scene, it only goes so much further if you include these musical personalities in the plan.
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