Kyle Eastwood pays tribute to his father’s filmography with an album of iconic themes.

KYLE EASTWOOD HASN’T BEEN IN MONTEREY COUNTY FOR TWO YEARS, instead playing in his favorite places in Europe. He is now returning home with the California premiere of his newest album that local residents have more than one reason to be interested in. Eastwood Symphonic is a tribute to his father’s – that’s Clint Eastwood – filmography. Expect all your favorite themes and tunes from movies such as the Western A Fistful of Dollars (1964) or Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).

The album was recorded in September 2023 in the National Symphony Orchestra in Prague, so it didn’t make it to the 2023 Monterey Jazz Festival happening at the same time, but now it will be finally played locally – almost the whole thing.

“The tracks are not recorded the same way, but we were faithful to the originals,” Kyle Eastwood says. “Also, some of them were already jazzy.”

Kyle Eastwood, who as a child spent time on his father’s movie sets, is a jazzman, and the project is a synergy of jazz and classical music. He has always been convinced that music is an integral part of every film production.

The very idea had been planted in his mind years ago when Clint wrote a melody with the piano in the Eastwoods’ living room for Gran Torino, a 2008 movie about a crusty veteran who comes to appreciate his young immigrant neighbor. The melody, with some editing help from Kyle, was used in the movie, performed by English singer Hugh Coltman. Jazz pianist and singer Jamie Cullum wrote the lyrics for the song. Just like “The Bridges of Madison County,” it’s very sentimental, in a good way.

But from the opening “Eastwood Overture,” listeners can already feel the cinematic energy of the album that presents us, as the second track, the slick theme from Magnum Force (1973).

“Yes, my father likes jazz,” Kyle Eastwood says.

There was always music in the house and Kyle played many instruments as a teenager, growing up in California. He has been involved with the Monterey Jazz Festival for years. Later, his path took him to New York, Paris and London, and these days he spends half of each year in Europe, typically working with European musicians. His quintet is assembled from London musicians.

The Czech Republic and the Prague Symphony were selected because of their specialization in recording film music. Eastwood was the artistic director of the project, while symphonic staging, arrangements and directing the orchestras was done by Gast Waltzing from Luxembourg, who also happens to be a jazz trumpet player.

Jazz and classical music are two different styles, not always easy to gel with one another.

“Symphony plays behind the beat, and jazz is on beat or up tempo,” Eastwood says. Sometimes it is hard to incorporate a jazz band into a symphony orchestra.

When asked to think of a movie with a good jazz soundtrack, Eastwood decides on 1988’s Stormy Monday with Tommy Lee Jones. When it comes to film composers, his favorite is Argentinian jazz pianist Lalo Schifrin’s composition for Mission: Impossible, written in 1966.

“Some are iconic, some are less known,” he says about the tracks on Eastwood Symphonic.

Eastwood Symphonic had one American premiere before, at the Detroit Jazz Festival. The album can be pre-ordered now.

EASTWOOD SYMPHONIC will be performed 5-6pm Sunday, Sept. 29 on the Jimmy Lyons Stage. More at eastwoodsymphonic.com.