The Audubon Suite. (click here to listen)
The first time I ever heard much of anything about the incredible life of John James Audubon, other than that the Audubon Society was named after him, was during a drive to the Austin airport with the late and great Academy Award nominated director, Al Reinert. I had just recently collaborated with Rich Brotherton on the score for Al’s CNN Films documentary, An Unreal Dream, and the story of John James Audubon was to be his next project. By the time I got Al to the airport I was hooked and hoping I could be involved. It took a couple of years and a lot of very hard work, but ultimately the film got made and in addition to Al’s wise and calming presence, came to involve a number of other very talented people; including celebrated bird photographer Tim Barksdale, Artist Jamie Wyeth, Actor Sam Eliot, producer cinematographer and editor John Aldrich, sound designer Wayne Bell, the composing genius of Peter Stopschinski, and me somehow landing indeed in the glorious middle of it all with a Collings guitar.
John James Audubon grew up in the French countryside near the Loire river outside the city of Nante, the bastard son of a wealthy merchant. Even though a bastard, the boy was fully welcomed into the Audubon fold and was afforded a nurturing childhood amongst idyllic woods and fields. There he steadily developed a life long passion for nature, and for birds. Again, wanting to protect his son and ensure that he would have a bright future, John James’s father sent him to America to escape soldiering in the Napoleonic wars. When the eighteen-year-old Audubon first arrived in America, Lewis and Clark were just gearing up to begin their great expedition to the West. What John James would accomplish over the next thirty years would exceed even their remarkable achievements—for Audubon himself became an authentic self-made American hero (despite the heavy French accent)—and a giant in the worlds of both Science, and Art.
That story is vividly told in Al Reinert’s gorgeous documentary swan song; with much of Audubon’s magnificent ground breaking bird art on full display, along with eloquent passages recited from the artist’s journal, gorgeous bird photography, Peter Stopschinski’s magnificent score, and my guitar providing a leitmotif for the man himself.
Peter and I first encountered each other during the making of An Unreal Dream. His old friend, editor John Aldrich, suggested he compose a string arrangement for the finale piece—and it was a perfect addition. A decade later we’ve now worked together on five film projects, also one of the finest Austin albums of the past few years—Erin Ivey’s Solace in the Wild, and we’ll be mounting a concert series in 2026 to showcase an intriguing selection of our best efforts.
Al’s film was originally made for PBS and can now be seen on Amazon Prime. And whether you’re familar with the Audubon story, or looking into his life for the first time—Audubon is the definitive watch. And happily there are even two versions to choose from; here is a ninety minute offering with French choreographer, Pascal Rioult, as Audubon, and here is an hour long version with Sam Eliot in the lead role. They’re both excellent interpretations; with Pascal being the more authentic to Audubon (and 30 minutes more of fascinating story, exhilarating cinematography, and gorgeous music), and Sam’s being the more concise and resonant.