The first of a two-part special in which Jamie visits Hollywood actor, director and producer Clint Eastwood at his production studio in LA, the place where he records the scores for his films.

Clint talks about the humorous side of jazz and how that has changed over the years, about the clubs he used to visit in his youth and about the legendary artists he would go to see perform, or even mingle with as well as his time in the army and the musicians he met there.

In a warm, personal interview, we see Clint Eastwood from a different angle, reunited with Jamie who he worked with on the soundtrack for Gran Torino, and talking passionately about the music he loves.

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Jamie & Clint

Film legend and jazz fan Clint Eastwood talks to Jamie Cullum for Jamie’s weekly BBC Radio 2 jazz show in a rare interview to be broadcast over two weeks in September.

Recorded at Clint’s very own studio in Los Angeles, the special shows will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Tuesday 7 and 14 September from 7-8pm and will also include some of Clint’s favourite tracks from over the years.

Multiple award-winning film-maker, actor and director, Clint Eastwood has been involved in the movie industry for over 50 years but his passion for jazz precedes even his first appearance in a Hollywood movie. Clint has used jazz and jazz influenced music in some of his films over the years and collaborated with Jamie Cullum on the soundtrack to Gran Torino.

Jamie says: “Interviewing Clint Eastwood for my Radio 2 show was a true honour. He was overflowing with stories, good humour and enthusiasm for the chance to discuss his favourite topic – music. He has spent a lifetime immersed in jazz and not only picked some great music to listen to but had superb stories to weave around them.”

In the two-part interview Clint talks about how he feels that some jazz takes itself too seriously.

He says: “I’ve always professed that jazz has lost its sense of humour… You had people like Dizzy (Gillespie) who were great, Louis Jordan who were great comedians as well and they bring a lot of fun to it. Then later on when you get past the Fifties everybody started getting very serious and buttoned down collars, buttoned down suits and they started getting very intellectual about it and I think that’s when it lost a lot of its spirit…”

Clint reveals how he became a fan of Jamie’s when he first saw him perform at the Monterey Festival in the States: “You jumped off the piano… I thought ‘Hey, this guy’s going somewhere!’… I did feel that you were bringing an entertainment value to jazz, or swing or blues or whatever you were playing… that had long been missing… I became a fan on that evening.”

He added: “It’s a rare opportunity for me to be on the Jamie Cullum show, it’s always fun to talk about music.”

Clint also talks about how his mother introduced him to the music of Fats Waller, how one of his first gigs was by a then unknown Dave Brubeck and how being in the military for two years opened up a world of music to him, introducing him to the likes of Andre Previn and Lenny Niehaus who he later collaborated with. He talks about being friends with Dizzy Gillespie, his involvement with the Monterey Jazz Festival and his work on a TV documentary with old friend jazz superstar Brubeck, who turns 90 this year.

Clint Eastwood on the Jamie Cullum show can be heard on Radio 2 on Tuesday 7 and Tuesday 14 September between 7-8pm.

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