Kyle Eastwood grew up in Carmel, California, the eldest son of director Clint Eastwood. Immersed in music since childhood thanks to his parents’ passion, Kyle grew up listening to jazz greats, from Miles Davis to Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
“When I told my father I wanted to be a musician, he was really happy. Music has always been important in my family”.
Encouraged and supported by his father, Kyle Eastwood began playing double bass and electric bass and after studying he started playing in the United States.
It’s with the release of his first album in the late 90s that he begins his recording production, while simultaneously realizing the soundtracks of his father’s films: Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino and Invictus among others.
In the last ten years, Kyle has played all over the world, in clubs and festivals such as the Olympia in Paris, Jazz in Marciac, also in France, the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, the Jurasum Festival in South Korea, the Blue Notes in Tokyo and New York, Kampnagel in Hamburg and Ronnie Scott’s in London. His music blends swing and groove with funk harmonies: “my roots are in jazz”, says Kyle, “but I like to add different flavors“.
Today Kyle Eastwood is less and less perceived as the son of Clint Eastwood and is regarded as a virtuoso bassist and a very talented composer with a keen ear for both the great pieces of music history and contemporary jazz. She is under the spotlight of the contemporary scene and has decided to focus on the music she loves.
His latest albums, The View from Here (2013) and Timepieces (2015), both for the Jazzvillage label, Harmonia Mundi, embrace all his musical baggage. They are the synthesis of a constant exploration, but also a tribute to his cultural background, to the music of the time when his father started him on double bass, and to jazz of the 50s.
His latest album, “In Transit”, is modern and catchy. Fans will see in it the project of a contemporary form of jazz that encompasses groove and melodic richness, while purists, in addition to enjoying original compositions, will be able to go back in history thanks to some engaging covers of Count Basie, Monk and Mingus, not to mention the theme of Italian cinema, Kyle Eastwood’s favorite, symbolizing his special relationship with the film industry.
“It inspires me to go and visit new countries, hear local musicians play, listen to music from other cultures and retain the scent in my compositions”
(Corriere della Sera, 16 February 2017)