Justin Hurwitz has never thrown a chair at the drummer in his “Whiplash in Concert” band. But the drummer does have to know the score inside and out — not just because some of the jazz solos are quicksilver and tricky, but because the drummer might suddenly have to stop and start in strange intervals to mirror drama and chaos unfolding on screen.
“They’ve studied it,” says Hurwitz of the 2014 Damien Chazelle film he scored and that inspired the concert series named for it. “It’s not one of those parts where you can just, if you’re a good player, sight-read it.”
The composer is bringing “Whiplash in Concert” to L.A. this weekend for three shows at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, with an 18-piece big band of area musicians. A studio percussionist named Jamey Tate will be rocking the drum kit, with Hurwitz conducting.
“Live to picture” film concerts are everywhere: the L.A. Phil did John Williams’ “Home Alone” in December, and many other symphony orchestras around the world regularly have blockbuster movie screenings on their subscription calendar. All require orchestras to be in sync with the films — a feat accomplished by a sophisticated system of “click tracks” in everyone’s headsets and visual “streamers” on the conductor’s monitor.
A recent performance of “Whiplash in Concert” in Mexico City.
(Jorge Gomez)
But “Whiplash” is somewhat unusual in that much of its music is seen performed by characters on the screen. When Miles Teller’s panicked and obsessive character, Andrew, is pouring sweat and pounding out rhythms in a practice room, the live drummer is doing the exact same thing in the exact same tempo (albeit with less sweat).
The score comprises both existing jazz tunes — including John Wasson’s “Caravan” and the titular piece, composed by Hank Levy in the 1970s — and original Hurwitz charts. Additionally, there is the underscore that, for the actual film, was heavily processed and quasi-electronic; Hurwitz had to get creative for the live shows, so saxophones bend pitches and a vibraphone is stroked with a cello bow.
The event is essentially a musical, with characters constantly practicing on their own, running through whole numbers together, or getting interrupted by a foul-mouthed, chair-throwing J.K. Simmons, who plays the film’s jazz conservatory despot, Fletcher. Perched under the screen, the band and Hurwitz — who conducts at every show — have to stay militantly with Fletcher’s merciless tempo.
Musicians must keep in sync with “Whiplash,” starring Miles Teller as Andrew, left, and J.K. Simmons as Fletcher, as it is screened during the concert.
(Daniel McFadden / Sony Pictures Classics)
“It’s always a little nerve-racking,” Hurwitz admits. “You never want to screw up. But it works. And also jazz big bands, they’re so good — you obviously have to hire the right musicians, but when you do, they’re good and they know what they’re doing. And honestly, it takes less work as a conductor in certain respects.”
Plus: “I’ve seen the movie a lot.”
“Whiplash” put Hurwitz and Chazelle in the Hollywood big leagues; it was critically lauded and given many prizes, and it helped the young duo (and former Harvard roommates) get their dream musical, “La La Land,” made, with Oscars to eventually follow for each. Hurwitz, 40, has in fact only ever worked with Chazelle; their other films include the Neil Armstrong drama “First Man” and the libidinous epic “Babylon.”
Music is almost always a driving element in their films — Chazelle was a jazz drummer himself — and Hurwitz always gets involved early in development, spending several years crafting each score.
That is primarily why he has invested a lot of time and energy into building his company, Hurwitz Concerts. After a sour experience with his old management — the composer sued WME in 2022 over claims of self-dealing in its touring “La La Land” concerts, reaching a settlement in 2024 — he made the bold move of fighting for the concert rights in all of his future film contracts, and he’s turned “Whiplash” and “La La Land” into a booming concert business.
“I work on so few films, and it takes me years to get a new one,” he says. “I invest so much in my work and in my scores, and so then to be able to continue to give them life and create a livelihood for myself around those scores has just become a really big part of what I do. Not just financially, but emotionally. I love to stay connected to those works. I give everything I have to them when I’m working on them, so I don’t want to have to be done with them.”
He learned from observing mistakes made by “the old folks” who ran his concerts, and from the model of companies like Film Concerts Live — which typically book and sell its packages to symphony orchestras — and decided to treat his solo operation quite differently. Hurwitz seeks out and partners with savvy promoters; he has taken his film concerts as far as France, Japan and Bangkok. By now he fields incoming emails from interested promoters around the world more than he needs to send inquiries himself.
Hurwitz heavily invests in production of these shows, constantly improving his visual and aural aids that get sent to tech teams, and he handpicks and pays the star drummer for “Whiplash” (and the pianist for “La La Land”) to study the score and film with all the same aids. He promotes concerts on social media; two shows at Carnegie Hall sold out last week after he posted about it. And he brings merch — including signed LPs, T-shirts and custom posters for each city.
In other words, he treats this more like a touring pop band than an evening at the concert hall.
It’s clearly working, and on a major scale. Hurwitz recently filled a 10,000-seat arena in Mexico City to capacity for “La La Land,” and 7,000 people turned out for “Whiplash.” Hurwitz went there after noticing it was one of the top cities for listeners of his music on Spotify. He texted Chazelle after the shows, reporting that the unique passion there rivaled the energy they’ve experienced in Paris.
“La La Land” has an ardent and massive following around the globe; attendees often show up in costume, and many of them cry. The crowd for “Whiplash” is growing, and he’s also hoping to add the ill-received but cultish “Babylon” to the tour soon enough.
“Well, Damien made great movies,” Hurwitz says, attempting an explanation for this phenomenon. “And they’re music-driven. People really think about the music.”
