JUST MERCY

The Just Mercy score started with a deep dive into the musical world of Bryan Stevenson, who is a musician himself and has always leaned on jazz, gospel, and soul music as fuel for his work and movement. Once Destin and I found some initial ideas that worked well against picture, the process became an open-ended collaboration with the filmmakers, other musicians, and the EJI team.

I wrote the rhythm parts as rough outlines, and they were brought to life over three days at Capitol Studios by Karriem Riggins (drums), Thomas Drayton (bass), Lynette Williams (keys), and Justus West (guitar). It’s a group that hadn’t met or played together before, but the unique energy in the room was undeniable and they locked in as soon as we started running takes.

Once the rhythm parts were finished, we spent a full day recording strings and had the treat of finishing our sessions with a lovely gospel choir. They brought so much joy and energy to the room, and put a really special finishing touch on the score. I was so honored to be a part of this project and I’m forever grateful to the long list of people who put egos aside for months and months to make sure that every corner of the film and the score was rooted in truth.