Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series. On this episode, we talk with jazz composer David Cieri about his work on the 2026 documentary THOREAU.

This highly anticipated film by legendary filmmaker Ken Burns premieres on March 30, 2026, and features an all-star cast including George Clooney as narrator, Jeff Goldblum as Henry David Thoreau, Meryl Streep as Margaret Fuller, and Ted Danson as Ralph Waldo Emerson.

As is often the case with his work, David composed and performed the music for the film, with the official soundtrack release arriving the same day via Ropeadope.

Ken Burns praised Cieri’s artistry, calling him a master composer capable of capturing every nuance of image and sound—from emotionally sublime passages to rhythmically hypnotic moments.

In this interview, we explore the creative process behind scoring a major documentary, the intersection of jazz and film, and David’s journey as a composer.

Dig this deep dive into music, storytelling, and cinematic art.

🎬 Learn more about the film:
https://www.pbs.org/show/henry-david-thoreau/

🎶 Get the soundtrack & more:
https://www.davidcieri.com/music-for-film

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Joe Dimino Podcaster/Artist

Joe Dimino has been writing & creating in a variety of capacities since his college days at the University of Missouri-Kansas City somewhere around 1993. If you are keeping score, that would be about 29 years+. It all began at UMKCs University News as a Sports Writer & turned into a myriad of expressive avenues. Inventing poems, art, video & audio has always been in the proverbial cards.