Howard Drossin - Award-Winning Composer for Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest - PartII
*Dedicated in loving memory to Eddie Palmieri, the legendary Latin jazz pianist and bandleader, who was born on December 15, 1936, in Spanish Harlem, New York, and passed away on August 6, 2025, at the age of 88, at his home in New Jersey after an extended illness. He was a pioneering figure in salsa and Latin Jazz, known for blending Afro-Caribbean rhythms with jazz, and was the first Latino to win a Grammy.
The Legendary Hollywood Film Composers Series, brought to you by The Jeremiah Show and Executive Producer Carol Connors, Featuring Howard Drossin
Step inside the creative world of Howard Drossin, one of the most versatile composer-producers working in film, television, and video games. From his early days as Music Director at SEGA to scoring iconic titles like Sonic & Knuckles, Comix Zone, Afro Samurai, and Splatterhouse, Drossin has built a reputation for blending orchestral depth with punk, metal, hip-hop, and jazz.
In this exclusive interview on The Jeremiah Show, Drossin discusses his genre-bending approach to composition, his long-running collaboration with RZA on The Man With the Iron Fists films, and his newest work on the acclaimed feature Highest 2 Lowest by Director Spike Lee. He breaks down his process, the emotional architecture behind his music, and the moments that shaped his career as one of today’s most innovative storytellers in sound.
Whether you’re a fan of film scores, game soundtracks, or behind-the-scenes Hollywood craft, this deep dive into Howard’s work offers rare insight into a composer who continues to redefine modern scoring.
TAKEAWAYS
Why he steps away from the studio, goes on walks, and replays scenes in his head to diagnose musical problems.
Practical craft lessons for young composers
How to avoid “blank-page paralysis,” why getting anything down is better than waiting for perfection, and why ego has to stay out of commercial scoring.
The Herbie Hancock principle: letting music lead
What it means to “let the music go where it wants to go,” and how following musical inertia can override rigid theory or school rules.
Why imperfection gives music its soul
How live, analog performances from the ‘60s–’70s shaped his ears, and why he believes some modern hyper-edited, perfectly tuned work has lost that human character.
How video game and theme-park loops shaped his writing
Writing long, repeating loops with minimal voices taught him economy, concise melody, and sensitivity to listener fatigue.
The real story behind his Sega break and Sonic-era work
How a boring game-testing job, a cassette tape, and one phone call from a Sega VP launched his career as a game composer.
How Highest to Lowest was built musically from the inside out
Why he recorded the score “old school” with everyone playing together, how the end-song arrangement grows as David imagines producing Ayanna, and how genre mashups (Glasgow jazz trio + LA folk singer; Eddie Palmieri in the parade; the chase cue) came together.
How character and theme are woven into the score
Howard’s view that David King’s core flaw is a lack of empathy, and how he tried to express that in the music very subtly rather than with obvious musical “signals.”
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