‘Jay Kelly’ Composer Nicholas Britell on Using a Felt Piano and Analog Tape to Record the Film’s Score

For his latest film "Jay Kelly," director Noah Baumbach envisioned the musical score as a distinct character, one capable of conveying deep emotion through clear melody. This directive provided composer Nicholas Britell with a powerful source of inspiration. After reading the script, Britell began developing initial themes and promptly invited Baumbach to his studio to hear them. The film itself tracks the European journey of famed actor Jay Kelly, portrayed by George Clooney, and his loyal manager Ron, played by Adam Sandler, as their trip prompts a profound reevaluation of their lives, relationships, and legacies.

The central theme for Jay was the first idea Britell presented, performed on a felt piano. This instrument features a lever that inserts a layer of felt between the hammers and strings, creating a more intimate, textured, and restrained sound. Baumbach was immediately drawn to this quality, and it became the emotional core of the score, representing Jay's inner world. As the character grapples with his life choices, Britell transitions to a grand Steinway D concert piano, mirroring the scale of Jay's introspection. Nicholas Britell, an Oscar-nominated composer known for his work on "Moonlight" and "Succession," is particularly skilled at using musical texture to reflect psychological states.

A key narrative moment occurs when Jay attends an Italian film festival honoring his career. A tribute montage, featuring clips from George Clooney's real filmography, plays alongside a grand musical piece titled "The Tribute." Britell deliberately composed this cue to feel separate from the film's main score, as if it were commissioned by the festival itself. He produced it differently, employing a full orchestra and aiming for a more commercial sound. "The challenge," Britell notes, "was to step outside my own compositional voice and ask, 'What would a festival hire me to write?' This creates a deliberate contrast between public celebration and private reflection."

The composer then faced the intricate task of guiding the audience back into Jay's subjective experience as the tribute triggers his memories. He achieved this by weaving together two themes: a fanfare first heard when Jay finishes a film project, and the central felt piano theme. By the movie's end, the fanfare is transformed into a contemplative version on the felt piano before transitioning into the cinema theme. To sonically evoke the act of remembering, Britell experimented with writing music backwards and playing it forward, achieving a unique, inward-looking quality that perfectly captured Jay's mental state.

Further enhancing the score's texture, Britell decided to record the entire composition to analog tape. This process imparts a warm, historic sound unavailable through digital means, creating a parallel with the film's cinematography. "Just as the movie is shot on film, the music is recorded to tape," Britell explains. "I love that synergy—it roots the score in a classic, tangible recording tradition that complements the story's emotional depth." The final result is a score that functions as a true narrative counterpart to the on-screen journey.