Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge Star Wars fan. So, my favorite James Earl Jones performance must be The Empire Strikes Back, right? Nope. I’m also a huge baseball fan. So, my favorite James Earl Jones performance must be Field of Dreams, right? Nope. Well, I’m also a huge comedy fan. That must mean it’s Coming to America, right? Nope. My favorite James Earl Jones performance is much more personal than those.
When I was in college, I think it was 1995, my orchestra did a charity gig. At this point, I don’t remember what the charity was, but we were performing three pieces: Fanfare for the Common Man, Lincoln Portrait, and Peter and the Wolf. The latter two have narration. And who did we get to narrate the two pieces? James Earl Jones.
It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Our orchestra rehearsed a whole bunch, but we only had one rehearsal with James Earl Jones before the performance. I couldn’t help myself and I played the Imperial March from Empire as he walked on stage. He must have been used to things like that because he didn’t react at all. I got a dirty look from the conductor. That’s OK, though. I got to play Darth Vader’s entrance music for Darth Vader.
Rehearsal went well. We ran through the pieces. We only had to stop a few times to go over some things. It was very clean. After we were done, we all got to meet Mr. Jones and get autographs and all that stuff. I’m not into autographs, so I just shook his hand and thanked him for taking the time to perform with us.
The night of the performance was something of a blur. I was much more nervous than usual. I knew my parts and was confident I could play them. But I was sharing the stage with James Earl Jones. It felt like a much bigger deal than usual.
I can still hear that voice saying, “That was what he said,” in Lincoln Portrait, but I remember Peter and the Wolf much more distinctly. I’m a horn player, which means I, and the rest of the horn section, played the part of the wolf. Mr. Jones brought a real sense of Darth Vader menace to our part. It was phenomenal.
I own a copy of Lincoln Portrait with James Earl Jones as the narrator. I listen to it whenever I want to be reminded of the experience. To the best of my knowledge, though, he never recorded Peter and the Wolf. I would love to get my hands on an actual recording of our performance. But, alas, it was 1995. Not everything was recorded back then.
So, that’s my favorite James Earl Jones performance by far. I got to play with him, the voice of Darth Vader. I have no idea if he remembered the gig or not, but it is a memory I will carry forever.
