Jim Jarmusch is best known as one of America's most celebrated independent filmmakers, but he's also a musician who has used music and other musicians as key components in his films.
Jarmusch was born in Akron, Ohio on January 22, 1953, where his father worked for a tire company and his mother reviewed movies for the local newspaper.
Jarmusch grew up with a keen interest in music, film, and literature, and after graduating from high school in 1971, he briefly studied journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago before transferring to Columbia University in New York City.
Jarmusch's emphasis at Columbia was in poetry, but during a semester abroad in Paris, he became an avid fan of the eclectic programming at the celebrated repertory cinema the Cinémathèque Française, which awakened his passion for filmmaking. In 1976,
Jarmusch returned to New York and was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied filmmaking.
Jarmusch dove into New York's burgeoning underground music scene; he was a regular patron at CBGB, and was briefly a member of
Robin Crutchfield's no wave group Dark Days.
Jarmusch also spent several years playing keyboards and electronics with the band the Del-Byzanteens, who issued several singles and a 1982 album, Lies to Live By. During his time in the Del-Byzanteens,
Jarmusch completed his first feature film, 1981's Permanent Vacation, financed with funds "borrowed" from a tuition scholarship; the film, submitted as his thesis project, was rejected by his instructors, and never received a proper release in the United States. Undaunted,
Jarmusch began work on a second feature with the support of
Wim Wenders (who gave him some film stock), and Stranger Than Paradise proved to be
Jarmusch's international breakthrough, an art house hit and cult favorite that starred fellow New York musicians
John Lurie (of
the Lounge Lizards) and
Richard Edson (who had played drums with
Sonic Youth for a spell), while
Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" dominated the film's musical score.
Casting musicians in key roles would become one of
Jarmusch's trademarks over the years;
Lurie and
Tom Waits starred in 1986's Down by Law, 1989's Mystery Train included
Joe Strummer,
Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and
Rufus Thomas (as well as the ghost of
Elvis Presley),
Iggy Pop appeared in 1995's Dead Man (which featured an original score from
Neil Young), and
RZA of
the Wu-Tang Clan scored 1999's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai as well as playing a samurai.
Jarmusch also directed a 1997 concert film starring Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Year of the Horse, and has made music videos for
Talking Heads and
Tom Waits. Beginning in 1986,
Jarmusch directed a series of short subjects dominated by conversations over coffee and cigarettes; they were compiled into a 2003 feature fittingly called Coffee and Cigarettes, which included appearances by
Iggy Pop and
Tom Waits,
Jack White and
Meg White, and
RZA and
GZA (the latter chatting with
Bill Murray).
In 2009, Jarmusch returned to active music-making by forming the group Bad Rabbit, whose work he described as "slow-motion psychedelic rock & roll." Also featuring
Carter Logan and
Shane Stoneback, Bad Rabbit wrote and recorded material for
Jarmusch's film The Limits of Control, and highlights from their score were released on an EP. In 2010,
Jarmusch announced that Bad Rabbit had changed their name to Sqürl and were recording new material; that same year,
Jarmusch was invited to help curate the All Tomorrow's Parties New York weekender, with the bill including
Kurt Vile,
Boris,
Fucked Up, DJ Kool Herc,
Wooden Shjips,
Raekwon,
the Black Angels, and
Vivian Girls. In 2012,
Jarmusch released a pair of albums of improvisational material with experimental lute player
Jozef Van Wissem, The Mystery of Heaven and Concerning the Entry into Eternity. Between his musical projects and directing a new feature film starring Tilda Swinton,
Jarmusch was also said to be working on an opera about the life of Nikola Tesla with composer
Phil Klein, and compiling footage for a documentary on
the Stooges. ~ Mark Deming