You may not know his name, but Jim Self was John Williams' favorite tuba player for more than 25 years. Jim Self played the tuba on scores for Jurassic Park and Home Alone, and most notably, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: It was Jim Self’s performance that was featured as the voice of the Mother Ship.
Self, who died Sunday at the age of 82, played tuba on more than 1,500 soundtracks, including almost all the big John Williams soundtracks (although not on Jaws with its big tuba solo; that piece was performed by Tommy Johnson).
Beyond his work in film, Self recorded albums of classical music, performed in orchestras around Los Angeles. He was a teacher, he was a jazz musician, and one of the greats. Listen to more about Jim Self — including his recording of a piece by Robert Schumann — using the audio player above.
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