1960s - 1970s: Teen Jazz Musician
In the late 1960s, Huxley emerged as a young jazz pianist on the West Coast. He formed the "Craig Hundley Trio" while still in his teens and released their first album "Arrival of a Young Giant" on the World Pacific label, featuring him on piano, J.J Wiggings on bass, and Gary Chase on drums, [19] the second album was “Craig Hundley Plays with the Big Boys” and included an orchestra arranged by Don Sebesky, along with the trio expanded with Larry Carlton on guitar. [13]
The trio appeared on national television programs including The Jonathan Winters Show, [20] The Tonight Show: Starring Johnny Carson, Today , and Showcase ’68, [21] and performed at venues such as Shelly’s Manne-Hole in Los Angeles and the Village Gate in New York. [22] [18] They also appeared at the 1968 Monterey Jazz Festival [23] and reportedly won a “Best Combo” award at a Battle of the Bands event that year. The group toured with singer Johnny Mathis and appeared on variety programs hosted by entertainers including Red Skelton, Jonathan Winters, and Steve Allen. [22]
Early reports noted that Huxley handled most of the trio’s arrangements and compositions. His initial training was in classical piano before he moved into jazz performance. Contemporary coverage also noted his interest in composition and experimentation with unusual time signatures, as well as performances blending classical and popular repertoire. [22]
In 1969, performing under the name Craig Hundley, he released Rhapsody in Blue on World Pacific Records, a jazz-oriented interpretation of George Gershwin’s composition featuring big-band arrangements. [24]
1970s: Experimental Phase
During the 1970s, Huxley transitioned from his earlier public profile as a teen jazz pianist into work centered on electronic instruments, television, and film music. Becoming increasingly interested in electronics, avant-garde styles, and instrument-building. [1]
By the late 1970s he became associated with electronic sound work for major film productions. The same profile reports that he contributed “eerie sounds” to the Klingon sequence in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and later worked on synthesizer programming for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , remaining involved with the film series through Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . [1]
Blaster Beam
In the early 1980s, he formalized his instrument work the "Blaster Beam" U.S. patent record shows he received patent no. 4,462,295 (“Beam and cylinder sound instrument”), granted July 31, 1984 (filed August 20, 1982), [25] which relates to a large electro-acoustic string instrument design associated with his later film and electronic-music work. [26]
Conceived to generate otherworldly drones and tones suited for science fiction sound design, the Blaster Beam addressed Huxley's need for unconventional audio elements beyond standard synthesizers. The first prototype was hand-crafted in his workshop in 1975, initially for experimental recording sessions that explored its potential in atmospheric music production. Huxley's background as a session musician, where he honed skills in sound manipulation, directly informed this inventive process. [27]
The sound of this instrument made it effective in science-fiction and suspense film scoring. The instrument gained widespread recognition through its prominent use in Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) [1] , where it was employed to represent the vast and non-human presence of the alien entity V’Ger. The Blaster Beam’s unique timbre contributed significantly to the film’s sonic identity and demonstrated how unconventional instruments could be integrated into large-scale orchestral scores. [28]
Prior to its cinematic breakthrough, the instrument had already appeared on television, composer Stu Phillips stated that during the production of The Amazing Spider‑Man (1978) [29] who sought to use inventive sounds in his score, including “weird percussion instruments — things like the Blaster Beam” to enhance the show’s musical palette. [30] As well as during the third season of Wonder Woman (1979), marking one of its earliest broadcast uses. [31]
Craig playing his Blaster Beam has been featured on dozens of movies, TV episodes, streaming series and video games, within the Star Trek franchise, including James Horner’s score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Craig's composition of "Genesis Project" reinforcing its association with large-scale, dramatic science-fiction narrative. [32]
1980s - 1990s: Sound Designer and Film Composer
In the early 80s Craig continued his career as a session musician and now film composer. Composing for Film and TV like Roadie (1980) [33] , Schizoid (1980) [34] [35] , Alligator(1980) [35] [36] , Americana (1981) [37] , Cat People (1982) [35] , Poltergeist (1982) [31] , Start Trek the Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) [38] .
Craig played and sound designed synthesizers on The Black Hole and Psycho II, he created electronic sound effects for Motel Hell and assited with synthesizer processing on The Hand and Firefox. [35] And was nominated for a Los Angeles NARAS MVP nomination from the Recording Academy, for synthesizers. [3]
Craig collaborated with major artists Michael Jackson ("ET" Storybook Album, Bad and Thriller) [39] , Prince, Donna Summer, Barry White [40] and Quincy Jones. Craig playing the blaster beam was also used for pure audio productions like Prince's Purple Rain , Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror , and Quincy Jones' Ai No Corrida . [31] As well as numerous films White Nights (1985), Aliens (1986), Dead Poets' Society , Back to the Future II and III (1989). In addition, he also worked on television shows like Knight Rider , Star Trek - The Next Generation , and The Orville . [31]
The Enterprise Studios
In the mid-1980s, The Enterprise Studios came to life in Burbank California. A 10,000 sq foot multi-room complex with geometric shapes and pastel colors. [41] Craig became involved in recording-studio production and electronic music entrepreneurship. The studio was reportedly in regular use by major performers and recording projects, and Huxley often participated in sessions as a producer, performer, or instrument designer, including work involving his experimental electronic instruments. [1]
Enterprise Studios operated as a commercial recording complex used for music production, film scoring, and audio post-production. Industry trade publications described the facility as incorporating contemporary digital recording technologies during a period of transition toward computer-based and hybrid analog-digital production. [17] Some of the projects in The Enterprise have included Aerosmith with Mike Shipley engineering, Celine Dion with David Foster at the helm, Mariah Carey with producer Randy Jackson, and Paul Westerberg working with Don Was. [17] It has also been host to scoring projects engineered by Bobby Fernandez and Armin Steiner, among others. Mix projects have run the gamut from film scores for Africa the Serengeti, Ring of Fire and Boyz II Men Live to music projects for Alan Parsons, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers and Beck, Bogart & Apice. [17]
Huxley remained owner and producer at the studio, where he worked on music recording, electronic-music releases associated with the Sonic Atmospheres label, and various audio production projects. [42] The facility also hosted sessions for commercial music releases, film and television scoring, and documentary audio production. [43]
SlingShot Entertainment
In the late 1990s through the 2000s Craig founded and led a DVD production venture called SlingShot Entertainment, a home video distributor based in Burbank, California. Craig launched this company in March 19th, 1997 producing and releasing the first commercial DVD in US history and led the company in various distribution milestones such as early IMAX and 3D DVD releases -Animation Greats!, Africa, The Serengeti – IMAX, Antarctica, AnAdventure - IMAX and Tropical Rainforest – IMAX. [44] It specialized in releasing films originally shown in large-format theaters (such as IMAX) on DVD and VHS, effectively making specialized documentary and nature films available for home audiences. For example, catalog records list DVD editions of large-format titles like Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets and Yellowstone issued by SlingShot Entertainment, often remastered from their original IMAX presentations and published in the early 2000s [45]
