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AE: "The Way We Were" is one of those songs that is so completely connected to the artist who originally performed it — in this case Barbra Streisand — that it's hard to hear it without thinking of her version. Do you think it was daunting for Vanessa Williams to leave her mark on the song?
DK: I don't think. I know it was. And I will credit her with not only the beautiful job that she did, but with taking the job at all. Because if you were a female vocalist singing "The Way We Were," exactly like you said: "How do I improve upon the original?" The same reason why I felt daunted to take on "The Pink Panther." How do I improve upon the original? The original is perfect. All you can do is try and tell a different side of the story.

I think that Vanessa's storytelling of "The Way We Were" is beautiful because she's coming from a very different place. The way I think about it is … Barbra is telling the story from her first-person [point of view] because she was the actress in the film; you really feel like it's her. Whereas Vanessa is almost recounting — it has a little bit more of a melancholy feeling and a wistful feeling. It's coming from the standpoint of her being an observer and a fan of the movie, too, and a fan of Barbra Streisand's. It's hard to put these things into words, but when you listen to it, it's believable, and to me that's the biggest test.

AE: Have you been watching Williams on Ugly Betty?
DK: Are you kidding me? [Laughs.] This is another thing that is so funny. She came in and sang the song probably a little over a year ago, because we actually held this album quiet for awhile because we wanted to release it when all the movie stuff was happening. Well, to our very good fortune, she has become a big star all over. And she is so delicious in that show, I can't stop watching it.

AE: There is sort of a Streisand thread running through the disc via the presences of "The Way We Were," "Somewhere," which she covered on The Broadway Album, and "The Summer Knows," which was on Barbra Joan Streisand. Was that just a coincidence or was it a conscious thing?
DK: Total coincidence. When you have music and film, you're going to have a few certain things that are going to be. One is Barbra Streisand, the other is Alan and Marilyn Bergman, who are attached to Barbra Streisand — they are like her second set of parents, as she's called them. I would call them the king and queen of movie music. They've written so many incredible pieces of music.

You are going to have Henry Mancini, and you're going to have something from John Williams. He is our modern day Henry Mancini. In fact, interestingly enough, John was the piano player on the original "Pink Panther." He was the first-called piano player for Henry Mancini on all of his dates, so he learned from the master. And I was very proud to close the record with what I think is the best composition John Williams has ever written, the theme from Schindler's List.

AE: Would you like to have Streisand as a duet partner?
DK: [Laughs.] Sign me up, brother! Let's go! C'mon! I've met her a few times, and she is as wonderful as you would imagine.

AE: If there was a movie that you could rescore, what would it be?
DK: God, that's amazing, that's a really good question. I'll just go with the one that I recently saw. The truth about movie music and underscore is that it's meant to be there in a way that you don't notice it. If you notice it, it's wrong. It's ironic, because most of the time we write music to gain people's notice; you want people to pay attention. [Laughs.] For film music, the idea is to complement and not take away from the attention.

I just saw this movie, and I know he's an incredible composer, but I think he missed … and he got nominated for an Academy Award which is interesting, too. Notes on a Scandal, which is this movie with Judi Dench. It was Philip Glass' score for it, and I watched the film and I just heard the music way too much. My attention really went to the music. And it was a great movie, a really interesting, intimate portrayal of this relationship between these two women — it was fascinating. I just think that the score kind of missed.

AE: Is there a full-length movie score of your own composition in your future?
DK: There is, absolutely. [Laughs.] I'll be positive about that, but it's not planned yet. One day I would love to do that. With my brother [I have done] a fair amount of scoring for television, themes for TV. I have not done a movie yet. I've played on a few, but I haven't composed one. But that would be a dream come true.

AE: Finally, what effect do you think that coming out has had on your career?
DK: I think it's very good timing for this project, because I think I am approaching my music from a place of honesty, a level of honesty that wasn't necessarily there before. I mean, how could it be? If you're not fully integrated in all aspects of your life, not like everyone has to come out publicly and make a big splash.

But for me, it was important to play with a full deck, and I hadn't been doing that in all aspects of my life. And when I did it, not only did my worst fears not materialize, but I think I became a better musician and a better artist because I was able to access this freedom and honesty that I wasn't able to get at before. This is the first CD that I've released since doing that, and I didn't write any of the music. I didn't produce it; I didn't arrange it; I was just able to go to the studio every day and just do my best to access that emotion and play these melodies the best way I could. I think that the project was right on time.

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