(Varèse Sarabande. VSD-7312. CD review by Andrew Cartmel)
Although the first jazz movie soundtrack is generally held to be Alex North’s Streetcar Named Desire in 1951, the breakthrough really came with Elmer Bernstein’s The Man with the Golden Arm in 1955. (There is a comprehensive account of the early evolution of jazz in film in the Moochin’ About box set reviewed HERE). Elmer Bernstein (no relation to Leonard) went on to write many distinguished, gutsy and memorable jazz-influenced scores.
This CD from the American soundtrack label Varèse Sarabande gathers together Bernstein’s finest jazz moments on film. And, startlingly, the music is presented in a first rate sequence of new recordings by an outstanding jazz orchestra which hails from the Canary Islands. The Big Band de Canarias under conductor Kike Perdomo give fresh, adroit and ferocious performances, always informed by a deep understanding of this music and where it’s coming from.
This cracking collection spans forty years, from The Man with the Golden Arm to 1995’s Devil In A Blue Dress and even takes a break from the dames-guns-and-night-club noir genre to encompass Bernstein’s score for the 1993 Scorsese costume drama The Age Of Innocence plus — good lord — a hip and funky take on his Ghostbusters theme from 1984 (not to be confused with the Ray Parker Jr song — “Who you gonna call?”). Most usefully, this collection also scoops up the odd jazz cue which originally featured in otherwise non-jazz scores
The CD is a bracing reminder of just how good Bernstein’s writing is. The Man with the Golden Arm opens with a raunchy saunter, then Roberto Amor’s dashing cymbals leads us into a jungle cluster of horns. Bernstein’s composition develops into a cascade effect, a waterfall of sound which ends up as a vortex — a whirlpool spinning down into a central point of silence. Along with Golden Arm the other really iconic Bernstein themes present here are from the celebrated film Walk On The Wild Side and the little know TV series Saints and Sinners, both 1962.
Besides being from the same year, these are companion pieces, or at least kindred spirits in their sound worlds, and both bear an interesting similarity to Tony Hatch’s swinging main title theme to the British TV series The Champions (1968). Saints and Sinnersshows off one of the featured soloists on the album, the highly skilled Sara Andonon flute, who plays here with skipping, skittering delicacy. But, in fact, this pulsing theme is a rotating carousel of great playing, working its way through the reeds, the horn section and —notably — some terrific vibes by Paco Diaz. Andon is on display again in The Age Of Innocence; the film was set in 19th Century New York but the music actually has a baroque European feel here.
Read more: http://news360.com/digestarticle/h_BMu6RBokqZ9MF2l8u6tQ
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