Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
In 1966, Paul Newman starred in Harper, a film about a private investigator with a spent marriage who takes a challenging case 90 miles north of Los Angeles to get away from it all. In today's world, it's a TV pilot at best, but in the cool '60s, studios didn't need much of an excuse to put Newman in motion. [Photo above of composer-arranger Johnny Mandel]
The Harper soundtrack is a different matter and remains a brilliant, timeless work. Composed and conducted by Johnny Mandel, with orchestration by Bill Holman, Billy Byers and Dick Hazard, the score has it all. There are brassy orchestral pieces, soaring cinematic strings, a pair of vocal tracks by Ruth Price and Sam Fletcher, with-it rock instrumentals, a soul waltz with organ, and even a nifty bossa nova.
Rather than delve into a bio of Johnny, you can read my 2008 multipart interview starting here. Briefly, after Johnny's big band years in the mid-1940s and arranging for jazz ensembles and bands in the late '40s and 1950s, Johnny began working for the movie industry, starting with his now famous jazz tracks for I Want to Live in 1958. Starting with The 3rd Voice in 1960, Johnny scored relentlessly for film. As he was pulled into Hollywood's orbit, the workload grew.
Harper came just after The Sandpiper, which included The Shadow of Your Smile, and preceded The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, which featured The Shining Sea.
What's wonderful about Harper is how listenable it is. There's no filler. Each song has its own personality and a jazz undercurrent. Tracks of note include Quietly There(with lyrics by Morgan Ames and a vocal by Ruth Price), Temple of the Clouds and Finale (Susan) (both feature wonderful string writing), Bel Air (a sexy bossa nova) and Harper's Main Title, which sounds like a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. The score is gorgeous and the arrangements are inventive all the way through.
Someday, an intelligent label will find a way to release the Complete Johnny Mandel Film Scores. What a box that would be.
JazzWax tracks: Unfortunately, Harper has never been issued on CD. You can find the album at eBay on vinyl. If I hear from readers that it has been issued on a specialty label, I'll update this post.
JazzWax clips: Here's the Main Theme to Harper. Dig how many times it changes personalities and instrumentation...
Here's Andre Previn's Livin' Alone...
Here's Harper Does It Better and Magnus Cum Louder...
Here's Sam Fletcher singing Sure As You're Born. Dig the brass and strings...
Here's the Finale (Susan)...
And here's Quietly There by Ruth Price...
Used with permission by Marc Myers
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