Film was another area that Jazz so artfully conquered. Being a film nut, my love for jazz originated with the B&W movie soundtracks beginning with the 1930’s all the way through to recent times. Scores were generally written and arranged highlighting the action and/or the mood of the narrative, and at times, used as standalone pieces.
For Instance:
Jelly Roll Morton, Big Bands etc…
Scott Joplin - “The Sting”
Gershwin’s Music adapted for ‘Singing In The Rain’
Don Ellis -‘The French Connection’
Lalo Schifrin - ‘Magnum Force’ , ‘Bullitt’
Bernard Herman - ‘Taxi Driver’
Elmer Bernstein - ‘The Man With The Golden Arm’
Alex North - ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
Leith Stevens - ‘The Wild Ones’
Ornette Coleman & Howard Shore - ‘Naked Lunch’
John Coltrane - ‘Le Chat Dans le Sac’
Then there are the films that deal directly with Jazz as its subject matter…
‘Born to Be Blue’ - Chet Baker
‘Bird’ - Charlie Parker
Also, a few film directors who themselves are jazz aficionado’s such as Clint Eastwood, Woody Allan, Spike Lee [’ Mo’ Better Blues’]…
I’m sure many of you out there can add to this list which could veer off to an altogether separate tangent.
As a quick aside, classical music was made “fun” by the likes of the ‘Merrie Melodies’ & ‘Looney Tunes’ of the 50’s and 60’s. ['Think ‘Kill The Wabbit’ set to ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ from ‘Die Walküre’, or 'What’s Opera, Doc?]
Cheers and thanks for all the wonderful ideas for my music collection!
This is one I need to track down. We have had Tim Berne play in Madison on a couple of occasions, most recently with Chris Speed. I have been a fan of Tim and his various groups since his Fulton Street Maul release in 1987.
Just an aside as you mention Merrie Melodies & Looney Tunes, It brought to mind Don Byron’s Bug Music, a tribute to the music of Raymond Scott Quintette, Duke Ellington, and the John Kirby Sextet.
Returning to the theme of film scores and jazz, what a combination by the way, conjures up two additional film scores I return to repeatedly. Each a challenging but worthwhile listen in its own way. The first, and I highly recommend the film as well, is Miles Davis’ score for Louis Malle’s Ascenseur Pour L’Echafaud (Elevator to the Gallows). The second is the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s score to “Les Stances Au Sophie”. The piece Theme De YoYo is not to be missed, and is a strong introduction into the work of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Sneaking in a headphone listen while my wife gets a nap in before the game. My best headpone cable lost a channel a few months ago and its builder (ArticCables) offered to repair it for free and actually replaced the whole assembly and I got the cable back yesterday. It’s not subtle what this cable does to the sound. . . nice to have it back.
Listening to
Clifford Brown featuring Zoot Sims “Jazz Immortal” TOCJ “Superbit Jazz Classics” cd remastered by Rudy Van Gelder
Which headphones are you using? I’ve been using the Grado Heritage GH1, sound is fine for jazz, the downside is they clamp my head like a vise. No extended listening with these.
I use two different pairs mostly, but these in the headphone only system are ZMF Ori, with black limba shells . . . They do clamp a bit heavily but I can get a few hours in with little to no discomfort and I usually only get about an hour in at a time.
My more comfortable headphones are my Sennheiser HD800S that I use in my audio/visual system in the living room. I mainly use those early weekend mornings when my wife likes to sleep in late. Though I don’t often get to wear them more than 90 minutes or so I could wear them far longer, they are very comfortable. And very good headphones, as are the Ori.
I am using them both with the amp I have that best suits them–the Ori with a PS Audio GCHA and the Sennheiser with the Decware CSP2+ preamplifier with 25th Anniversary mods.
I’m using ArcticCable cables for both, made with PCOCC wire. Sound is excellent with these cables, neutral yet lively.
Well now it kicked in for me on the third track, Seven, and improves with Deception and OCDC. Looks like this will be a permanent addition to the collection.
Berne is one of my all-time favorites. His earlier stuff on JMT and Screwgun is excellent. This version of Snakeoil does not have a guitarist, I think this is the ‘original’ lineup.
Well I put this on, and at times struggle categorizing it as jazz. Steve Tibbetts has his own sound, one that I have enjoyed over the years. This is a great sounding album as well as some fine music. For those who relate to Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie, Terje Rypdal, Egberto Gismonti, Codona and Oregon. Featuring percussionist Marc Anderson.
For the uninitiated I recommend giving Steve a listen on Tidal Masters.
This got an extremely positive review in Stereophile…probable jazz album of 2020 according to the reviewer. Hmm. Great cast of supporting players, at the least.
Sitting in the to be played pile, as a picked up a vinyl copy Friday. Apparently the vinyl is hard to track down. I have yet to clean and play it. Would you say this is more of a mellow rounded trumpet sound?
Yes, I have an earlier release and the ecm release as well. I have 7 Steve Tibbetts albums, and agree calling it jazz is a stretch. Hard to categorize. An earlier Yr:
![[IMG]](https://img.discogs.com/90rCE77klgZvqHJFjbygSUQLijI=/fit-in/600x592/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-13817357-1561787401-4787.jpeg.jpg)
