Jazz style movie soundtracks

**edward74** · 08-15-2018, 12:10 PM

Anyone watch a movie with a great jazz theme lately?

I watched Incredibles 2 which, of course, uses the original action-packed sounding jazz score from the 1st movie. Can you believe that film was released 14 years ago? Anyway, both are great movies and I really enjoy this and other soundtracks composed by Michael Giacchino.

**matt.guitarteacher** · 08-15-2018, 01:04 PM

Not movies (and not all jazz), but I really dug The Great Train Robbery (series... BBC?) and A Very Secret Service - for the music among other things - while viewing them on the Netflix a while back. Particularly a very Secret Service . Great guitar on that one.

**edward74** · 08-15-2018, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher

Not movies (and not all jazz), but I really dug The Great Train Robbery (series... BBC?) and A Very Secret Service - for the music among other things - while viewing them on the Netflix a while back. Particularly a very Secret Service . Great guitar on that one.

Interesting! I saw the trailers for both and may have to sample these. I've watched a few foreign movies but not a streaming series. It looks funny and the soundtrack has got a great spy jazz feel...at least that's what I can gather from the Netflix trailer.

**Takemitsu** · 08-15-2018, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by edward74

Anyone watch a movie with a great jazz theme lately?

I watched Incredibles 2 which, of course, uses the original action-packed sounding jazz score from the 1st movie. Can you believe that film was released 14 years ago? Anyway, both are great movies and I really enjoy this and other soundtracks composed by Michael Giacchino.

I played that score with my orchestra for a kid show last year. Nice. Since i have kids i saw the movie, they are going for a 50’ type of aestetic wich is why ( my guess) they scored it like that in a mission impossible jazz boogaloo style. I played the MI theme about 20 years ago with Lalo shiffrin conducting. Reciepe is: repetitive quick motive with idealy one 5/4 bar somewhere, bongos, brass hits and flutes playing the melody as loud as their neighbors allow.

**joe2758** · 08-15-2018, 01:49 PM

**edward74** · 08-15-2018, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by Takemitsu

I played that score with my orchestra for a kid show last year. Nice. Since i have kids i saw the movie, they are going for a 50’ type of aestetic wich is why ( my guess) they scored it like that in a mission impossible jazz boogaloo style. I played the MI theme about 20 years ago with Lalo shiffrin conducting. Reciepe is: repetitive quick motive with idealy one 5/4 bar somewhere, bongos, brass hits and flutes playing the melody as loud as their neighbors allow.

Yeah, it's easy to hear the James Bond/Mission Impossible musical cliches, but my ears enjoy this stuff. Kind of like musical candy. When paired with a decent flick like the Incredibles or, say, name you favorite spy/secret agent/crime thriller type movie, it's a good watching & listening experience.

I recall John William's score for Catch Me If You Can was a very cool, jazz-noir theme and the movie was good, too.

**acornet** · 08-15-2018, 06:23 PM

**neatomic** · 08-15-2018, 07:04 PM

sonny rollins great soundtrack...arranged by the great oliver nelson...for the film -alfie-...the movie that made michael caine an international star

& kenny burrell gets the first solo!!

cheers

**cosmic gumbo** · 08-15-2018, 07:13 PM

Even though it's not real jazz, many of us really dug the acid jazz sounds that David Holmes provided for the Oceans Eleven trilogy of films.

**citizenk74** · 08-15-2018, 11:05 PM

Sweet and Lowdown is not to be missed, mainly for its excellent score.

**neatomic** · 08-15-2018, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by citizenk74

Sweet and Lowdown? is not to be missed, mainly for its excellent score.

absolutely!!! no recent american film director has included classic jazz as systematically as woody...it's as if the tunes begin the story...

witness his great use of the great sidney bechets music in midnight in paris!!! intrinsic & genius

cheers

**Doctor Jeff** · 08-16-2018, 08:27 AM

The soundtrack to Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder by Duke Ellington was quite influential. Great movie too.

Jazz style movie soundtracks-220px-ellingtonmurder105-jpg

Jazz style movie soundtracks-220px-ellingtonmurder105-jpg

I second all of the above.

I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack. Not exactly jazz, but the soundtracks for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, the early James bond films, the Pink Panther movies, and Midnight Cowboy (famous Toots Theileman song) were very memorable.

**wintermoon** · 08-16-2018, 09:21 AM

Back in my record hunting days it took me a long time to find a copy of Kenyon Hopkins soundtrack to "The Hustler"
The band is a who's who of great jazz musicians w/Phil Woods playing lead on the main theme.
Also happens to be my all time favorite flick....

**princeplanet** · 08-16-2018, 10:08 AM

Go to Spotify and look up "Jazz On Film" . There are multiple sub genres (Crime Jazz, New Wave, Beat, Square, Cool, Noir etc) as well as titles under certain composers like Alex North.

There's hundreds of hours of some of the best music of the 20th Century. "Hollywood Jazz" some call it - music that only ever got played in the studio. Much of this music deserves to be played in all the world's finest concert halls. Yes, it's time to give Mozart, Verdi, Rossini et al a rest for a while!

...

**princeplanet** · 08-16-2018, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by acornet

Some say that if Miles hadn't been asked to do this, then we would not have A Kind Of Blue (a year later). So "Scaffold" is not just an incredibly cool recording (certainly one of my faves), but it's historically significant. Needs greater recognition.

**matt.guitarteacher** · 02-26-2019, 11:17 AM

Worricker trilogy on Amazon Prime had a soundtrack.very much in this style. "Espionage jazz".

Really love this show as well. Really good writing/acting etc. Fantastic cast.

**voxss** · 02-26-2019, 12:16 PM

**Hep To The Jive** · 02-26-2019, 01:26 PM

I love this- Weather Report kind of vibe, but great music! Man, I watched this movie more times than any other, since I was a kid.

**dot75** · 03-16-2019, 05:43 AM

Old thread, older movie...I posted this already cos you tube told me to watch it...Sun Ra 1958

**edward74** · 03-20-2019, 11:21 AM

Nice to see this post still has some life. I forgotten about the movie Finding Forrester which I recall was a pretty decent flick. The soundtrack creates a thoughtful mood and, for me, it functioned as an introduction to a more modern style jazz (1960s - 70s "modern") that I hadn't explored yet.