I kind of let my Soundtracks Of My Life series fall by the wayside as I became fixated on my Home School series. Sorry. Don't know if/when I'll get back to that. In the mean time, please enjoy this little piece which is kind of a hybrid of the two columns in that it attempts to educate AND features some great recommendations for film scores that also work as great albums. Enjoy!
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Picking music for a film is a very delicate process. Film music has gone through so many different phases over the years. It has evolved from simple piano accompaniment for silent films to soaring orchestral pieces and pop music collages. The right choice can make an average film into something more and the wrong choice can make a great film a chore to sit through. Though I am a big fan of properly used source music, my favorite scores tend to be jazz scores.
Whether performed by a large ensemble or by a single musician, Jazz has the ability to stir a wide range of emotions. It is incredibly diverse and workable music. It can be loud and bombastic for an action sting or it can be barely perceptible for a scene of deep introspection. However it is used, jazz can give most any film a real pulse.
Sadly not many filmmakers today are taking the jazz route. The only two that leap immediately to mind are Woody Allen and Spike Lee. Allen uses songs from his personal record library and Lee employs scores composed by skilled trumpeter Terrence Blanchard. Though both of these filmmakers have at times made period pieces, the bulk of their output is contemporary. Jazz does not have to be exclusively for period films.
Perhaps the days of jazz in film has simply passed. Hollywood is a notoriously fickle industry. But who knows? Perhaps the pendulum could swing back the other way. I can tell you one thing though: If I ever get the chance to make a film, you can bet your ass there will be some jazz in there.
Here are some of my favorite jazz scores:
Do The Right Thing by Bill Lee
Bamboozled by Terrence Blanchard
Taxi Driver by Bernard Herrmann
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud by Miles Davis
Alfie by Sonny Rollins
Blow Up by Herbie Hancock
Anatomy Of A Murder by Duke Ellington
The Pawn Broker by Quincy Jones
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