Films and Jazz ...

It is interesting that film usually finds a way to create music for its visuals, and in some cases, a bunch of Hollywood films like to tease you in, so you can listen to a wee bit of one of your favorite songs from your younger days.

I was thinking that "jazz" is not quite well represented in this area, even though some musicians that created some of the music might have the ability to do something in an area that film is not exactly good for. 

Jazz, being more of an individualistic endeavor, is almost completely the opposite of film and theater, in that it has to be cohesive and the director's job is to ensure that things are logical and visible in the "story" of the work ... but be careful here, there are directors that are on to your thinking and they will intentionally go backwards on you and confuse the living gutter out of your noodles.

I was thinking of some of the major soundtrack composers, and the work they did is much more classical, than it is jazz oriented. But some had a different touch ... Elmer Bernstein moved all over the place. Ennio Morricone, quite often could not be exactly thought as this or that ... Maurice Jarre went from totally classical to complete electronic, probably borrowing his son's equipment when he was asleep! ...Henri Mancini was very jazz and fun in the Pink Panther series and other films ... Lalo Schifrin did some nifty music for somes shows. John Barry, of James Bond fame, did some jazzy stuff ... but for the lead songs, it was all pop music.

But there are some far out bits and pieces and let's see if we can bring up some. Some of these films are really hard to find, and you might have to purchase an used CD to listen to it, unless the soundtrack and/or the film are available around the Internet and the Toob.

Here we go: In no specific order, bu as I found them in my reviews, and such ... I think there are only 2 or 3 in this list I have not seen, but the music/artist is well known.

The director Woody Allen uses a lot of jazz music in his films, specially stuff that he himself, and his band can play ... he's not great about using music in his films, but often surprises us with it, which is nice, usually, but he doesn't do the romantic thing that Hollywood thinks is essential, and which a lot of jazz music is not really a good fit for.

Ryuichi Sakamoto had jazzy touches in his music, although in his soundtracks he went directly to the "moment" like Vangelis did and created some far out and beautiful music, and a couple of directors made sure the music was heard, as is the case with Bernardo Bertolucci. You can see and feel the jazzy touches when Ryuichi does his solo piano concerts and plays some of his soundtracks and other music.

Vangelis had many soundtracks, but they were not exactly jazzy at all, but were centered mostly "on the moment" which is seen clearly in "Blade Runner" and "Chariots of Fire", probably the two films that best used his music.

Tangerine Dream had a lot of soundtracks, however no one will suggest that they had jazz in them, but a lot of the touches and addon stuff for Edgar Froese might have come from music that was "apart" from the reality, and jazz fits ... as does a lot of his touches, which many folks consider weird, but as a composer, these soundtracks are really good, even if not used very well in some films!

On to the films:

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) Michel Legrand. A composer that did a lot of music, from jazz to classical to musicals ... the music here was nice, though I think the film was not that great and could have used the music better. Michel Legrand also did the music and score for another set of films ... a real musical for the whole film, non-stop ... in "Les Demoiselles De Rochefort" and the Cherbourg film as well. This musical version is really tough to watch, and you have to take a break or two for the bathroom, and then kitchen for some coffee!

Black Orpheus (1959) Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa. A tough and different score with a lot of Brazilian touches. On an album, I'm not sure it stands out, but in the film it seems fine.

The Cool World (1964) Dizzie Gillespie, No need to discuss this.

Naked Lunch (1991) Howard Shore in one of the oddest mixes ever ... Surrealism meets jazzy stuff and goes out by the kitchen door! Not a great film, and probably a serious problem to do as a film, but I did not think the music added anything to the film.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1989) (and other Charlie Brown films) Vince Guaraldi ... jazzy to the core, but often just down played and simply in the background ... and it is sad that the daily comic strip can't show the music ... because it is probably nicer than the strip itself.

Blow Up (1996) Herbie Hancock, in Antonioni's film ... talk about a director that was up on music ... this is a wow!

Whiplash (2014) The score is thought to be taken directly from Duke Ellington and Count Basie. I have not found,m or seen this film.

Bullitt (1968) Lalo Schifrin. It is thought that the film had much more music than the soundtrack .... which I don't think was ever released properly! Lalo Schifrin also created the theme for Dirty Harry, and the Mission Impossible TV series music.

Knife in the Water (1962) Roman Polanski's film ... Krzysztof Komeda, although when you and I see that film, it looks like the music is just background and not important. I have to see this again!

Chinatown (1974) Jerry Goldsmith ... although I'm not sure that the jazzy material fit the story that took place in the 1930's. 

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Otto Preminger's film had original music by Duke Ellington ... a soundtrack would likely give you more since Otto Preminger was not exactly a good film music director.

The Pawnbroker (1964) Music by Quincy Jones ... though I'm not sure it is that jazzy.

Chasing Trane (2017) The Coltrane documentary.

A Bout de Souffle (1964) Martial Solal ... although music in a Godard film, is more of a joke than it is meant for anything, up to and including redoing the scene with the same music in a different place! Crazy stuff in many a Godard film, and music was no less an issue than his camera!

Last Tango in Paris (1973) Gato Barbieri ... Caliente in a different time and place!

Round Midnight (1986) An all star cast soundtrack apparently put together by Herbie Hancock and featured some talent that is out of this world in it! Nice film, too!

Alfie (1966) Sonny Rollins. Lewis Gilbert's film was special for a while with Michael Caine doing the rounds on all the women ... and the film was interesting, and had some neat bits. Its music, like the shooting style, was very jazzy and I think it was meant to show folks that there was different stuff out there, and the new film folks were making their statements. 

Bird (1988) An attempt at doing the life story of Charlie Parker, it has some nifty music as well.

Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud (1958) Louis Malle's film, used Miles Davis music, and we don't know if he created it for the film, or if the music was just taken from tapes or albums. it is an interesting film, that probably fits better in a film history thing than it does anywhere else, but I'm not sure that Louis Malle did Miles Davis any favors, but I think it helped bring Miles to Europe, where he was able to play much easier and better than in America ... a recent series of bootlegs shows this really well ... he felt at ease doing the longer improvisations! I have not found or seen this film.

The Man With The Golden Arm (1956) Elmer Bernstein's soundtrack is probably one of the first to be noticed and showcase jazz ...the film is less known for that than it is for Frank Sinatra, sadly enough ... it has great moments.