Jazz & Soundtracks

Jazz has had a very close relationship with cinema and TV. To be perfectly frank in this relationship cinema and TV have not as generous as jazz has been towards cinema.

Jazz has been only sporadically covered by quality movies. When that has happened the quantity of stereotypies and clichés about jazz spoiled them for any serious fun.

Nevertheless, jazz musicians have made great contributions to soundtracks (from Duke Ellington's music for Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder" to Miles Davis soundtrack for Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows"). Even more frequently themes from movie soundtracks have lent themselves to great renditions by jazz musicians.

This week we explore the intersection between jazz and soundtracks of movies of all sorts, from police flicks to erotic movies to documentaries, and we'll throw in some TV soundtracks for good measure. Stay tuned for two hours packed with great music, from Ornette Coleman to Gato Barbieri, from Quincy Jones to John Lurie and Michael Blake.

Happy listening! Click the play button in the image above to listen to this program.

• Ben Allison "Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00
• Nicole Johänntgen "Ghostbusters" Henry II (Selmabird Records) 0:16
• Host talks 10:25
• John Lurie "Stink" Get Shorty (Antilles) 13:12
• Michael Blake "Shots 'n' Chasers" Vodka Rocks (Self-released) 18:00
• Jimmy McGriff "The Pink Panther" Topkapi (Sue) 21:35
• Herbie Hancock "Main Title" Blow-Up (MGM) 23:30
• Fabrizio Bosso, Julian Oliver Mazzariello "Taxi Driver" Tandem (Verve) 25:00
• Host talks 29:39
• Marvin Gaye "Trouble Man" Trouble Man (Motown) 32:26
• J.J. Johnson "Better Days" Themes and Cues for Movies & Television (Family Groove) 34:57
• J.J. Johnson "Ballad for Bobby" Themes and Cues for Movies & Television (Family Groove) 37:03
• The Jazz Interactions Orchestra "Complex City" Jazzhattan Suite (Verve) 38:01
• Host talks 46:07
• Joe Jackson "Abe's Blues" Tucker: The Man and His Dream (A&M) 48:00
• Stanley Wilson "The Lonely Beat" The Music from M Squad (RCA) 50:32
• James Taylor Quartet "Theme from Starsky & Hutch" Wait a Minute (Polydor) 54:08
• Host talks 59:55
• Willie Bobo "Kojak Theme" Tomorrow Is Here (Blue Note) 1:01:23
• EZ Pour Sprout "A-Team" Don't Shave the Feeling (Love Slave) 1:04:54
• Bobby Hutcherson "Theme From M-A-S-H" Linger Lane (Blue Note) 1:06:43
• Quincy Jones "Sanford & Son You've Got It Bad Girl (A&M) 1:11:11
• Kristin Asbjornsen "Quirky Waltz" Factotum (Milan) 1:14:13
• Bill Frisell "Meet the Stantons" All Hat (Emarcy) 1:15:40
• Host talks 1:16:32
• John Lee Hooker with Miles Davis "Coming to Town" The Hot Spot (Antilles) 1:18:28
• Gato Barbieri "Last Tango in Paris" Last Tango in Paris (EMI) 1:21:33
• John Zorn "Erotico (The Burglars)" The Big Gundown (Nonesuch) 1:25:14
• Marco Cappelli's Italian Surf Academy "Sesso Matto" The American Dream (Mode) 1:29:29
• Host talks 1:34:11
• Luigee Trademarq "Nocturna No. 5" Bande original (Rectangle) 1:36:41
• Alain Goraguer "Birgit Et Le Mâle Du Pays" Musique Classée X (Les Disques de Culte) 1:38:10
• Tony Bennett "Girl Talk" The Movie Song Album (Columbia) 1:41:30
• Ben Allison "Midnight Cowboy" Cowboy Justice (Palmetto) 1:44:41
• Host talks 1:49:30
• Chet Baker "Moon & Sand" Sings and Plays from the Film "Let's Get Lost" (Novus) 1:51:29
• Bill Evans with Jeremy Steig "Spartacus Love Theme" What's New (Jazz Collectors) 1:57:00
• Ornette Coleman "Intersong" Naked Lunch (Milan) 2:02:29
• Host talks 2:06:11
• The Bad Plus "(Theme From) Chariots of Fire" Suspicious Activity? (Columbia) 2:08:55

Photo Credit: George Brich.