Mark Adler: Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

"Rainbow, by the way, isn't the Judy Garland classic from The Wizard of Oz but a new version performed by vocalist Kaulana Kanekoa and guitarist Vince Esquire, and it suffers greatly in comparison to the original. "Ciribiribin is performed by the studio orchestra with one of the familiar jazz names in the lineup, trumpeter Warren Luening, doing a credible job subbing for James. Other soloists include trombonist Charlie Loper (sitting in for Dorsey on "Sentimental ) and clarinetist Dan Higgins (doing the same for Artie Shaw on "Beguine ). There's also an uncredited tenor solo on that number, and my assumption is that it's Higgins too, as no tenor is listed among the personnel. Even so, the jazz musicians in the orchestra are confined for the most part to reading, which is something they do well, otherwise they wouldn't be in a studio orchestra.

Assessing this music isn't easy, as it skitters from place to place like the spheroid in a pinball machine. For a film score, the sound is surprisingly variable, with several numbers seeming out of place, but one must presume that will be corrected before the film is released. Adler's brief compositions are soft and dreamy, quite unlike the other music he has chosen, and one can't help wondering how the pieces will fit together. The film, according to a press release that accompanied the album, is "a story about a widowed man's life turned upside down when he embarks on a journey to find a dying man's long-lost love. Its stars include Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Donnie Wahlberg, John Goodman, Sonia Braga and Mary Steenburgen.

I can't recommend the soundtrack to jazz or big band enthusiasts, and as is the case with most film scores (there are some exceptions from Hollywood's Golden Age), it doesn't stand well on its own, separated from scenery and story line. Those who see the film may want the hear the score as well—I'd guess they would be the main audience for it, providing the rationale for preserving it on disc. It's by and large pleasant music; more than that I cannot say.

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