Bill Gilmore

Piero Umiliani: A Tempo Di Jazz

by Chris May
December 23, 2023

Considering how many stylish movies were made in Italy in the 1950s and early 1960s, surprisingly few have jazz or jazz-based soundtracks of note; back at the ranch, jazz was Hollywood's go-to cool music. A handful of composers including Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone included jazz in their palettes but jazz was not their primary inspiration. Piero Umiliani, however, was first and foremost a jazz musician. Two of his soundtracks--for Franco Rossi's Smog (1962) and Mario Monicelli's I Soliti Ignoti ...