Johnny Mandel at the Movies

Another jazz artist who became a spectacular composer, arranger and conductor for the movies starting in the late 1950s is Johnny Mandel. His haunting love themes, sweeping strings and nocturnal horns were more brooding and jazz influenced than any other Hollywood arranger. Here are 10 of my favorite Johnny Mandel scores:

Here's the main theme from I Want to Live (1957), with Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone...



Here's Emily from The Americanization of Emily (1964)...



Here's The Shadow of Your Smile from The Sandpiper (1965), with Jack Sheldon on trumpet...



Here's Quietly There from Harper (1966), with Ruth Price on vocal...



Here's The Shining Sea from The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966), with Irene Kral on vocal...



Here's This Way to Heaven from Point Blank (1967)...



Here's Suicide Is Painless from M*A*S*H (1970)...



Here's Sea Dawn from The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976)...



Here's the main theme from Agatha (1979)...



And here's the main theme from Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone...