Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - Anatomy of a Murder: From the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture (1959 Film)
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CD Details
Artist: Duke Ellington and his OrchestraComposer: Duke Ellington
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 1999-04-27
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Main Title And Anatomy Of A Murder
- Flirtibird
- Way Early Subtone
- Hero To Zero
- Low Key Lightly
- Happy Anatomy
- Midnight Indigo
- Almost Cried
- Sunswept Sunday
- Grace Valse
- Happy Anatomy
- Haupe
- Upper And Outest
- Anatomy Of A Murder - (bonus track, stereo single)
- Merrily Rolling Along (Hero To Zero)
- Sunswept Sunday - (bonus track)
- Beer Garden - (bonus track, previously unreleased)
- Happy Anatomy - (bonus track, previously unreleased)
- Polly - (bonus track, previously unreleased)
- Polly - (bonus track, previously unreleased, movie stings)
- Happy Anatomy - (bonus track, previously unreleased, dixieland)
- More Blues - (bonus track, previously unreleased, P.I. Five)
- Almost Cried (Flirtibird) - (bonus track, previously unreleased, movie)
- Anatomy Of A Murder - (bonus track, previously unreleased)
- Anatomy Of A Murder - (mono single in stereo)
- Grand Finale, The - (bonus track, previously unreleased)
- Sound Track Music: Anatomy of a Murder [#][*] - Duke Ellington
Music reviews of Anatomy of a Murder: From the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture (1959 Film)
Music Review: Pioneering and Perfect
Rating: 5 Stars
While Elmer Bernstein is usually given credit for inventing the subgenre of the "crime jazz" soundtrack for Otto Preminger's 1955 film noir "The Man With the Golden Arm," Bernstein's score more or less stayed with the convention of wedding the music directly to the emotional import of the action onscreen. While he wrote some strong and visceral themes, and opened up a previously untapped genre (jazz) to the movies, Bernstein's score relies too heavily on one main theme, and lacks the cohesion of his later efforts. In 1958, Orson Welles hired composer Henry Mancini to write the score for his own noir thriller, "Touch of Evil," and Mancini's soundtrack really took the "crime jazz" soundtrack into previously uncharted territory, as Welles incorporated the soundtrack into the movie more as background music and raucous street noise than classic underscoring. But it was with Preminger's 1959 courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Murder" that the "crime jazz" soundtrack really came to its full fruition. Whereas Bernstein and Mancini were classically-trained movie composers writing in the jazz genre, Ellington was one of jazz's true elder statesman, who had a refined interest in the classics, and his soundtrack for "Anatomy" is the most consummate of all jazz soundtracks, looking forward to Quincy Jones' backbeat scores. What Ellington brings at long last to the fore is the element of improvisation, which really gives the soundtrack an unpredictable bounce that works wonderfully vis-a-vis Wendell Mayes' unpredictable screenplay.
There are a number of listeners that regard Ellington as a fish out of water for this soundtrack, which they regard as a "nice attempt." I disagree, entirely: Ellington's dynamic orchestrations, economical use of themes and varied moods represent some of his best output, and although there is a hip, urbane sound to his big band/swing numbers, his sad songs are among the saddest sounds in all movies, even rivalling Bernard Herrmann's dark scoring. There is a bottomless pit of sorrow in his quiet blues numbers that ring true and resonate with the listener in the most bitter, sanguinary, way.
Columbia's reissuing packaging remains faithful to the original cover/label art and there are plenty of alternate takes and concurrent issues on this disc as a bonus. Ellington's commentary at the end gives further insight into the soundtrack, the movie itself, and his musical ideas. His voice is as musical as his numbers, very refined, gentlemanly and impassioned.
More Anatomy of a Murder: From the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture (1959 Film) free music reviews:
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Description of Anatomy of a Murder: From the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture (1959 Film)
"I like playing with music and its relationship to the theater, particularly in the supporting role," Duke Ellington remarked in an audio interview from the reissue of his splendid soundtrack to Otto Preminger's 1959 film, Anatomy of a Murder. "Doing the score for a picture really calls for being along with the action and absorbing all of the atmosphere [of] everything taking place in the picture." But as this CD--which includes 14 alternate takes--shows, the syncopated swing and soul Ellington and his men lay down steal the show. Just as Preminger moves and shapes his actor's characters, Ellington creates musical motifs that bring out the best in his musicians as well as the story line. The orchestra sets the pace with the fanfare-ish "Main Title," with tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves's candlelight tones. Johnny Hodges's upwardly mobile alto-sax cries signify the femme-fatale, hip-swinging rhythms of "Flirtibird," which segues into the finger-snapped "Way Early Subtone," with Russell Procope's cool clarinet. Other standouts include the ballad "Low Key Lightly," costarring Ellington's regal piano and Ray Nance's serenading violin, while "Midnight Indigo" is harmonically haunted by Ellington's crystalline celesta chords, Billy Strayhorn's telepathic piano comping, and Harry Carney's soul-stirring baritone sax. The insightful and authoritative notes by historian Phil Schaap and Wynton Marsalis, along with the alternate and rehearsal takes, give the listener a comprehensive overview into the movie's themes of murder, romance, and intrigue that Duke Ellington so brilliantly augmented and illuminated through jazz improvisation, big-band orchestration, and the blues. --Eugene Holley Jr.Jazz CDs
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