# Jazz film scores - your favourites?



## Niah2 (Oct 11, 2022)

Hello everyone,

Thought to stop by and ask you guys what are your favourite jazz film scores.

Here it is one of my favourites:


----------



## proggermusic (Oct 11, 2022)

Certainly nothing wrong with that one! One of the greatest groups ever to record.

I'm very partial to the original Death Wish soundtrack, done by Herbie Hancock.


----------



## nordicguy (Oct 11, 2022)

Naked Lunch Soundtrack - Howard Shore - Ornette Coleman​Not as a “jazz score” per se.
That said, I remember how this collaboration between Howard Shore and Ornette Coleman impressed me when I’v heard it for the first time!
For me, it’s still one of the top soundtracks ever.


----------



## GuitarGeck (Oct 12, 2022)

One of my favourites is the score from John Barry’s _Body Heat_ with Ronny Lang on alto sax (especially the main theme). It still gives me goose bumps every time I hear it!


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 12, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> Certainly nothing wrong with that one! One of the greatest groups ever to record.
> 
> I'm very partial to the original Death Wish soundtrack, done by Herbie Hancock.



What a surprise didn't know herbie scored Death Wish. Cool !


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 12, 2022)

nordicguy said:


> Naked Lunch Soundtrack - Howard Shore - Ornette Coleman​Not as a “jazz score” per se.
> That said, I remember how this collaboration between Howard Shore and Ornette Coleman impressed me when I’v heard it for the first time!
> For me, it’s still one of the top soundtracks ever.


Absolutely ! This is an exquisite score, I can still remember the feeling of hearing the orchestra and then blasts of free Ornette Coleman in the mix. Totally wicked ! Also really love Howard Shore as a composer of course.


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 12, 2022)

GuitarGeck said:


> One of my favourites is the score from John Barry’s _Body Heat_ with Ronny Lang on alto sax (especially the main theme). It still gives me goose bumps every time I hear it!


Awesome ! Didn't know this by Barry, he has such an interesting body of work.


----------



## Houdini (Oct 12, 2022)

Not a film score per se, but I cannot help but mention Cowboy Bebop. Fantastic score!


----------



## cloudbuster (Oct 12, 2022)

Without thinking twice ...



... even though my second fav is definitely more jazzy than just noir.


----------



## nolotrippen (Oct 12, 2022)

Elmer Bernstein - Walk On The Wild Side​


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 12, 2022)

Houdini said:


> Not a film score per se, but I cannot help but mention Cowboy Bebop. Fantastic score!



YES ! So good and wild ! This is an amazing score.


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 12, 2022)

cloudbuster said:


> Without thinking twice ...
> 
> 
> 
> ... even though my second fav is definitely more jazzy than just noir.



Yes Chinatown is so goooood ! Love the noir element and the use of prepared pianos.

Hmm didn't know about this Williams score, doesn't surprise me since he has a jazz pianist, really digging it on a quick listen. So much fun !


----------



## studiostuff (Oct 12, 2022)

I think the other scores mentioned are all cool. I sorta like "Taxi Driver", too.


----------



## ozonepaul (Oct 12, 2022)

Probably my favorite "sort of jazz film score" is Birdman by drummer Antonio Sanchez. It is perfect for the film:


----------



## proggermusic (Oct 12, 2022)

I thought of Birdman too! I love that movie and thought the drums-only soundtrack was great. Doesn't hurt that they had one of the greatest drummers on earth to do it.


----------



## NekujaK (Oct 12, 2022)

Another Elmer Bernstein masterpiece - and an amazing film too:


----------



## NekujaK (Oct 12, 2022)

I don't recall if the entire score is jazz infused, but the beautiful opening theme by Johnny Mandel and Paul Webster (The Shadow Of Your Smile) has become a jazz standard:


----------



## gzapper (Oct 12, 2022)

Taxi Driver?


----------



## YaniDee (Oct 12, 2022)

NekujaK said:


> Another Elmer Bernstein masterpiece - and an amazing film too:


Agree..Here is more.


----------



## artomatic (Oct 12, 2022)

*Dave Grusin's "Goodbye For Kathy" from “Three Days of the Condor” *


----------



## Loïc D (Oct 12, 2022)

Everything from the one and only : Quincy !


----------



## Bee_Abney (Oct 12, 2022)

Martial Solal: _À Bout De Souffle_ (aka _Breathless_) (1959)​


While I can't remember the music that well, I do remember how well it worked with the film.

Also, though they are really soundtracks rather than scores, Woody Allen's films have a lot of fantastic music.

Mostly, I'm thinking of hybrid jazz and orchestral scores from the forties and fifties; but I'm not sure which ones might count as Jazzy enough for mention here. But I think that the Jazz Singer is worth a mention. Jazz was there at the birth of the musical and the talky in 1927.


----------



## nordicguy (Oct 12, 2022)

ozonepaul said:


> Probably my favorite "sort of jazz film score" is Birdman by drummer Antonio Sanchez. It is perfect for the film:



Didn’t think of this one.
What an achievement, indeed!


----------



## Sub3OneDay (Oct 12, 2022)

Whiplash - lots of drums…

Bullit - one of Lalo Schifrin’s finest in its simplicity


----------



## NekujaK (Oct 12, 2022)

Oh and this recent one...


----------



## NekujaK (Oct 12, 2022)

Not a full-length movie, but it's an eternal classic...


----------



## LatinXCombo (Oct 12, 2022)

Since someone already took _A Charlie Brown Christmas, _I'll nominate: _The Incredibles. _


----------



## Jrides (Oct 12, 2022)

The soundtrack to Mo Better Blues…. A Spike Lee joint


----------



## weeeeve (Oct 12, 2022)

For me, the soundtrack from this movie hits the jazz button pretty hard- "A Man Called Adam", starring Sammy Davis Jr as a self-destructive jazz trumpet player. Music by Benny Carter, featuring Nat Adderley, Kai Winding, Louis Armstrong, Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra Jr, etc...


----------



## CGR (Oct 13, 2022)

Not necessarily my favorite, but an intriguing film & score:


----------



## Saxer (Oct 13, 2022)




----------



## NekujaK (Oct 13, 2022)

Another good one, with an incredible cast (Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward, Dihann Carroll, and Louis Armstrong):


----------



## nordicguy (Oct 14, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Martial Solal: _À Bout De Souffle_ (aka _Breathless_) (1959)​
> 
> 
> While I can't remember the music that well, I do remember how well it worked with the film.
> ...



You just remind me about this one.
Le Chat dans le sac.
Music by John Coltrane ("Blue World" de John Coltrane (Le chat dans le sac, 1964))
I won’t risk a translation of the following text about this film 
(took from l’Encyclopédie Canadienne” ) but, here it is for our polyglot fellows…
_Le Chat dans le sac est une oeuvre qui fait école dans le développement d'un cinéma nouveau au Québec. Il tire son inspiration formelle de la Nouvelle Vague française, plus particulièrement de Jean-Luc Godard._


----------



## Alchemedia (Oct 14, 2022)




----------



## Alchemedia (Oct 14, 2022)




----------



## Alchemedia (Oct 14, 2022)




----------



## Alchemedia (Oct 14, 2022)




----------



## Trash Panda (Oct 14, 2022)

Houdini said:


> Not a film score per se, but I cannot help but mention Cowboy Bebop. Fantastic score!



Came here to post this too.


----------



## dcoscina (Oct 14, 2022)

These are both cool



12 tone big band, cannot beat it!


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 14, 2022)

Not a film but a TV series soundtrack:



Also not a film but a video game score:


----------



## devonmyles (Oct 15, 2022)

'Music from Siesta'. All material written and arranged for the film 'Siesta' by Marcus Miller, except "Theme for Augustine" by Miles Davis & Marcus Miller.
I found the film a bit underwhelming, but the music certainly had some interesting moments and worked for the film:



Miles Davis - Trumpet
Marcus Miller - Bass (Fretless & Fretted), Bass Clarinet, etc.
John Scofield - Acoustic Guitar on "Siesta"
Omar Hakim - Drums on "Siesta"
Earl Klugh - Classical Guitar on "Claire"
James Walker - Flute on "Los Feliz"
Jason Miles - Synthesizer programming


----------



## devonmyles (Oct 15, 2022)

There is some Latin Jazz in 'Havana'. Plus, the marvellous writing and arranging of 'Cuba Libra (Se Fue)'.
The wonderful Dave Grusin. One of my favourite musicians.


​


----------



## Technostica (Oct 15, 2022)

The Hot Spot is worth a mention although it's more blues with a jazz flavour. 
But with Miles Davis being that flavour and John Lee Hooker the base of the blues stock, it has its moments.


----------



## handz (Oct 15, 2022)

If you are looking for orchestral "jazzy" stuff and not just jazz used in movies:


----------



## Bee_Abney (Oct 15, 2022)

Touch of Evil, Henrey Mancini:


----------



## The Gost (Oct 15, 2022)




----------



## Nate Johnson (Oct 17, 2022)

i'll dare to violate the intent of the 'jazz' part of the op's inquiry....with a little Italian fusion! But watching this movie for the first time, when the main theme hits - my life changed in that moment.

So.
frickin.
COOL.


----------



## Bee_Abney (Oct 17, 2022)

Nate Johnson said:


> i'll dare to violate the intent of the 'jazz' part of the op's inquiry....with a little Italian fusion! But watching this movie for the first time, when the main theme hits - my life changed in that moment.
> 
> So.
> frickin.
> COOL.



The music is fantastic and some of it has a jazz-progressive rock fusion feel, certainly.


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 18, 2022)

Nate Johnson said:


> i'll dare to violate the intent of the 'jazz' part of the op's inquiry....with a little Italian fusion! But watching this movie for the first time, when the main theme hits - my life changed in that moment.
> 
> So.
> frickin.
> COOL.



So good, I love everything Goblin + Argento !


----------



## Fred G. Unn (Oct 18, 2022)

Duke - Anatomy of a Murder


Dexter Gordon (& co) - The Other Side of 'Round Midnight (I like this better than the "official" soundtrack from that movie)


All the Bonfa and Jobim music in Orfeu Negro is amazing!


This may be cheating as it's a Latin Jazz documentary, but all the music in Calle 54 is great too!


----------



## Uncle Peter (Oct 19, 2022)

Catch me if you can - my favourite Williams score


----------

