Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: jazz & hard-boiled

Fred Willard (rainwill@mindspring.com)
Wed, 19 Nov 1997 09:36:14 +0000 I agree with the reasons Bill has cited for the association of
hard-boiled and jazz, although I think it also points to a problem
for hard-boiled as a living genre.

Increasingly, hard-boiled is thought of as a period piece and
identified by it's cliches. Also, the association with jazz does, as
Bill points out mainly apply to urban environments. Its hard to see
Cock Fighter with a jazz sound track.

(Although, in fairness, this thread has been about PI shows and their
music. I'm just trying to broaden it a bit here.)

Wayne Wang used punk rock to great effect in his film 'Slam Dance"
(A favorite of mine).

Both "Pulp Fiction" and "Casino" had very eclectic sound tracks of
popular music.

"Get Shorty" used a jazz with a lot of kinship to Memphis blues.

Although, to agree with the original thread, one of my all time
favorites was the cool jazz of the television show, "Peter Gunn."

Fred

> Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 23:42:11 -0600 (CST)
> To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
> From: billha@ionet.net (Bill Hagen)
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: jazz & hard-boiled
> Reply-to: rara-avis@icomm.ca

> Can I rename a strand from the Mike Hammer thread? How about "Jazz &
> hard-boiled"?
>
> Recently, Laurent wrote, "What are in your opinion the best soundtracks
> for PI shows ? And why does a certain style of jazz work so well ? Is it
> just a period feel ?"
>
> I'm less interested in tv shows than the last two questions. Perhaps, if
> some others have interest, we could reflect on the role of music, certain
> kinds of music, or musicians in our favorite hard- boiled novels and films?
>
> Two thoughts: jazz, as separated somewhat from the blues, has historically
> been an urban music; furthermore it has been associated with bars,
> speakeasys, clubs, red light districts (Storyville) where crime and
> criminals thrive. Hence the gangster films of the 30s, later to become
> gangbusters' films, often had scenes in a club or speakeasy which had a
> show, often featuring a jazz band. Coppola's "Cotton Club," in a sense,
> paid homage to these films. Later, as hard boiled fiction "matured" in the
> 40s, film noir became a style and at about the same time, bebop or "cool"
> jazz played by combos became voguish. "The Phantom Lady" (1944), from
> Cornell Woolrich's novel, has both big band and small combo scenes, with
> Elisha Cook, Jr., memorably, as a drummer.
>
> My second thought along these lines is that the "cool" or minor key jazz of
> the 40s-50s, with its isolated sax or trumpet solos, formed an ideal
> compliment for the solitary characters of the films made from hard boiled
> fiction. Certain singers could create this solitude too, Billie Holiday
> for instance. I like Duane's idea that spontaneous improvisation also fits
> with the improvised, instinctive actions of hard-boiled protagonists. (And
> band music, of necessity, always has a more "organized" feel to it, even
> when there are solos.)
>
> I remember at least two noir titles from the 50s where the jazz score was
> inseparable from the action: "Odds Against Tomorrow" (John Lewis score) and
> "The Man With the Golden Arm" (Elmer Bernstein score). Mancini brought
> the big band back into noir-PI (if it had ever left), espec. with his theme
> for tv's "Peter Gunn," but at that point I think we're getting a bit
> soft-boiled and the music just driving big beat stuff, adaptable to any
> adventure.
>
> Hope I haven't squashed the topic for everyone. (One note leads to
> another.) Others' thoughts on jazz, etc. in hard-boiled fiction or film?
>
>
>
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------------------------------
Down on Ponce by Fred Willard
fwillard@mindspring.com
http://fwillard.home.mindspring.com/
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