Montag, 23. November 2020

The Modern Jazz Quartett - Music from Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

The Modern Jazz Quartet never actually recorded for Blue Note but their United Artists date was reissued on this Blue Note CD. The MJQ (vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist John Lewis, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay) perform six of Lewis's compositions which were used in the film "Odds Against Tomorrow". Best known is "Skating in Central Park" but all of the selections have their memorable moments and it is good to hear this classic unit playing such fresh material.

The album was recorded with the Modern Jazz Quartet and a 22-piece orchestra.

Pianist John Lewis wrote and arranged the original score. Although he had already written music for "No Sun in Venice", this was the first time Lewis - given early 16 mm film proofs - composed along the story-line rather than delivering “a set of isolated pieces”. Gunther Schuller, who organized the orchestra for the original soundtrack recordings, noticed that “it can serve its purpose in the film. But it can also stand as absolute music apart from the original situation.”


Tracklist:
"Skating in Central Park" - 6:07
"No Happiness for Slater" - 5:18
"A Social Call" - 4:45
"Cue No. 9" - 5:00
"A Cold Wind Is Blowing" - 7:29
"Odds Against Tomorrow" - 3:33


The Modern Jazz Quartett - Music from Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

4 Kommentare:

Bob Mac hat gesagt…

Thanks for this one.

Mickey Bitsko hat gesagt…

Watched the movie the other day for at least the tenth time since it was released, so this is a pleasant surprise. I don't live very far from where the big scene at the end was filmed. Believe it or not, there are still many of us working/middle class folks residing in downtown Manhattan.

Many thanks!

Mickey Bitsko hat gesagt…

Oops I confused the movie with another Harry Belafonte New York-based flick, "The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)!

For what it's worth, I know the town where the heist takes place, Hudson, very well, though it's gone over the years from a poor/working class town to what Woody Guthrie would call "a rich man's bitch."

zero hat gesagt…

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. All the best!

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