RARA-AVIS: Re: jazz & hard-boiled

Bill Hagen (billha@ionet.net)
Tue, 18 Nov 1997 23:42:11 -0600 (CST) 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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