Alot of things have been mentioned, but there is a glaring
omission --
the "cutting edge" music that existed contemporaneously --
Bebop, or
modern jazz. Charlie Parker is its greatest practitioner --
check out
the early Savoy material, especially the "Koko" session,
originally
called "Charlie Parker's Reeboppers." People called the
music
"frantic," which characterized much of the frame of mind of
the period.
To me, Noir and Bebop are eternally joined -- in a literal
way, since
the modern jazz was created by blacks, hence, "Noir."
However, whitey,
as usual, jumped on the bandwagon. Parker and almost all of
his
"cohorts" were alcoholics and junkies -- thus they lived a
"noir"
existance.
The melodies for Bebop tunes were complex and jagged --
the
instrumentation sparce, since there were usually quintets
playing it. A
big band has more texture and overt drama, and there were a
few big
bands playing it, at the time -- singer Billy Eckstine's band
of '44-'46
was the "proto-bop" band, with charts by Dizzy Gillespie,
Parker's
musical twin. (Also available on Savoy) Diz used the charts
for his own
big bands from '46-'49, which featured Cuban percussionist
Chano Pozo,
who was shot in a bar in NYC, I believe -- another "Noir"
ending.
In terms of score music, Elmer Bernstein's "The Man With The
Golden
Arm," is the ultimate jazz-noir soundtrack -- hard driving,
textured,
and evocative. Duke Ellington's "Anatomy Of A Murder" also
comes to
mind. Both exist strongly as musical statements, on their own
terms ...
I have a problem with contemporary interpretations of Noir
music --
since Noir exists inside such a particular time and place.
Charlie
Haden's Quartet West seems to be a lightweight exercise in
nostalgia.
"Big Bad Voodoo Daddy" and all that stuff is even more jive
-- basically
it's retro jump blues, the type played by black R and B bands
in the
late forties, but utterly vapid. (Check out Louis Jordan for
the real
thing.) These white boys are selling a style -- zoot suits,
and fedoras,
etc ... whattevvah ...
Sorry to go on, but my last point relates to the actual
recordings --
stereo vs mono ... the soundtrack to noir is strictly mono,
and all
those old recordings just sound better than the new ones in
stereo.
Techniques were different, and they're just more evocative.
Nowadays,
records are made with isolation booths, etc. Back then, the
musicians
all sat in the same room. Someone mentioned "Blue Note"
recordings --
which a testament to the genius of Rudy Van Gelder -- who
recorded them
on 2 track mono! And they kick ass, even today ...
Dave
--
"Fate, or some mysterious force, can put the finger on you or me for no good reason at all."
-- Tom Neal, "Detour"
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