Charlie Haden is a brilliant bassist who handles everything from country-folk to the avant-garde with rare grace. With his Quartet West, Haden has combined two distinct passions: sensuous post-war bop and classic Hollywood crime films filled with tough dames and damaged men. Haden casts a stunning collection of guest vocalists in this romantic film-noir jazz adventure. String-laden instrumentals set the scene, while out of the shadows saunter the femme fatales -- Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson, Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Renee Fleming and Ruth Cameron, who plays Mrs. Haden in real life.
There is something pitch perfect in the marriage of Portishead's resonant trip-hop with the grandeur of a symphony orchestra. To be sure, it was a special night in New York City when this gem was enacted (although, two of the tracks were recorded elsewhere). Beth Gibbons' voice is a pleading vibrato siren in a fathoms-deep soundscape, while the live horns, drums and turntables sparkle. Live at Roseland is a swansong of sorts -- though they never officially disbanded, Portishead have been on indefinite hiatus since its release.
Keren Ann, who divides her time between Paris and New York, has created a theme album that captures the feeling of being alone in a new town and excited about the future, but missing your old life. Her French tracks play like moody nocturnal memories, while the American ones have a sweeter -- but more vulnerable -- feeling. The more you listen, the more special it becomes.
Near the end of the '70s, Waits' characters -- the small-time hustler who gets shot in the heart in "Romeo is Bleeding," the noble working girl in "Christmas Cards from a Hooker in Minneapolis" -- feel a little threadbare, even for him. Even so, those two are also perfect examples of the Waits archetype and are among the LP's best. A notable change comes with another fan favorite, "$29.00," one of the first Waits last-call ballads to bring in an electric guitar.
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard collaborate on this grand, unusually moody score to Christopher Nolan's second masterful revision of the Batman franchise. Whether Zimmer and Howard worked together or on separate pieces, this truly is a unified whole (orchestral helicopter noises flit in and out of many pieces), and the nine-minute opener, "Why So Serious?," is a real stunner. The "Dark Knight" theme is almost as strong and "Watch the World Burn" is an embered beauty -- gee, haven't popcorn pictures gotten cheery lately?
Scott Walker's best outing to date, this contains three (violent, disturbing, romantic) Jacques Brel covers plus plenty of originals and a number of anti-war songs. "Rosemary" is powerful and vivid, while "It's Raining Today" is a brilliant, impressionistic memoir of the songwriter's young days wandering his native America, and the acoustic "30 Century Man" would lend itself to a fine feature documentary on Walker's elusive (though highly rewarding) career. This was Walker's final U.K. hit album; after this he became the cult artist he had always sounded like.
This exquisite after-hours ballad set was the first of Sinatra's dark heartbreak albums, and one of his most influential. Nelson Riddle's arrangements are so subtle that you don't even notice when a small jazz group replaces the orchestra. Along with Songs for Swingin' Lovers, this platter became the blueprint for pop and jazz releases of the 1950s.
In a recording career that stretched across most of the 20th Century and yielded dozens upon dozens of classic album this may just be Frank Sinatra's most famous (and copied) album. Sinatra and arranger Nelson Riddle put a medium tempo jazz bounce into ballads and created the upbeat and richly romantic "Swingin' Lovers" sound. As a special bonus this is also the album where jazz master Sweets Edison really started his tenure as Frank's most featured soloist. The CD improves on perfection by offering a bonus track of "How About You."
This young singer-songwriter seemed to arrive fully formed on her debut. But this follow-up shows that Melody Gardot's abilities have grown richer in an incredibly short amount of time. Where she once recalled early (booze-free) Tom Waits, Gardot puts her own spin on rain-streaked jazz torch songs, sensual sambas and uptown blues. This album is structured along the lines of the film noir masterworks of Shirley Horn and Frank Sinatra, but Gardot keeps focused on her own style and sound. She even adds an upbeat reading of "Over the Rainbow" to counterbalance her chiaroscuro, Vertigo vibe.
After facing death, noted arranger Belden wrote this cinematic jazz suite to the dahlia-wearing beauty Elizabeth Short, whose brutal murder shocked America in 1947. Anyone who loves Chinatown or L.A. Confidential will want to steep themselves in this romantic ode to innocence lost in the City of Angels.
From the group who practically invented trip-hop, this highly anticipated third LP Mezzanine follows Massive Attack's crowd-pleasing method of laying down introspective rhymes over blunted beats and dub electronics. As on Protection, the most outstanding track features a special guest. This time it's "Teardrop," with Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins.
Terence Blanchard wears twin hats as a jazz trumpeter and film composer. On this fine set, he does his own versions of famous jazz-inspired pieces from the movies. The tense reading of Ellington's "Anatomy of a Murder" is a study in group dynamics; the orchestral version of Andre Previn's "The Subterraneans" sounds like it's pouring off a screen in real time. While Blanchard's score for Clockers holds up to the classic movie scores, the single finest moments come from the wrenching reading of Jerry Goldsmith's Chinatown theme, featuring a beautiful solo from pianist Kenny Kirkland.
Carlos Franzetti keeps his seat at the piano but focuses on his orchestral writing for this tribute to jazz movie themes. He also leaves plenty of room for alto saxophonist Andy Fusco's solos. Only about half the movies featured are crime movies, though they often make for the highlights, from John Barry's sensual "Body Heat" and the barroom bop of Johnny Mandel's "I Want to Live" to Bernard Herrmann's brilliant "Taxi Driver." Franzetti strips away the orchestra for Herbie Hancock's "Still Time" (Round Midnight) and brings the strings back in for David Raksin's "The Bad and the Beautiful."
On their sophomore effort, Massive Attack display a wide range of Trip-Hop styles, ranging from cinematic instrumentals such as "Heat Miser" to seductive grooves like "Karmacoma" (featuring Tricky). The title track and "Better Things" are this LP's true gems, thanks to vocalist Tracy Thorn from Everything But The Girl.
The best Julie London records are usually the ones where she's backed by small jazz groups or quality big bands. Thankfully this lush, orchestral torch-song set from 1960 ranks among the finest albums of London's career, regardless of the format (and it includes a couple of swingers). The string charts really aren't that compelling, but London commits throughout, painting bleakly romantic narratives worthy of classic film noir. Highlights include "Black Coffee," "But Not for Me" and a reading of Peggy Lee's "Don't Smoke in Bed" that is so intense, it may clue new listeners in to the lyric's alcoholic subtext.
