Showtime changed things slightly for that final season. 1993’s episodes were introduced by a slinky femme fataledubbed Fay Friendly (a smoldering Lynette Walden), who set up each premise while slithering — in noir-drenched black-and-white cinematography — to a sensuous title theme by Peter Bernstein. The theme continued against a leisurely montage of noir leitmotifs — swirling cigarette smoke, a sparkling cocktail, a gun slipped into a woman’s purse — until the camera glided back to Fay, whereupon she archly set the stage for the playlet to follow. She was greatly missed during the second season prologues, which offered similar smoke-laden montages, but were introduced instead by an off-camera Miguel Ferrer ... hardly the same!
Peter’s celebrated father, Elmer Bernstein, contributed the end credits theme employed during both seasons.
As Peter Bernstein explained, during an interview excerpted within my earlier post, most of the episode directors initially requested the sultry, smoky saxophone sound that they mistakenly believed was typical of 1940s and ’50s noirs... which, in fact, had moody orchestral scores. The “sexy sax” ambiance actually was common to much later neo-noir films, such as Body Heat (John Barry), Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith) and Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann).
Sadly, for fans of that sound, this new disc contains even fewer jazz elements. Peter Bernstein scored only seven of the nine episodes; the other two — “A Dime a Dance” and “The Black Bargain” — employed various bits of source cues.
Evan Hunter’s short story “Return,” about a washed-up boxer with marital troubles, is backed by a mournful orchestral theme. Bernstein relies entirely on synth for his brief score for David Goodis’ “Professional Man,” and hearkens back to the 1940s for his orchestral score for Bruno Discher’s “Good Housekeeping.” That said, the latter has one cue — #10 — which builds considerable tension with “ticking clock” percussion.
Dashiell Hammett’s “Fly Paper,” which features his unnamed detective The Continental Op, is a Prohibition-era story; Bernstein’s initially playful score evokes elements of Scott Joplin and Kurt Weill, before turning nervous and twitchy. The musical palette is ominous and foreboding in Raymond Chandler’s “Red Wind,” which features Danny Glover handling the author’s famed shamus, Philip Marlowe (who wasn’t in the original short story, which featured a detective named Dalmas).
Mickey Spillane’s “Tomorrow I Die” once again is mostly synth, albeit highlighted by a mournful single trumpet theme. Walter Mosley’s “Fearless,” finally, has the strongest jazz elements. Most of the story takes place in a nightclub that features a jazz singer, played by Cynda Williams, who hires a couple of friends to steal her contract from the club’s manager. Bernstein’s vibrant score makes excellent use of trumpet, trombone, slide guitar and the usual percussion trio of piano, bass and drums.
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The first, 2006’s coincidentally titled Fallen Angel, features a septet dubbed the Bob Sneider & Joe Locke Film Noir Project: Bob Sneider, guitar; Locke, vibes; Paul Hofmann, piano; John Sneider, trumpet; Grant Stewart, tenor sax; Phil Hanigan, bass; and Mike Melito, drums. The album features nine (mostly) noir covers — including the aforementioned title themes to 1981’s Body Heat and 1974’s Chinatown — along with a pair of similarly themed originals: Locke’s pensive, melancholy “Fallen Angel” and Hoffman’s similarly brooding ode to lost love, a piano/guitar duet titled “Last Kiss.” Most of the tracks run close to 6 minutes, allowing plenty of space for solos.
Sneider’s mournful trumpet opens the title theme to Chinatown, which then kicks into feistier gear and boasts a tasty solo by Locke. Sultry sax kicks off an initially slow reading of the title theme to Body Heat, which then is backed by a 1-2-3-4 vibes vamp behind sax and trumpet solos. Dave Grusin is represented by two tracks: his title theme from1996’s Mulholland Falls — this album’s tastiest track — which again opens with mournful horn against a vibes vamp, and then accelerates into a moody sax solo; and “Hurricane Country,” an interior cue from 1990’s Havana, which is another lovely piano/guitar duet, with both Hofmann and Sneider wandering in and out of the melody.
Hofmann’s solo piano kicks off David Shire’s title theme from 1975’s Farewell, My Lovely; vibes then takes the melody against gentle trumpet shading, backed by forceful 4/4 percussion and Hanigan’s lovely walking bass. Jerry Goldsmith’s “Katya,” a character theme from 1990’s The Russia House, is a wistfully nostalgic ode to the story’s ill-advised love affair.
The final three tracks stretch the album’s concept a bit. Sneider’s cheerful guitar and Sneider’s trumpet trade Mark Isham’s title melody from 1988’s The Moderns, about an expat American artist living in 1926 Paris; lyrical solos on trumpet, bass, piano and vibes highlight the tasty arrangement of Vladimir Cosma’s “Promenade Sentimentale,” from the 1981 French thriller Diva. Vibes, piano and trumpet wander through “A Farewell to Maria,” one of many somber tracks from the highly disturbing 1993 Polish Holocaust drama, Pozegnanie z Maria.
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The album’s title and theme are an affectionate tribute to actress Ava Gardner, who played femme fatales and damned dames in numerous noir classics.
“I’m poison, Swede, to myself and everybody around me,” her character says to Burt Lancaster, in 1946’s The Killers. “I’d be afraid to go with anyone I love, for the harm I do to them!”
As with the previous Film Noir Project album, all of this disc’s 11 tracks run at considerable length, granting plenty of space for solos. Jazz critic Jack Garner’s liner notes also promise that careful listeners will be witness to a murder ... and he ain’t lying!
The album kicks off with a mid-tempo reading of Gato Barbieri’s title theme to 1972’s Last Tango in Paris; pensive percussion introduces the sultry melody, backed by bursts of unison horns. Improv solos on sax and guitar follow, along with a furious bongo solo by Quintero. A prologue of shimmering piano and bowed bass yield to Locke’s gentle handling of David Raskin’s classic title theme for 1944’s Laura; the lovely melody pauses for solos on vibes, piano and guitar, and then Locke brings the tune home.
Slow bass and piano open a suitably ominous reading of Johnny Mandel’s title theme for 1958’s I Want to Live; Locke introduces the melody, followed by a sassy guitar solo against piano comping, and a vibrant trumpet solo. Bass and vibes return to the melody, to close the track. Slow, sexy piano and vibes alternate with soft bass shading, in a cool arrangement of Mark Isham’s title theme to the 1997 neo-noir Afterglow; sassy unison horns, vibes and piano duel their way through a feisty reading of Duke Ellington’s “Flirtibird,” from 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder.
The album also includes three original compositions. Tick-tock percussion and unsettling sax introduce John Sneider’s “Black Dahlia,” inspired by the infamous 1947 mutilation murder; the tune is highlighted by a pensive piano solo against brooding bongos. Solo piano and brushed cymbals introduce the album’s title track, by Locke, which blossoms into a similarly moody anthem dominated by a lengthy vibes solo against a five-note piano vamp. The entire combo opens Hofmann’s “Kiss Me, Kill Me,” which offers sweet solos by bass, trumpet, guitar and sax ... and then suddenly shifts gears, as Locke delivers a hard-charging vibes solo.
The set concludes with an occasionally unstructured handling of Marcus Miller’s “Los Feliz,” which Miles Davis played on the soundtrack for 1987’s Siesta. Piano and guitar wander their way through the introduction, followed by another lengthy vibes solo against piano comping; the arrangement definitely evokes the film’s Spanish setting and atmosphere.
Sadly, Locke subsequently turned his attention to other projects and albums. Perhaps some day he’ll deliver a third Film Noir Project compilation.
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