Customer Reviews

Crime Jazz: Music In The Second Degree (Television And Film Soundtrack Anthology)

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A worthy continuation to Volume One, "Music in the First Degree." The people at Rhino Records prove again that they really know what they're doing. These two volumes contain superb West Coast jazz (studio and name bands) from the wonderful black and white realm of crime movies and TV shows, post-nuclear, pre-Viet Nam. This volume doesn't contain quite the "hit parade" of well-known themes that you hear on Volume One, and includes an only okay version of the "Perry Mason" theme. As I write these words, however, I'm listening to the last cut, Henry Mancini's closing theme to "Mr. Lucky." Even if you don't remember the escapades of Lucky and Andamo on Blake Edwards's gambling boat, I dare you to find a more beautiful, evocative piece of music. An essential CD.

Movies and television programs in the mystery, crime, and suspense genres, are typically accompanied by music appropriate to the theme. Crime Jazz: Music in the Second Degree (1997), is the second collection from such sources, on Rhino Records. The selections are drawn from films and TV shows from the 1950's and 1960's, when jazz was one of the predominant musical styles.

Most of the tunes have a cool suspenseful, or high tension vibe. Overall, there is a nice mix of styles, and musical approaches, preformed by various orchestras. Compositions by Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, and Alex North are featured more than once.

Cool, rhythmic, and driving, Mancini's Arabesque is a classic example from the genre. The same is true of Lalo Schifrin's tense composition, The Killer, from The Liquidator (1966). Shoot To Kill, by Quincy Jones, from the motion picture Mirage (1965), has that high wire, walking on the edge of danger vibe. Hammer Blow, from the TV series Mike Hammer (1955), is a swinging tune that hits hard, like a kick in the teeth. With a lively walking bass line, Caper At The Coffee House, from the TV show 77 Sunset Strip, is a nice slice of extremely cool jazz. From the movie The Interns (1962), comes the jumping number, Toss Me A Scalpel, by Lieth Stevens.

Not everything works well. Fred Steiner's Perry Mason Theme, might be the most recognizable tune, but maintaining a hard edge is difficult, and this version is very soft. Similarly, Mancini's Mr. Lucky seems a bit mild for this collection. Alex North's compositions (French Quarter, Floozie, and Late Night At Bailey's Pad), have a more slow bluesy style, with a vibe of being intoxicated. Grouping them together slows down the momentum of the album, which never recovers the energy that it started with.

The collection contains some rather obscure tunes, which may make it of interest to aficionados of this kind of music. However the pacing is uneven, the compilation isn't as cohesive as it could be, and a greater variety of composers, could have been featured. Perhaps the cost of licensing was a factor in the selection process. At 44 minutes, the album could have included a few more tracks. There are some very cool tunes here, but the album could have been better. This is a solid 3.5 star effort, rounded up.