************************************************************** EDITOR'S RECOMMENDATION **************************************************************

Collection: Lalo SCHIFRIN: Jazz Goes To Hollywood    Music composed and conducted by Lalo Schifrin featuring: Ernie watts (saxophone); Nils Landgren (trombone); Sandra Booker (vocals); Wolfgang Haffner (drums) and WDR Big Band    ALEPH 016 [66:28] 

The versatility of Lalo Schifrin extends over the jazz stage and the classical concert hall and his film music successes are as numerous as they are varied. This album celebrates a number of these with these tracks:-

Mission Impossible: "Mission:Impossible"
Bulitt: "Bullitt"
Cool Hand Luke: "Down Here on the Ground"
The Cincinnati Kid: "The Cincinnati Kid"
The Osterman Weekend: The Face of Love"
Once A Thief: "One a Thief"; and "Insinuations"
Joy House: "The Cat"
Roller Coaster: "Blues for Basie"
The Fox: "That Night"
Challenger's Gold: "Street Lights"
The Competition: "People Alone"
Manhattan Merengue: "Share the Dream"
Golden Needles: The Race is On"

This is first class big band jazz with star performances from Ernie Watts (saxophone) Nils Landgren (trombone) and Wolfgang Haffner (drums) in a programme that takes in cool, reflective or romantic and smoochy numbers to upbeat, hot pieces; and takes in Latin rhythms and a cheeky laid-back tribute to the master, Count Basie in the number from Roller Coaster. All the familiar movie themes: Bullitt, Mission Impossible (the original TV series theme) and Cool Hand Luke are given sympathetic and imaginative treatments and the ensemble playing is inspired. This is live performance recording (complete with edited audience response) has a real sense of occasion - a thrilling spontaneous experience. The peachy tones of Sandra Booker lift such numbers as "Down Here on the Ground" and "That Night". Stand-out numbers for me are: the slinky, satin romantic tones of `The Face of Love' from The Osterman Weekend; the exuberant, urgency of the 007-like music for The Cincinnati Kid; the blazing boogie-woogie like jazz of `Street Lights' from Challenger's Gold, so vividly evoking dank, dimly lit streets; and the romantic and atmospheric `Insinuations' from Once A Thief.

Reviewer

Ian Lace