Jazz is a thing which, very much like marmite, you will either or love or hate. I fall very strongly within the love category and whilst it is easy to understand the distaste of those who are anti-jazz, the musical style really is something which should be accessible to all. If popping on a Charlie Parker right now seems to you as unappealing as plucking hairs from your nostrils, why not try a different approach? Plunging into the vast history of jazz is a very daunting process indeed and the best way to ease yourself in may be through something a little more familiar.
Jazz film scores have been doing the rounds for nearly as long as cinema itself; the first talkie movie was The Jazz Singer and many film of the 1920s and ‘30s have scores which are very jazz-like in tone, without explicitly dipping their toes in the musical waters. Of course, like much else, the best jazz scores can be found in the ‘50s and ‘60s, when cinema was at its most romantic and when speaking French seemed as cool as living in black and white. Unfortunately for some, those times have very much passed but we can still look to the era to teach us a little bit more about the sidelined music and to look further into its cinematic and musical future.
Where jazz scores fare, the biopic is a pretty solid way into the back catalogue and there is perhaps no greater biopic than Clint Eastwood’s Bird. Depicting the life of great jazz musician Charlie Parker (known fondly as Bird), the film tracks back and forth through the musician’s life and career. The topsy turvy time frame of the film is perhaps best suited to the musical style, in which tempo and rhythm are constantly open to change. Plotting the wonders of jazz alongside the musician’s own progression is one of the best ways into the musical style. Getting to know Charlie the man rather than Bird the prodigy ensures emotional investment in the music. The film is a great success, not just for its unbeatable score but also, for its retelling of the life of one of jazz’s brightest stars.
Lift to the Scaffold (Ascenseur Pour L’Echafaud) is a somewhat more sinister affair. The film is a classic noir, stuffed to the rafters with femme fatales, murder, doom and glamour. It’s your standard French film, really. Despite the gorgeous look of the film, the star of the show by far is Miles Davis’ sultry jazz score. Featured on many a perfume ad, the music is something with which you are probably already familiar and don’t even know it. Whilst a lot of the musician’s own work teeters into the frenetic world of bebop, Lift to the Scaffold is all about late night smooth schamltz. A perfect introduction to cool jazz and a sure fire way to smoothen out your evening.
On the more stressful end of the spectrum is jazz’s most recent cinematic offering, Antonio Sanchez’s unbelievable drum score for recent release Birdman. Whilst traditionally, scores undercut film scenes from a distance, Sanchez’s score takes place directly within the film world, sometimes literally, as the camera pans towards a furiously playing drummer. The film has been lauded for its interesting use of editing and undeniably accomplished performances and whilst picking up a little interest, Sanchez’s score has largely gone overlooked. For those with an aversion to jazz, the music is a great alternative, void of looping melody and blearing trumpet. Played solely on the drums, Birdman investigates a single strand of jazz, focusing its attention of the heart of the music, without any distractions. The music, despite its lack of melody, is surprisingly affecting and is recommended for all who simply need a little push forward.
If you like New Wave cinema, you may already be aware of Martial Solal’s accomplished score for what is arguably Jean Luc Godard’s finest film, Breathless.Taking influence from many film noir numbers, the film follows a man on the run in Paris. After having shot a police officer, Michel escapes to Paris and to the arms of American beauty Patricia. Inevitably, things go somewhat wrong. With themes of betrayal, denial and guilt, jazz is the perfect musical umbrella to the film and allows the unspeakable to be uttered. The central theme, which repeats and reappears in various guises, accompanies Michel throughout Paris and is a great window into how jazz can develop musical themes.
Things get a little niche from this point onwards, so just go with it. John Cassavetes was arguably the father of the American Independent film, shaping how so many people viewed and continue to view cinema, how filmmakers in his wake perceived cinema. His amalgam of the arts was largely responsible for his success and in my mind as least, he is the only filmmaker who is able to make music through images alone. If we’re talking jazz, Shadows is probably the best place to start. Cassavetes’ first film, Shadows depicts the interracial relationships in New York during the Beat generation. The improvised film opens itself naturally to the carefree jazz score; the swift alternation of different narrative strands represents entirely the intention of jazz music. Whilst the film contains many seemingly disparate elements, the core of the narrative remains undisturbed and largely united. Whilst the film was produced with intentions of a final score by the great Charles Mingus, his slap dash attitude to the composition meant that the music wasn’t finished in time. Instead, the film works with music from the saxophonist Shafi Hadi. Jazz musicians: Who would trust them?
Whilst jazz might seem as if it were created for a specific niche of listeners, the opposite could not be more true. Listening ‘blind’ can sometimes seem overwhelming and although jazz in cinema can be similarly difficult, it is a great precursor to the musical genre. Attached to images, the life of the music can be understood with greater depth. When used to tell a story, the purpose of the music is more apparent. If you find yourself alone on a rainy evening, or are currently drinking coffee or wearing sunglasses indoors, this fact is probably apparent. If none of the above apply, however, why not relax, sit back and turn up the volume?