Peter Thomas' Spy '60s Crime Jazz

Jerry Cotton — FBI's Top Man
Peter Thomas
All Score Media / Chris' Soundtrack Corner

Anyone who was around for the first round of retro spy soundtrack reissues in the late '90s will tell you that one of the best releases was Crippled Dick Hot Wax's collection of Jerry Cotton music, simply titled 100% Cotton. It's a 2CD kaleidoscope of Peter Thomas' eccentric crime jazz — swinging big band numbers peppered with scat vocals, wailing organ and crash-bam-boom sound effects.

So, what the heck is Jerry Cotton — FBI's Top Man? Well, with 100% Cotton out of print, All Score Media and Chris' Soundtrack Corner have seen fit to put "FBI's Top Man" back in action with a 28-track single CD sampler. It borrows cover art from one of the original LP releases from the '60s and adds some rarities to sweeten the deal.

Who is this G-man — Jerry Cotton? Like Hollywood's Derek Flint and Matt Helm, this German creation was an opportunistic response to the spy craze sparked by James Bond. There were eight Jerry Cotton movies made in five short years ('65-'69). Frankly, they weren't up to the standards of the 007 series or even the Flint and Helm flicks, and have rarely been seen since outside of Germany.

But these barely b-movies have great jazz scores by Peter Thomas, who also scored the Edgar Wallace "krimi" potboilers, the sci-fi TV show Space Patrol (aka Raumpatrouille) and later paranormal cult classic Chariots of the Gods? and sexploitation flicks.

Thomas' Cotton soundtracks tend to have more in common with Henry Mancini's swinging crime jazz scores for The Pink Panther movies than John Barry's bombastic 007 scores, but that generalization hardly does them justice. They're completely unique, bizarre, amusing and infectiously hummable. Thomas' giddy hustle-bustle arrangements call to mind an era of relative innocence when a blend of brassy instrumentation and early rock 'n' roll energy made crime-busting sound like carnival thrill-ride.

Interestingly, this reissue appears to be timed to take advantage of a new German-made Jerry Cotton movie (see fourth video below) that seems to poke fun at the original series while delivering the sort of sexy, violent high-octane thrills that modern movie audiences expect these days.

Review originally published at http://www.scorebaby.com/

Jazz on Screen: ZigZag & The Super Cops

Zigzag / Oliver Nelson
The Super Cops / Jerry Fielding

Film Score Monthly can't be accused of playing it safe. After all, Zigzag and The Super Cops aren't exactly "classic films," and I'd bet that the only people who'll buy it will be a) fans of obscure crime jazz scores and/or b) fans of Oliver Nelson and/or Jerry Fielding. In other words, freaks like me. ;-)

Zigzag, starring George Kennedy, actually had a LP release at the time of the film's release in '70. Nelson's cachet with jazz audiences (who know him best for the landmark Impulse recording Blues and the Abstract Truth, '61) must have encouraged the release. But Zigzag isn't a straight jazz score. Nelson, who held degrees in theory and composition, brought a sophisticated ear to the film, providing both propulsive Latin jazz and meditative modernist string passages, often blending the two. The action-oriented passages will remind some listeners of '70s shows like The Six Million Dollar Man, which should come as no surprise since Nelson composed for that show shortly before he died at the age of 43. FSM includes not only the original score but also the album program, which features an unrelated song called "Zigzag" sung by Roy Orbison. There are songs sung by Bobby Hatfield as well.

Closing out the first disc are Anita O'Day jazz vocal tracks from Zigzag and the hard-boiled crime movie The Outfit ('73). The latter film previously served an FSM release featuring Fielding's score. What is at first a seemingly random inclusion becomes an odd transition into Fielding's score for The Super Cops on Disc Two.

The Super Cops isn't among Fielding's better known scores (such as The Wild Bunch), in part because the film is fairly obscure. It's based on a true story of two New York cops who are more super-dedicated to fighting crime than "super" in the comic book sense. Fielding busts out the funky crime jazz with hard blowing brass, wah-wah guitar and an almost blaxploitation vibe. Still, one wouldn't mistake Fielding for J.J. Johnson, Isaac Hayes or Curtis Mayfield. He works a groove well enough, but like Lalo Schifrin he tends to infuse his compositions with a broader spectrum of tonal color. Still, it's very much an action score with interesting references to militarism and the Old West (the latter of which was a strong suit for him).

Disc Two closes out with selections from Fielding's scores for the short-lived folksy attorney show Hawkins, starring James Stewart (think of it as a prototype for Matlock). These cues are by turns abstract and dramatic ("Life for a Life") and pure pastiche ("Harmonica Source"). The CD also contains Fielding's country western and jazzy pop source cues for the cafe scene in The Outfit.

All in all, it's a worthwhile diversion and very well packaged with thorough liner notes.

Originally published at http://www.scorebaby.com/

Jazz on Screen: The Film Scores of Robby Poitevin

A.D3 Operazione Squalo Bianco / L'uomo Del Colpo Perfetto
Tecnica Di Un Omicidio / Quella Carogna Dell'Ispettore Sterling
Robby Poitevin
GDM Music

Little is known about Robby Poitevin, composer of a handful of Italian film scores from the late '60s, four of which are collected on these two GDM releases.

The main theme for Tecnica di un Omicidio (aka Professional Killer, '66) is a catchy crime jazz prowler with swaggering brass, sinuous flutes and a strong rhythm section. It's a killer. On "My Man", the mood is mellow for a couple of minutes with smoky flute and vibes before a bossa nova rhythm kicks in for the final minute. Intrigue returns on the combustably percusisve "Central Station" and the tension-building abstraction "Clint in Agguato". The mood goes from chill to anxious on "Alba a New York." Another brassy crime jazz track is "Bassifondi". The swinging English-language version of "My Man" is performed by an unnamed but capable female vocalist. Overall, it's a minor but enjoyable crime jazz score.

Quella Carogna Dell'Ispettore Sterling (aka The Falling Man, '67) starts with a lively Italian-language song sung by the legendary modern choir of Alessandroni. From there, Poitevin provides a blend of jazzy, Latin-esque and easy moods favoring brass and keyboards (organ and electric harpsichord). On the languid "One More Step," featuring an English-language vocal and melody borrowed from the main theme, is pleasingly intriguing thanks to the unusual tones employed by the organist and electric guitar player. Other highlights include the swinging "Strade, Luci, Notte" and psychedelically abstract "Ossessione die un Ricordo" and "Allucinazione."

For the spy flick A.D3 Operazione Squalo Bianco (aka Operation White Shark, '66), Poitevin provides a typically Italian twist on the '60s spy sound — small group jazz, a bit of bossa nova, and moods that range from suave and sexy to suspenseful to slightly silly. Like most b-movie scores, there are a couple of themes at work here, with multiple variations. The main theme serves a variety of moods, ranging from carnival-esque to tension-building (with some unusual treated piano effects). Occasionally, the main theme is refered to as "The Syndicate," and makes great use of harpsichord, electric guitar, percussion and flute over a swaggering rhythm. In addition, there is "Bubba Dub Bossa," which gets its name for the catchy call-and-response, male and female vocals of the Alessandroni choir.

Operation White Shark is paired with L'uomo Del Colpo Perfetto (aka Hot Diamonds in Cold Blood, '67), which features a groovy, frenetic main theme with a youthful bouncy beat, electric guitar rhythm and the Alessandroni choir. In addition, there are tracks of Near East intrigue featuring exotic percussion (sometimes with a nice backbeat) as well as abstract tension-builders with watery sounding electric guitar lines, echoing percussion and that standby of spy jazz, the harpsichord. Overall, Poitevin's crime/spy jazz scores are enjoyable if not groundbreaking and worth discovering if you love the genre.

Review previously published on www.ScoreBaby.com

Tune in Today at 11 a.m.

Kristopher Spencer, author of Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979, and JazzWrap contributor, will discuss crime jazz soundtracks with Scott Greenberg, host of WGWG radio's "Debts No Honest Man Can Pay". They'll play selections by Alex North, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones and more.

The show starts @ 10am EST.
The interrogation begins @ 11am EST.

Listen online @ www.wgwg.org.

The Quirky Crime Jazz of Michel Magne

Melodie en Sous Sol / Un Singe en Hiver

Michel Magne

Universal

Les Tontons Flingueurs /
Ne Nous Fachons Pas
Michel Magne / Bernard Gerard
Universal

One of the great French film composers, Michel Magne (Fantomas, OSS 117) scored his fair share of classic '60s flicks, and Universal has released several of them on a handful of compilations.

A recent Magne double bill from Universal pairs his jazz-tinged score for Henri Verneuil's heist drama Melodie en Sous Sol (aka Any Number Can Win, '63) and his more exotic work for Verneuil's Un Singe en Hiver (aka A Monkey in Winter, '62).

When Magne teamed with Verneuil he was in his early 30s and already displaying a penchant for unconventional orchestration (prepared piano, bursts of percussion) and catchy melodies. In the main theme for Monkey the composer juxtaposes expressive Oriental lute and percussion with sections for solo harmonica against lush strings. The Oriental and harmonica bits reoccur throughout the score, juxtaposed with baroque strings ("Yang Tse Kiang"), Spanish guitar and Mariachi brass ("Corrida Ethylique"), Argentinian accordion and tango tempo ("Pekin-Buenos Aires") and jazz trio ("China Jazz Hot").

For Any Number, Magne favored a big band jazz sound bolstered with swinging string sections ("Palm Beach"), but also explored a glamorous orchestral sound featuring regal brass, chorus and cascading piano chords ("Hymne a L'argent"). The high drama supplied by strings and earthy tones of the jazzier sections is reminiscent of Alex North's score for Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire ('51). The main theme is a scorcher, enflamed by crashing percussion and blaring brass. For Magne's more eccentric side check out "Hold Up (Part 2)," which starts with scraping pizzicato strings and what sounds like a Theremin before swinging away into beat jazz. It's cool, daddy-o.

The Number/Monkey CD closes with jazz organ legend Jimmy Smith's classic take on "Any Number Can Win" as well as a couple of Fred Pallem's unusual modern mixes of themes from both films.

An earlier Universal CD that celebrates the films of Georges Lautner juxtaposes Magne's scores for the action crime comedy Les Tontons Flingeurs (aka Monsieur Gangster, '63), action comedy thriller Les Barbouzes (aka The Great Spy Chase, '64), comedy spy thriller Le Monocle Rit Jaune (aka The Monocle's Sour Laugh, '64) and the crime drama Galia ('66) alongside Bernard Gerard's scores for the crime comedy Ne Nous Fachons Pas (aka Let's Not Get Angry, '66) and the crime drama La Grande Sauterelle ('67).

Among the Magne highlights is the crime jazz of "Route de Nuit," the playfully eccentric "Tamoure," the early rock 'n' roller "Tamoure Hully-Gully," the Western trotter "Barbouzes en Folie," the episodic and atmospheric "Du Rififi au chateau," the modal jazzer "Le Monocle Rit Jaune," the musically comedic "Monocle Story," the Bach-like Swingle Singers showcase "Largo," and the West Coast-style jazzer "Piege Party."

For his part, Gerard provides a big sky Western theme for Ne Nous Fachons Pas, a bit of baroque jazz ("Ballade Romantique"), some slick '60s surf rock ("Rosbif Attack"), a "Gloria" rip-off ("Akou," featuring an English language vocal by Graeme Allwright) and tense theme combining fuzz guitar, strings and drums for La Grande Sauterelle as well as a full throttle fuzz guitar rocker for the same picture ("Mechoui").

All told, these Universal discs display Magne's penchant for experimental flourish as well as the under-heralded film work of Bernard Gerard.

This review previously appeared on the author's site www.ScoreBaby.com