A different look to the GMC in this posting as we veer away from early modern jazz and big band into something different…although related. (Speaking for myself as a representative of geezer-hood, I like a lot of different kinds of music…so you should check the GMC regularly no matter what your tastes.)
Henry Mancini was one of the most prolific composers in the history of popular music, and is probably best known for writing the music for countless movies, including Charade, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, and Days Of Wine And Roses, but he was also a jazz composer for the ages – his music for the TV show Peter Gunn is probably his best known, but he churned out many, many classic tunes.
As a young man, I collected many of his albums, including Music from Peter Gunn, MORE Music from Peter Gunn, Blues and the Beat, Music from Mr Lucky, Mr Lucky Goes Latin…well, you get the idea. Even though the vinyl albums are long gone – mostly because I played them on my cheap hi-fi until they were worn out – I still remember the titles and have replaced most with CDs.
Mancini led various orchestras and had many best-selling albums. In fact, he had so many albums showcasing his award-winning movie music, that – like many artists – he sometimes tried different looks to the same music. For example, pairing up with another famous name.
In the album we’re featuring, British flutist (or is that flautist?) James Galway is teamed up with Mancini and orchestra on a variety of his movie tunes. It’s titled In The Pink, which relates to the Pink Panther film, another of Mancini’s well-known composing jobs, but for this posting we’re featuring a couple of others. (If you haven’t noticed by now, we try to shy away from the obvious choices.)
Our first choice is the haunting Theme From The Molly McGuires, and that’s followed by something livelier…from the movie The Great Race, a bouncy little thing called Pie In The Face Polka.
Geezer Music Club 