"Shadows" soundtrack by Mingus

[Dmitry]

Even though I have never seen this film, I am very much interested in hearing the soundtrack.

Here's what I found about it on the web -

1.Nostalgia In Times Square

2.unknown titles

Personnel

Jimmy Knepper - trombone

Shafi Hadi - tenor sax

Horace Parlan - piano

Phineas Newborn - piano [!!!!!!!]

Charles Mingus - bass

Dannie Richmond - drums

unknown trumpet, flute, alto sax

Date and location

Spring 1958, New York City

Remaining music for soundtrack of Shadows by Shafi Hadi.

Coincidentally, I have Jemeel Moondoc's album titled Nostalgia In Times Square that features the title track...

[brownie]

Dmitry, here is what Gene Santoro wrote about Mingus' participation in the film in his book 'Myself When I'm Real, The Life and Music of Charles Mingus':

'Most of the music, recorded in spring and summer 1958, was lost in the 1959 final version. Some was written. He and Dannie Richmond did effects separately. Shafi Hadi recorded a short piece as a solo, and Mingus fired him. The musicians were paid about $20 apiece for the sessions.

One part of his soundtrack became 'Nostalgia in Times Square', a jaunty blues strut.'

When Jean Clouzet and I interviewed Mingus in 1964 for the French review 'Jazz Magazine', here is what he replied when he was asked about 'Shadows':

'I have nothing to do with the soundtrack of the film. I did write something but I could not finish what I had planned. We spent barely three hours in the studio where the music was to be recorded. We did not go beyond playing a few bars. That was it. I abandoned because we could not agree on the financial aspect. Cassavettes got hold of the music played by the tenor saxophonist who was in my band.'

That full interview (in French) is on the web:

http://www.jazzmagazine.com/Interviews/Dhi...Mingusitv64.htm

The soundtrack of the film has mostly Shafi Hadi, some Mingus, some Phineas Newborn. But I need to recheck on this. Have not seen the film in quite a while.

[Brandon Burke]

Previous thread.

[ghost of miles]

I was at a B & N last week and saw a DVD box-set of Cassavetes' work that included SHADOWS. Had no idea that it had made it to DVD.

[Brandon Burke]

That box set rules! Only problem is no Husbands.

[king ubu]

brownie, I think we had a discussion of this already, maybe on the BNBB?

It's been two years or three years since I saw the film last time, but I think indeed there's but a few seconds of Mingus group music. The rest is some solo bass, and some very nice Hadi solo spots. Can't remember Newborn (but don't know him/his playing style at all, anyway). Hadi gets most of the music, but then, even that is but a few moments, the longest of those solo spots running maybe 20 or 30 seconds.

ubu

[bertrand]

The tape may have a lot more than the film, though.

I'm loathe to just ask the head sound engineer there about these tapes (although he's known in the jazz community, and he would certainly have some info) for reasons too complicated to get into here. But for one thing, they may not be accessible to the public (or maybe just not yet?). Brandon, do you remember what the ultimate destination of the Shadows tape was to be? Was it just going to be added to the Mingus collection? Will anyone with research status such as myself be eventually able to listen to these? If so, I could certainly help identify what's on there.

Bertrand.

[Joe]

Shafi Hadi recorded a short piece as a solo, and Mingus fired him.

For good? As in, he never played with Mingus again? Seems to jibe with my memory of the Mingus' post-1959 bands. As, if so, Mingus firing the guy was seems in retrospect to have been a death sentence.

[Late]

It appears that the "Shadows" soundtrack is available digitally now. (There's probably a Moochin' About thread somewhere here.)

Curtis Porter

Anyone here have the box set? How is it?

[Late]

It appears that the "Shadows" soundtrack is available digitally now.

How is it?

Hmm. According to an All About Jazz review, there really is no soundtrack in this box set, save one track:

Charles Mingus' score for John Cassavetes' Shadows is less a true film score and more a Mingus album. Which, in fact, it mostly was. Save for the opening "Untitled Percussion Composition," these tracks are most of an album that has been alternately issued as Jazz Portraits and Mingus Wonderland. It's great stuff (pianist Richard Wyands is especially good), but this music has not been particularly hard to get, great though it is.

Well that sucks. I wanted to hear the Shafi Hadi tracks.

[medjuck]

Wikipedia says this about Shadows:

"Cassavetes shot the film twice, once in 1957 and again in 1959. The second version is the one Cassavetes favored. Although he did screen the first version, he lost track of the print, and for decades it was believed to have been lost or destroyed. The 1957 version was intended to have the jazz music of Charles Mingus on the soundtrack, but Mingus failed to meet various deadlines set by Cassavetes. The contributions of saxophonist Shafi Hadi, the saxophonist for Mingus's group, proved to ultimately be the soundtrack for the film."

I don't think this is true. I think the music was for the 2nd version. Gary Giddens wrote this about it for the Criterion release (as part of a long essay on the film).

"Cassavetes signed the incomparable Charles Mingus, who insisted on written arrangements. The irony of a world-class improviser notating the score for a film otherwise afloat in improvisation may have been lost on Cassavetes, who tired of Mingus’s delays. In the end, the director settled for a few minutes of Mingus’s solo bass and several more minutes of Mingus’s alto saxophonist, Shafi Hadi. Mingus never completed a single arrangement for the film, but his sketches were later extended into such jazz classics as “Nostalgia in Times Square,” “Diane” (or “Alice’s Wonderland”), and “Strollin’.”"

Edited March 17, 2015 by medjuck

[medjuck]

BTW The Mingus Debut box set has one cut (the last one in the box) that they way was done for the film, not used in it, and never before released.

[Late]

Shafi Hadi's solo tracks collected.