New Oliver Nelson - Death of a Gunfighter & Skullduggery

[Teasing the Korean]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5NQWRZuz4S/

[felser]

Love the label name, but I'm not big on Nelson's soundtrack work beyond The Pawnbroker.

[Teasing the Korean]

25% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER OF IN-STOCK TITLES
starts April 2 at 12 noon (pst)!!!

That’s right! It’s time to Spring into great savings with 25% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER of IN-STOCK titles – including this month’s two new releases! 
Discount will be applied at checkout. (This offer applies to IN-STOCK items only and excludes our SCARFACE VINYL 2XLP and the purchase of Gift Certificates).

Special offer starts 4/2 at 12 noon (pst) and runs through 4/16
Only at www.lalalandrecords.com.

 

Edited April 2 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

14 hours ago, felser said:

Love the label name, but I'm not big on Nelson's soundtrack work beyond The Pawnbroker.

Have you heard ZigZag? There's some excellent writing on that one. 

[colinmce]

Nelson plays on The Pawnbroker but it was composed, arranged, and conducted by Quincy Jones.

[Teasing the Korean]

57 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Have you heard ZigZag? There's some excellent writing on that one. 

Yeah, that's great.  Some of his Six Million Dollar Man stuff was really good too.  

[Teasing the Korean]

Details and audio samples:

https://lalalandrecords.com/death-of-a-gunfighter-limited-edition-1/

Edited April 2 by Teasing the Korean

[Teasing the Korean]

Track 15 sounds like he's channeling Morricone.

Skullduggery has exotica content!

[Teasing the Korean]

This just arrived.  Looking forward to spinning after Ms. TTK's radio show is over.

[gvopedz]

16 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

This just arrived.  Looking forward to spinning after Ms. TTK's radio show is over.

Let us know your impressions of the song performed by Lena Horne.

[Teasing the Korean]

2 hours ago, gvopedz said:

Let us know your impressions of the song performed by Lena Horne.

Will do!

So far I listened to Skullduggery.  This combines elements of Stravinsky and Les Baxter, with some very obviously Mancini touches, e.g., the reed section playing flutes in unison over a relaxed, mid-tempo swing.  

I will spin Death of a Gunfighter today.  

2 hours ago, gvopedz said:

Let us know your impressions of the song performed by Lena Horne.

Listening now.  There are two versions of the Lena Horne track; the first is short.  It is a ballad.  The first is scored primarily with strings.  Lena sounds like she is channeling Babs here. 

[Teasing the Korean]

Now listening to the longer version of the Lena track, which closes out the first half of the CD, Death of a Gunfighter.

The tune is based on a recurring theme that plays over primarily shifting minor chords.  The stanzas are somewhat melodically repetitive; the bridge is nice.  It doesn't rise to the level of what say, Mancini or Legrand were doing with film themes at this time, but it is nice enough on its own terms.

As for the rest of the score, if you are looking for jazz or "jazz," you won't really find either here.  You get lots of strings, sometimes melodic, more often brooding and dissonant.  At least one track reminded me of Morricone; another happier track reminded me of a love montage that may have played in an early-70s made-for-TV movie, with young lovers walking through the woods while gentle sunlight filters through the trees. 

There is more jazz content, or "jazz" content on the other score, Skullduggery, particularly with regard to the Mancini-esque passages I mentioned. 

Edited April 14 by Teasing the Korean

[Coda]

I so enjoy reading everything you write Teasing the Korean. 

[Teasing the Korean]

So, did anyone else pick this up?  I am spinning again now, and totally digging it.  The two scores are very different from one another, but I really like both.  

[JSngry]

On 4/14/2024 at 11:29 AM, Teasing the Korean said:

Lena sounds like she is channeling Babs here. 

Alice Babs? Really? How so?

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Alice Babs? Really? How so?

Sorry, I meant Babs Gonzales.

[JSngry]

Lena Horne? Babs Gonzalez? Wtf?

[mikeweil]

Sounds interesting, but shipping costs are prohibitive. It would cost me 40 bucks if I placed a direct order, plus customs and basic fee of €6 when it arives here. That's why JPC asks for € 61.99 for a copy ...... I just discussed this with a Swiss small label owner, it is no longer fun to order CDs from non EU countries.