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Gavin B. · 12-16-2009, 09:24 AM

You call it sleazy detective, I call it jazz noir. Noir is French for the word "black" and film noir is a term used by film critics to describe a very particular genre of movies that appeared in the late 40s, 50s and early 60s. Film noirs were usually filmed in black and white. The noir had dark existential themes and the usual topic was crime and punishment. Many film noirs had bluesy jazz soundtrack that often featured a saxaphone or trumpet. The Postman Rings Twice and Double Indemnity were early examples of film noir.

The first jazz noir piece I ever heard was Harlem Nocturne which has been done hundreds of time by hundreds of jazz bands. The song was written in 1939 by jazz composer Earle Hagen and ended up being the theme song for the 1950s television show Mike Hammer. His moody music was decades ahead of other music written for movies. Hagen was probably the first great modern soundtrack composer and he was a prolific writer of film and television soundtracks. This version of Harlem Nocturne is performed by the Johnny Nocturne Band led by saxaphonist John Firmin.

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat from the 1959 Charles Mingus album Mingus Ah Um in another jazz noir piece. It's a classic.

Henry Mancini's ultra cool lounge jazz score to the Peter Gunn television show is another example of the jazz noir subgenre.

John Barry's soundtracks to the James Bond movies were an evolved product of jazz noir. The embedded Shirley Bassey song Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a great example of the closely related jazz noir crossover to the spy movie soundtrack. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was orginally intended be the main vocal song on soundtrack of the Bond movie Thuderball but it was pulled at the last minute for a medicore Tom Jones song with the name Thunderball. The embedded video below is the original edit of the opening of Thunderball with the Bassey song. It's a thrilling song and with the exception of Garbage's The World Is Not Enough, it's my favorite song composed for a Bond film.

You find some of the best jazz noir pieces in collection of 50s and 60s television soundtracks to dectective shows like the Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip, and M-Squad.

The album above, White Heat, is a fine collection of jazz noir by a group of anonymous soundtrack players. The Ultra-Lounge series has a collection of jazz noir called Crime Scene which is Vol. 7 of the Ultra Lounge issues. The soundtrack to the movie Body Heat is a modern day classic in the jazz noir subgenre. All of these albums are available for either as MP3 downloads or as compact disks at Amazon.

12-16-2009, 09:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	You call it sleazy detective, I call it jazz noir. Noir is French for the word "black" and film noir is a term used by film critics to describe a very particular genre of movies that appeared in the late 40s, 50s and early 60s. Film noirs were usually filmed in black and white. The noir had dark existential themes and the usual topic was crime and punishment. Many film noirs had bluesy jazz soundtrack that often featured a saxaphone or trumpet. The Postman Rings Twice and Double Indemnity were early examples of film noir. The first jazz noir piece I ever heard was Harlem Nocturne which has been done hundreds of time by hundreds of jazz bands. The song was written in 1939 by jazz composer Earle Hagen and ended up being the theme song for the 1950s television show Mike Hammer. His moody music was decades ahead of other music written for movies. Hagen was probably the first great modern soundtrack composer and he was a prolific writer of film and television soundtracks. This version of Harlem Nocturne is performed by the Johnny Nocturne Band led by saxaphonist John Firmin. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat from the 1959 Charles Mingus album Mingus Ah Um in another jazz noir piece. It's a classic. Henry Mancini's ultra cool lounge jazz score to the Peter Gunn television show is another example of the jazz noir subgenre. John Barry's soundtracks to the James Bond movies were an evolved product of jazz noir. The embedded Shirley Bassey song Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a great example of the closely related jazz noir crossover to the spy movie soundtrack. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was orginally intended be the main vocal song on soundtrack of the Bond movie Thuderball but it was pulled at the last minute for a medicore Tom Jones song with the name Thunderball. The embedded video below is the original edit of the opening of Thunderball with the Bassey song. It's a thrilling song and with the exception of Garbage's The World Is Not Enough, it's my favorite song composed for a Bond film. You find some of the best jazz noir pieces in collection of 50s and 60s television soundtracks to dectective shows like the Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip, and M-Squad. The album above, White Heat, is a fine collection of jazz noir by a group of anonymous soundtrack players. The Ultra-Lounge series has a collection of jazz noir called Crime Scene which is Vol. 7 of the Ultra Lounge issues. The soundtrack to the movie Body Heat is a modern day classic in the jazz noir subgenre. All of these albums are available for either as MP3 downloads or as compact disks at Amazon.