Jazz in Paris, Vol 3 -"Saint-Germain-Des-Prés (1946-1956) 3 x CD, Compilation, 2004 (Gitanes Jazz Productions )

I love everything French ever since I was a tot and my dad took me to see a Bardot movie in Larkspur  California.  Over decades my love of Parisian aesthetic came to fruition with the music of Serge Gainsbourg, Boris Vian, Les Rita Mitsuko, and many others.  I also love French Jazz, which sometime sounds like American Jazz, but with a French twist to the sound.  In 2004, they released a "Jazz in Paris" series that is excellent.  Eventually, they then made CD boxsets with an additional book in the package.   One can't go wrong with the quality of the book as well as the music of course.  Volume 3 is "Saint-Germain-Des-Prés (1946-1956), and it's a compilation that goes beyond excellence.

Saint-Germain was the focal point of those years for writing and music-making.  Think of it as Liverpool in the early 1960s or Height Asbury in the Psychedelic Era, or NYC from the 1930s to 1970s.  It seems that brilliance was from the air and landed on the grand boulevard of Saint-Germain.

Boris Vian and some others introduce American Jazz into Paris, by releasing recordings as well as arranging tours for various Jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and others.  This collection mostly focuses on French jazz musicians like Django Reinhardt, René Urtreger Trio, and including my hero Boris Vian. 

There are also Americans such as Sidney Bechet And His Feetwarmers,  Don Byas, and so forth. Still, the magnificence of the playing and the communication between the two cultures are breathtaking. Beautiful moments of time and this boxset takes you to ground zero of French greatness.  

Michel Legrand/Jacques Demy - "Le Cinéma en Chanté" CD, Compilation, 2009, France (Universal)

There was once a better place in the world, and Jacques Demy films represented that world.   To go to a movie theater and to be transported into a landscape that makes happiness.  The sadness is when one leaves the theater and realize that the world hasn't changed outside the theater.  To prolong the mood, it's best to have this compilation of music by Michel Legrand, composer for Demy's classic films.  

At heart, Legrand is a jazz guy, and his music has a swing to it, but it also expresses a happy-go-lucky attitude even when love turns sour.  The sadness in his music is just another layer of clothing that embraces the characters in the Demy narratives.  This CD is a great compilation, and therefore a magnificent introduction to the aural world of Demy and Legrand.  It is not complete, but it does feature the central music for all of the Demy/Legrand film projects.  For my listening taste, I love "Lola" and the Jean Cocteau like (a tribute?) "Peau D' Ane."   It reflects the romance of the films or the haunting qualities of the characters.   Overall there is no such thing as a bad Legrand piece of music.  

Ennio Morricone - "Crime and Dissonance" CD, Compilation, 2005 (Ipecac Recordings)

Ennio Morricone is the most magnificent composer in the 20th century.   He does film work, and of course, a film composer is an integral part of the film aesthetic, but I often feel that Morricone's music is usually more important than the actual films he worked for.  It allowed him to experiment, mix music genres, and make awesome (soundtrack) albums.  Mike Patton, a superb singer for various groups and sessions, has his own label, Ipecac, and here he has put together the more experimental and moody works in one package.  It's an excellent introduction to Morricone's inner-world and avoids a lot of his famous melodies, but a focus here on his more experimental touches. 

If you take the entire works of Morricone, it can be divided into sections.  The spaghetti westerns,  Mafia/crime narratives, high-comedy or farces, soft-sex films, and horror.  This collection consists mostly his work on horror films as well as crime.   As a package, it is going to either attract one to listen more, or you may run away from the speakers.  If you stay, you're going to be awarded many hours of pleasure, if you track down the original editions of these masterful soundtracks.  

Beside Patton, John Zorn is the only other artist to capture the whole spectrum of Morricone's work.  He initially did an album of his music, and that was my first introduction to this Italian composer.  It's a love affair that never ends.