Search - :: Crime Jazz: Music In The First Degree (Television And Film Soundtrack Anthology)

The best of jazz in Hollywood

Maxwell Wiley | New York, New York | 03/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before the advent of CDs did you search the used record bins for the soundtracks from "Touch of Evil," "Sweet Smell of Success," "The Young Savages," and the like? The people who put together this essential compilation apparently did. This is an incredible encapsulation of an era that saw the flowering of a type of big-band jazz that is heard all too rarely these days. Almost anything you'd want to hear of tough, brassy, West Coast style programmatic jazz is here--or in Volume Two of the series. As usual, an outstanding job by Rhino Records."

Sonic film noir

Maxwell Wiley | 12/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album conjures up so many vivid images: dark, slick, dangerous streets; sleazy night clubs; those cheap hotel rooms where the neon sign flashes through the window; tough guys in fedoras flipping silver dollars; Lee Marvin bolting out of his '57 Ford and blasting the bad guys ...There's so much great music of this genre it must have been tough to select for this album. Over all, the compiler has done a great job, choosing pieces that, while following the general theme, are varied and distinct."

Outstanding compilation/ great sound

Maxwell Wiley | 07/14/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is, as is the other crime Jazz CD, a truly excellent Compilation. All the Way from The Man with the Golden Arm, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, Perry Mason. All Tracks have excellent quality. This is one of the finest compilations that has ever been made."