내 Original Soundtrack

The central irony in director Dan Pritzker’s film about Buddy Bolden, the first jazz musician to become known for his individual sound, is that no recordings of Bolden are known to exist. (He was active at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, and he died in 1931.) But if the soundtrack to Bolden begins as speculation, that’s not the same as groping in the dark: We know about aspects of the cornetist’s eclectic repertoire and how he transformed it, in an ensemble style which can be gleaned from the sole existing photograph of Bolden, standing amid his band with trombone, two clarinets (in B-flat and C), upright bass, and guitar.

This soundtrack to the movie features an astonishing array of blues artists from three generations. Recorded during one long night at NYC's Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 7, 2003, the electricity is in the air and on stage. While it may not have been the finest blues show in history, the collection of founding fathers such as David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Buddy Guy, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Larry Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Solomon Burke, and the ubiquitous B.B. King along with their spiritual offspring (Gregg Allman, John Fogerty, and Steven Tyler) and some usual suspects like Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, and Keb' Mo', makes it arguably the most significant blues session ever captured on film. Beginning acoustic, the double disc builds momentum and volume as we hear the blues mutate to electric and finally hip-hop with Chuck D. exploding on a rap version of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom".

British sci-fi drama Ashes to Ashes, a follow-up to the popular Life on Mars series, follows the adventures of a time-traveling female police officer who suffers a gunshot wound in 2008, and is mysteriously transported back to 1981. The soundtrack for the show’s first season is appropriately retro, offering up one of the better U.K.-themed, early-'80s pop compilations. Highlights from the 24-track collection include cuts from the Teardrop Explodes (“Reward”), Dexy’s Midnight Runners (“Geno”), Ultravox (“Vienna”), and Joe Jackson (“It’s Different for Girls”).