Film Noir

Original award winning score (Golden Medal, New York Festivals 1996 a.o.) from the acclaimed awarded movie by Ralf Schmerberg.
Ralf Hildenbeutel (born March 6, 1969 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German composer and producer. He was decisive role in the formation of musical style trance. Together with A.C. Boutsen (Matthias Hoffmann) and Stevie B-Zet (Steffen Britzke) he belonged to the permanent staff of the record label Eye Q Records. The Scene Magazine Front Page wrote in 1995, about 90% of all trance releases have the typical Q-Eye style as a template. Between 1991 and 1998 produced Ralf Hildenbeutel all publications of the star DJs Sven Väth…

Produced by Francis Ford Coppola, Hammett is the fictional story about a time in real-life writer Dashiell Hammett's ("The Maltese Falcoln") life. Directed by Wim Wenders, the 1920's era noir mystery contained an equally noir score by veteran composer John Barry. Fresh off of Body Heat and Somewhere in Time, Barry had no problem writing the jazzy score, which contains an interesting combination of slinky jazz numbers and ethnic Chinese cues. Beginning with the "Main Titles", which is performed by a single piano and clarinet, Barry immediately draws the listener in to this dark seductive world. The theme is simple and elegant, yet has an underlying sensuality about it. That sensuality is never fully realized in full orchestral form - except for a small moment in "The Wrap Up / Finale" - but it's still a very enjoyable theme.

Guitarist Bill Frisell’s new double LP Orchestras documents two inspired concert-hall engagements arranged by Michael Gibbs for Frisell’s long-standing trio with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston: one featuring the nearly 60-piece Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Alexander Hanson; and one with the 11-piece Umbria Jazz Orchestra, under the musical direction of Manuele Morbidini. But as with so much of Frisell’s music over the past four decades, a relatively straightforward concept and a familiar songbook yield quietly stirring revelations. The music showcases a level of comfort and interactivity that far transcends the vast majority of “with strings” projects on the jazz record shelf. Sweeping orchestration evoking landmark film scores and Gil Evans alike move nimbly within and around the trio’s telepathic rapport, and Frisell’s shimmering trademark tone melds gorgeously with symphonic strings and brass.

Though John Barry achieved popular recognition for the swinging, loungey, noir-ish soundtracks he composed for the James Bond films, he moved to the front rank of film composers with his score for 1966's BORN FREE. Stylistically, the music of BORN FREE is miles removed from Barry's Bond soundtracks, though the composer's fondness for brass fanfares, stirring strings, and lush, intricate charts with stunning dynamic range is still intact. On the whole, however, the music to BORN FREE has a playful, innocent quality, evoking the nature of the wild animals at the film's center. As the movie is set in Africa, Barry employs a range of African percussion instruments, and sections of flute music (which often seem to echo the sounds of birds or other creatures). The arrangements are expansive and sweeping, giving rise to the sensation of open plains, and Barry's recurring musical themes parallel the film's action (the track titles indicate plot events). The score is, for the most part, surprisingly subdued, with occasional bursts of energy (mirroring tumultuous events onscreen) and its stirring title theme the exceptions. Barry won an Academy Award for the score in 1966.