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| Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn being menaced by a projected shadow |
Big band jazz had an unlikely renaissance on American television in the late 1950s. Jazz scores seemed to go well with the "private eye" detectives then in vogue, whether they were busy being crime fighters, swinging bachelors or just being cool.
Similar to the way those private eyes drew their lineage from the Raymond Chandler - Dashiell Hammett hard-boiled school of the 1930s and 40s (much watered down and more upscale), so the musicians took their cues from certain film noir scores, along with the work of such composers as Elmer Bernstein on several movies, Leith Stevens and Shorty Rogers on The Wild One, and Kenyon Hopkins on The Strange One.
The catalyst for much of the interest, though, was the work of Henry Mancini on Peter Gunn, a huge television hit in 1958. Thereafter, big band jazz and detectives became inseparable. And the music filled any number of LPs.
Today we have three of those albums, all of which involve one or both of the famed arrangers Pete Rugolo and Skip Martin.
- Music for a Private Eye by Ralph Marterie and band, scored by Rugolo and Martin
- The Music from Richard Diamond, written and arranged by Rugolo
- TV Jazz Themes performed by the so-called "Video All-Stars," led by Martin
These are well worth hearing, each featuring the finest West Coast studio musicians, several of whom appear on more than one of the LPs.
Music for a Private Eye (Ralph Marterie)
I believe that Ralph was still leading a band at the time this LP was made in 1959, but here his "Marlboro Men" (presumably named for a sponsor) were some of Hollywood's finest (Don Fagerquist, Frank Rosolino, George Roberts, Bud Shank, Paul Horn, Bob Cooper, Jimmy Rowles, Al Viola and so on), all conducted by Pete Rugolo. The arrangements are by Pete, Skip Martin (another big band vet who went Hollywood) and reportedly Heinie Beau, a noted "ghost" orchestrator.
Pete rose to prominence with Stan Kenton's band, but had branched out into the film and television field by the time this LP came about.
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| Pete Rugolo |
For this album, despite the "private eye" branding, much of the music is not from detective shows. The contents include Pete's Richard Diamond and The Thin Man themes; Count Basie's music from M Squad, Lee Marvin's police show; Fred Steiner's catchy Perry Mason signature music; the theme from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, listed as by Stanley Wilson but based on a Gounod piece; Frank Comstock's music from The D.A.'s Man; and two ringers - Melvyn Leonard's Riff Blues and Private Eyeball by Peter Hanson and Marterie.
I transferred this from the Mercury Wing stereo budget reissue of the LP, which cut costs by chopping off Jay Livingston's 77 Sunset Strip music, which was on the full-price original. I have reinstated the track from a mono version of the full-price album.
By the way, it's not clear what Marterie does on the LP. He's not listed among the trumpet players and he didn't handle the arrangements or conducting. He does look good on the cover, however, lighting a Marlboro, accompanied by two streetwalkers.
LINK to Music for a Private Eye
Music from Richard Diamond (Pete Rugolo)
Richard Diamond is not the best remembered private eye show - those would be Peter Gunn and 77 Sunset Strip - but Pete Rugolo's music did merit a complete LP, which is less well known than such specimens as the Peter Gunn and 77 Sunset Strip albums.
The Richard Diamond theme is memorable big band swagger. This version is more or less the same arrangement as appears on the album above. The one on the LP below is somewhat different.
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| David Janssen as Richard Diamond, with his cool car phone and giant hat ribbon |
The music on the album represents both recurring themes and music that Rugolo wrote specifically for certain shows.
The musicians are quite similar to those on the album above - Frank Rosolino, Bud Shank, Paul Horn, Bob Cooper, Al Viola and Jimmy Rowles among them.
The executive producer of the Richard Diamond TV show was Dick Powell, a Hollywood musical star who morphed into a hard-boiled detective type, including playing Diamond on the radio. He contributed to the sleeve notes on this LP.
LINK to Music from Richard Diamond
TV Jazz Themes (Skip Martin)
Leading the band is Skip Martin, a well-known Hollywood orchestrator. The musicians once again include Paul Horn, Bob Cooper, Jimmy Rowles, Frank Rosolino and others mentioned above.
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| Skip Martin |
Martin programmed an entire side of music from Peter Gunn, and did well by Mancini's famed score. He includes its two best known melodies - the opening theme and "Dreamsville," which also had an afterlife as a ballad with lyrics by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston.
Otherwise, Martin programmed Rugolo's themes from Richard Diamond and The Thin Man, and Livingston's 77 Sunset Strip. These are all very well done and the sound is excellent - as it is on the other LPs. (Although it doesn't say so on the cover above, this LP is in stereo.)
LINK to TV Jazz Themes
Jazz on the Big Screen
Up top I mentioned several examples of jazz on the big screen. Here are several LPs that have appeared on this blog that might be of interest. Links to the original posts are in the subheads.
