Big Scores:
Classic Scores from PI Flicks

Of course, the classic noir flick is permanently linked to jazz, ominous dischordant bass, wailing saxophones and all that. Somehow they just seem to go together. Not that other genres haven't left their mark, as well.
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• The Maltese Falcon
  (1941, Warner Bros)
  Music by Adolph Deutsch
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• Laura
  (1944, 20th Century Fox)
  Music by David Raksin
  David Raskin's haunting musical theme to the film became an instant classic, and has since become something of a big band and jazz standard. Coming soon, to a wedding near you...
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• Murder My Sweet
  (1944, RKO)
  Music by Roy Webb
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• The Big Sleep
  (Warner Bros., 1946)
  Music by Max Steiner
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• Shaft . Buy this CD
  (1971, MGM)
  Music by Isaac Hayes
  A perfect reflection of its time. A throbbing, chunky funky mean mutha of a soundtrack. The theme song, written, and performed by Isaac Hayes, which charted big, remains a cornerstone of funk.
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• The Long Goodbye
  (1973)
  Supposedly quite the soundtrack (I know diddley about jazz). A recurring musical leitmotiv keeps popping up throughout the film, in various interpretations by a wide range of different jazz players and singers, both on-screen and off.
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• Devil in a Blue Dress
  (1996)
  Varied soundtrack of gospel, r'n'b and jump blues sets the tone of this well-done, but uneven, look into the black experience into post-War LA.
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For those interested in this stuff, check out Rhino Record's Murder Is My Beat: Classic Film Noir Themes And Scenes and Crime Jazz: Murder in the First Degree. There's also another CD, in the same series, Crime Jazz: Murder in the Second Degree, that covers television.

FOR YOUR FURTHER LISTENING PLEASURE

• Big Scores on a Little Box: Classic Scores from PI TV Shows
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• Suddenly the Air Was Full of Music
  The PI Record Collection.
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• Suddenly the Air Was Full of Music
  The Private Eye Mix Tape.
  ..
• Rip This Joint!
  CD reviews and other music-related articles from the editor.