July 20, 2016

CD Review: CAFE SOCIETY - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

Various Artists. (2016, 46 min).
SONY CLASSICAL

I’ve never been much of a Woody Allen fan, but one area where he’s impeccable is selecting the perfect music to enhance his films, especially those where he's afforded the opportunity to incorporate his affection for classic American jazz. The soundtrack album for his most recent, Cafe Society, is no exception.

Jazz great Vince Giordano leads his band, The Nighthawks, through nine of the fifteen tracks, playing newly-recorded standards from the 1930s. This isn’t Giordano’s first Woody Allen rodeo either, previously working with other artists both on and off screen. Rounding out the disc are classic numbers by various artists such as Benny Goodman, Ben Selvin and Count Basie. While these vintage recordings don’t sound quite as crisp and clean as the Giordano tracks, they still fit in quite nicely.

If you’re fan of this sort of music, Cafe Society is a terrific collection of songs from an era when jazz was at its most popular. How effectively the music works within the context of the movie isn’t really important. This is a simply lively and fun disc.

KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

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