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Henry Mancini: Blake Edwards
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From the 1950s to the early 1990s, Henry Mancini wrote complete scores for more than 70 films, many of which showed how expressive the jazz form could be. He collaborated with Blake Edwards on several movies, notably "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "The Pink Panther" (1964), "The Great Race" (1965) and "10" (1979). With other directors, he worked on various films including "Charade" (1963) and "Wait Until Dark" (1967). Mancini ... wrote themes for "Mr. Lucky," "Newhart," "Remington Steele," "Hotel" and other TV shows.
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This is the second television soundtrack that Mancini would score for Blake Edwards. The series was ultimately cancelled due to a disagreement between Edwards and CBS, who felt the subject matter was too controversial. (Mr. Lucky ran a gambling boat off the coast of California; Lucky's role was changed to that of a restauranteur until Blake gave up the farce and the series folded.) Nonetheless, the soundtrack is likely the most memorable artifact of that series. This album would prominently feature a Hammond organ (played by Buddy Cole) and strings, and yet still had a "hipness" that would complement the suave Mr. Lucky character on the TV screen. There are moments of humor ("Tipsy" and "One Eyed Cat"), a foreboding tune that alludes to the dark side of gambling ("FLoading Pad"), and the memorable title song punctuated by that Hammond organ.
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Mancini scored the music for numerous films from the 50s until the early 90s. During this time he frequently teamed up with director Blake Edwards. Perhaps because of this the films he worked on tended to be light-hearted stories, even the thrillers being more like romantic comedies, and his light Jazz style was very suited to this type of film. Although there are rarely any dark moments in Mancini's music, there is a wistful sadness to some of his songs. For these songs Mancini would frequently team up with lyricist Johnny Mercer, for example on "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Days of Wine and Roses" and "Charade".
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[One] goodie from Mancini, this time for the 1962 Blake "Pink Panther" Edwards directed thriller starring Lee Remick. Lounge, groovers, big-band jazz and moody atmospheric pieces sit alongside some old time piano numbers and a few orchestral incidental pieces. more
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Mancini left Universal-International to work as an independent composer/arranger in 1958. Soon after, he scored the television series “Peter Gunn” for writer/producer/director Blake Edwards, the genesis of a relationship, which lasted over thirty years and produced twenty-six films.
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