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Genius work by Italian composer Nino Rota – pulled from a host of lesser-known films by director Federico Fellini! Rota's work on Fellini classics 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita is quite well known, and has been strongly reissued over the years – but this set offers a rare glimpse at equally great work from the films Toby Dammit (1968), Roma (1972), Spara Forte Piu Forte (1966), and Film Amore E D'Anarchia (1973). The bulk of the CD features Rota's excellent score for Toby Dammit – done in a dream-like quality that recalls some of the best moments of La Dolce Vita – with core melodies that dance beautifully around larger arrangements – often using organ or an isolated horn part to craft the tune. Titles include "My Name Is Toby Dammit", "Toby Dammit's Thoughts", "The Awards", and "Finale". Roma is a bit more orchestral and serious, but still has a wonderfully dreamy quality – floating along in magical Rota-styled ways, and occasionally referencing bits of tunes from older soundtracks! Titles include "Transteverina (version 2)", "Aria Di Roma", "Vitelloni's Bar", and 4 parts of "Ecclesiastical Fashion Show". The last 2 films are represented only by 2 tracks from each – "Ballando Con Raquel" and "Tarantella Grottesca", playfully jazzy numbers from the 1966 sex comedy – and "Passeggiata" and "Nina Nanna", more haunting numbers from the 1973 film.

A rare French soundtrack by Nino Rota, done for this 1960 film by Rene Clement – but filled with all the bold themes and whimsical moments of Rota's best work for Fellini! Clement's film has some beautifully spare moments that Rota scores perfectly here – letting the music drift along with the gentlest breeze on the sea, but contrasting in other moments with a more dramatic orchestral theme. CD marks the first real reissue of the material in this form ever – and is done with the very high standards of others in the Ecoutez Le Cinema series – with detailed notes in English and French, and lots of great shots from the film! Titles include "Meurte De Philippe", "Plein Soleil", Via Veneto", "Falsification", "La Plage", and "La Gemissante".

Sweet tango version of Italian film classics – work by Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and others – all performed as instrumentals by this hip little combo! Instrumentation is very much in a traditional tango mode – accordion, violin, bass, and a bit of piano or keyboards – and the legendary Franco De Gemini joins the group on harmonica for one track! There's some added elements on some other numbers, although things are still pretty spare overall – and titles include "Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion", "The Godfather", "Two Women", "Amarcord", "Rocco & His Brothers", "The Orchestra Rehearsal", "A Fistful Of Dynamite", and "The Good The Bad & The Ugly/Once Upon A Time In The West".

Sweet tango version of Italian film classics – work by Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and others – all performed as instrumentals by this hip little combo! Instrumentation is very much in a traditional tango mode – accordion, violin, bass, and a bit of piano or keyboards – and the legendary Franco De Gemini joins the group on harmonica for one track! There's some added elements on some other numbers, although things are still pretty spare overall – and titles include "Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion", "The Godfather", "Two Women", "Amarcord", "Rocco & His Brothers", "The Orchestra Rehearsal", "A Fistful Of Dynamite", and "The Good The Bad & The Ugly/Once Upon A Time In The West".

One of the more unusual Morricone scores of the 70s – penned as part of a collaboration with director Maximilian Schell, and done in ways that are a bit different than some of the maestro's Italian work! There's plenty of voices at play here – the lead of Edda Dell'Orso, and harmonies from Il Cantori Moderni – used in ways that are sometimes a bit sweeter than usual, with a level of warmth that might not be what you'd expect from the movie! Morricone also throws in a few waltz-like melodies, too – almost the sort of numbers you'd find in a Nino Rota score – but as the soundtrack moves on, things get noticeably darker, too – and move into a rich array of odd sounds and weird tones. CD features a huge amount of tracks issued for the first time ever – a total of 31 tracks that includes "Fox Astratto", "Caduta E Ripresa", "Shake Del Giudice", "Balletto Col Morto", "Meditazione Melodica", and "Fuga In Svizzera".

A dynamic score for this only western film to star Steve Reeves – penned by Carlo Savina, who's also well-known as a conductor for Nino Rota, Philippe Sarde, and others! Savina's skills at the podium definitely come into play here – as there's a deftness to the orchestrations that's really wonderful – a careful, special balances of sounds – and a way of shifting quickly from one instrumental mode to the next, often in the space of a few short measures of music. Some tunes rely on "western" instrumentation – like acoustic guitar and harmonica – but others use more traditional orchestral instruments, but often mixed with weird touches like offbeat organ lines or spooky woodwind parts. As usual with Digitmovies, the production quality is very high – great sound, nice images, and a whopping 32 tracks in all!

The title doesn't give you much to go on – but take it from us, this is a great little compilation – one that's filled with rare jazz work from a variety of European soundtracks of the 60s and 70s! The range of tracks here is really great – and wide enough to include a few favorites, plus an even wider range of rare and obscure numbers – most of which are pulled from the catalog of EMI Italy, and include a number of tunes that have never been issued to the public before! And even better, there's a fair bit of work on here that's from soundtracks that aren't normally jazzy overall – but which feature one or two great jazz tracks, pulled out nicely here and intermingled with the rest of the top-shelf set. 18 tracks in all – 5 previously unreleased – with titles that include "Eva" by Michel Legrand, "A Place For Lovers (jazz suite)" by Manuel De Sica, "Spaghetti A Detroit" by Fred Bongusto, "Adulterio All'Italiana" by Armando Trovajoli, "Ballando Con Raquel" by Nino Rota, "This Is Life" by Piero Piccioni, "Sideslip (new edit)" by Berto Pisano, "Jazz Interlude" by Giorgio Gaslini, "That's Show" by Gianni Dell'Orso, "Monitor Jazz" by Carlo Rustichelli, and "Kiss Me Worren Please" by Bruno Nicolai.

An amazing soundtrack to an amazing film – a Czech new wave classic that's supported by sounds as dynamic as the images on the screen! There's a really playful feel to the whole thing – much more so than other Finders Keepers reissues in recent years – and the music jumps along in a mix of military moments, folkloric elements, jazzy bits, and some spare, simple melodies – almost a bit like Nino Rota's best for Fellini, but a lot crazier overall! Instrumentation has some almost Moondog touches at the best points – repetitive woodwind or piano bits, with some grittier, organic elements at the bottom – and although much of the music is by the team of Jiri Suchy and Jiri Slitr, there's also other bits that crash into the mix too – almost with a surprising, abrupt sort of quality. Titles include "Peach Tree Thieves", "Threes A Crowd", "Red Carpet", "Burning Ribbons", "Girlies Girlies", "Roses Red Roses Red", "Cuckoos", "Scissors", and "Beggars Banquet".

A wonderful package of work from Antonio Carlos Jobim – an 8CD set that brings together 5 full albums recorded for Philips, plus 3 more CDs that serve as a tribute to the maestro! The core albums are the stuff of legend – Edu & Tom, recorded with Edu Lobo; Elis & Tom, recorded with Elis Regina; Matita Pere, issued in the US as Jobim; Caymmi Visita Tom, recorded with Dorival Caymmi; and the soundtrack to Garota De Ipanema – filled with great bossa numbers! Additional CDs are titled Tom Masculino, featuring famous male singers' versions of Jobim tunes; Tom Feminino, with female versions of tunes; and Tom Pra Dois, which is a series of famous duets. 95 tracks on 8CDs – with a bonus booklet as well.