Beautiful music from Chicago, set to another Chicago-themed project – a film based around the Roy stories of writer Barry Gifford! Yet that literary reference aside, the music here has fantastic merits of its own, even if you've never read Gifford at all – a very different, more compositional side of the spectrum from vibist Jason Adasiewicz, yet still music that has a loose small combo vibe as well – serve dup by a cool quintet that features Jonathan Doyle on saxes, Josh Berman on cornet, Joshua Abrams on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums! There's a mix of new tones and modern ideas that take us back to that late 50s time on the Chicago scene when Sun Ra's Arkestra was still in town – and the tunes penned by Adasiewicz are not only superb, but a perfect showcase for his incredible tones on vibes. Doyle is a real revelation too – a player we don't know well at all at this point, but whose sense of timing and presence really makes the whole record sparkle – as does the work of the rest of the better-known players in the group. Titles include "Ballad For Kitty", "River Blindness", "Walkin To Clinton", "Rudy's Basement", "Sand", and "Blue People". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

With Gert-Jan Blom on bass. (Jazz, Soundtracks) CD

Sweet reissue of this lost Roy Budd score to an excellent suspense thriller starring Michael Caine. The music is a mixture of dark brooding suspense themes (sort of in the vein of Budd's more famous "Fear Is The Key"), plus other numbers that have a lighter, groovier feel. The main instrumental twist is a bank of woodwinds, which float nicely around, and provide cool windy passages of sound. Underneath are tightly banking strings, and occasional flickers of Budd's lively piano. The album includes the very nice cut "No Co-operation", which has a tightly grooving string part underneath some nice washes of sound. Other highlights include "Cassette Jazz", "Drabble Calling", "The Chase", and the funky cut "Diamonds". Nice stuff, and very beautifully packaged, with a full cover fold out repro of the original poster, and very nice notes! CD

A great album from the glory days of soundtrack maestro Roy Budd – a set that features his own work on the keys backed by a larger group – with tracks from The Carey Treatment, Kidnapped, and Something To Hide – plus other surprises too! LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly nice score to this obscure Brit kiddies film, thanks to the genius of Roy Budd! Although the soundtrack does have some annoying "kiddie" moments in it, there's also a lot of nice light lively themes that dance around nicely, and which have the kind of swinging Brit Easy groove that you'll know from some of Roy's non-soundtrack instrumental work. Titles include "Main Theme", "Here Comes The Hawk", "The Runaways", "Doves In Flight", "Hawk On the Hunt", and "The Far Off Place". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the greatest moment ever from Brit soundtrack genius Roy Budd – an artist who started with his roots in jazz piano, but who really explodes here in a range of groovy styles! The main title is an incredible blend of Eastern percussion and moody jazz – and other cuts bring in some trippier elements, mixed with funkier bits and warmer moments – all at a level that have Budd even outdoing the best late 60s work by Lalo Schifrin! The keyboards are often at the forefront – either acoustic or electric – and the album's got so many groovy grooves, with such variety, it's got a feel that's much richer than the usual soundtrack set. Titles include "Love Is A Four Letter Word", "Carter Takes A Train", "Looking For Someone", "The Girl In The Car", "Livin Should Be This Way", "Manhunt", "Goodbye Carter", and "Hallucinations". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of some of the famous film themes recorded by Roy Budd during the early 70s – featuring a mix of breezy jazzy numbers, plus others that are in more of a straight soundtrack orchestral mode. Roy's piano is tippling nicely through most cuts, though – and the set list includes 12 tracks in all, with the titles "Get Carter", "Getting Nowhere In A Hurry", "Love Is A Four Letter Word", "Fields Of Green & Skies Of Blue", "All You Want To Be Be", "Little Boy, Little Girl", "Lust", "Envy Greed & Gluttony", and "Walkin Down O'Connell Street". CD

An overlooked score from the great Roy Budd – one that we're not sure ever made it to vinyl back in the day – and which is presented here in a nicely expanded version! The music has that tense quality that made the non-groovy cuts from Budd's Get Carter score so great – and which was followed in some of his other early 70s soundtracks – which, like the music here, really shows a maturation away from the straighter jazz of Roy's roots – but still features the occasional piano solo (including electric) to remind us that he's a performer as much as a composer. There's a darkly moody vibe to many numbers – this current of sadness that's really beautiful, and which flowers often in a subtle way – on titles that include "Change Of Plan", "The Journey Continues", "Opening", "In The Woods", "Peeping Robin", "Mingle With Me", "Swept Up In Memories", "In The Office", and "Bossa Nova". CD features the bonus tracks "Pipe Tobacco", "You Can Never Trust A Friend", and "Demo Jingle". CD

One of the more orchestral of Roy Budd's scores from the 70's, but still with some nice moments that give a good focus to Roy's piano. The score was written for an Eastern thriller starring David Niven and Toshiro Mifune, and the tracks are a mix of easy and action themes – including "Kidnapped", "Out Of Control", "Who Knows The Answers", "The Reception", "Diplomatic Dance", and "The Cable Car". Some cuts have a vocal chorus, for a dreamy haunting sound, and others have Budd's piano right up front. LP, Vinyl record album

A late live moment of brilliance from Roy Budd – the British pianist who first cut some great jazz records in the 60s, then went on to create some sublime soundtracks in the 70s – working here in a trio setting that brings together the best of both worlds, and adds in some surprising bossa nova touches too! All tracks are nice and long, performed with piano from Budd, drums from Chris Karan, and bass from Pete Morgan – the latter of whom also sings a bit – in a set that's also got a very unusual approach, in that it's part of a 24 hour "playathon" to raise awareness on issues of drug abuse – a performance that also features some surprising guest appearances from Jeremy Irons and Henry Mancini. But obviously, the best bits are the instrumental ones – as Budd makes it through an 18 minute "Michel Legrand Suite", a 10 minute blend of "Anoiteceu/Berimbau", a 14 minute take on "Upa Neguinho/Aguas De Marco/Opao/Corcovado", and some other nice surprises too. CD

Maybe one of the most successful film scores ever penned by UK maestro Roy Budd – one done around the same time as his classic Get Carter soundtrack, but with a very different vibe! The film has a western setting, as you'd guess from the cover image – and Budd opens things up with a whole host of different styles in his bag – some the dramatic, driving material you'd expect – but others with groovier late 60s touches that come as a nice surprise, and which reference the different moods for certain characters in the film! The approach is nicely different from both Italian and American western soundtrack styles – and this CD brings together an expanded version of the score for the first time ever – with 16 mono tracks, 3 more stereo titles, a short interview with Roy, and even a piano demo of the main theme too. CD

Three lost Roy Budd soundtracks on one CD! Soldier Blue is the most famous of these, and has a very nice baroque theme that feels kind of like a lofty piece of Brit orchestral pop from the early 70s. You almost get the feel that it, and the other tracks on the album, might have been used on an album by Elton John or Colin Blunstone. The other two scores are similar – although have a bit more of a period piece kind of feel. But with Roy at the helm, there's still nice piano moments, and a pretty great conception that keeps the whole thing fresh. Titles include "Soldier Blue", "Cresta's Theme", "Ride On", "Catlow's Theme", "Courtroom", "Get The Gold", and "All You Want Me To Be". CD

A rare score from the legendary Roy Budd – one done for a 70s sci-fi western, and which has a great mix of modes to reflect that twist in the story! Some tunes have very familiar western elements – a nice surprise, given that Budd didn't work in the genre that much – and these are mixed with darker, moodier elements as the larger story is revealed – creating a cool sonic juxtaposition that really echoes the action on the screen! The approach is much less jazz than earlier Roy Budd, and comes from a time when he was really pinning big hopes on scoring more American work in Los Angeles – which you can hear in the style. CD features 20 tracks from the film – plus 7 more bonus tracks from the film The Sandbaggers! CD

Tightly-strung score for this forgotten war flick starring Roger Moore, Richard Burton, and Richard Harris. Budd does a nice job with the orchestra on this one, and most of the themes have a snappy militaristic style, in the vein of The Magnificent Seven or The Great Escape. Not as many jazzy bits as usual, but a nice dramatic score, and still up to Budd's usual high standards. Joan Armatrading sings vocals on the "Flight Of The Wild Geese", but skip that, and stick to tracks like "Rafer's Theme", "Reunion", "Wild Gese Theme", and "Flight To Africa". LP, Vinyl record album

A great introduction to soundtrack composer Roy Budd, with themes from Get Carter, Fear Is The Key, Wild Geese, Paper Tiger, and Diamonds – plus additional cuts by Barry Gray and Maurice Jarre! CD

The US release of 3 soundtracks to films produced by Dino De Laurentis – the best of which is Roy Budd's Stone Killer. The soundtrack is one of the darkest Budd scores ever, designed to accompany a brutal police film starring Charles Bronson. The main theme has a nice electronic sound that's kind of like the "Mystery Movie" theme from the 70s, then the score moves into some nicely turgid regions that feature spare Fender Rhodes riffs underpinned by dark orchestral scoring. Occasional beats and jazzy rhythms move into the picture from time to time, and the overall sound is excellent! The other two soundtracks aren't as great, but they're both combined on one side of the record, and don't take up as much space as Stone Killers, which gest all of side two! LP, Vinyl record album

A rare spaghetti western score from Piero Umiliani – an Italian composer we usually know best for bossa or more jazz-oriented scores, but who sounds right at home in this genre too! The album's got a sound that really shows the full range of Umiliani's talents – a few western-styled numbers with guitar in the lead, but also a number of different styles too – quieter moments that are cool variations on the main theme – played with either organ, saxophone, or harpsichord – recorded with some cool changes and a great sense of play throughout. The CD features 12 tracks from the film's score – plus the vocal number "Roy Colt", which is sung by the group Free Love, and originally only issued on a 45! CD

Director Quentin Tarantino has drawn plenty of inspiration from the music of Ennio Morricone over the years – either using short passages of older Morricone music in his films, or evoking the substance and style of the maestro in the way he uses sounds from other sources too! So it's only fitting that this time around, the pair are finally brought together fully – as Morricone turns out one of his best soundtracks in years for Tarantino's Hateful Eight – a brooding, suspenseful tale that owes plenty to the western generation that first sprung Morricone to global fame! Yet as with most of Ennio's best work, the style here is something that goes far beyond expectation – orchestrations that take on a style completely their own – with instrumental elements that have stronger focus amidst the larger charts, and a sense of mood and color here that's completely sublime. The record is mostly music from Morricone – written for the film – and features a few passages of dialogue from the movie, plus just a few additional tracks by The White Stripes, Roy Orbison, and David Hess. Yet it's more than fair to think of this as a complete score by Morricone – very different than the usual compilation-style soundtracks we've had before from Tarantino. CD

Music from Miklos Rosza, Max Steiner, Adolph Deutsch, David Raksin, Roy Webb, George Bassman, Andre Previn, Paul Sawtell, Anthony Collins, and more – plus loads of great dialogue from the films! CD