Breakfast At Tiffany's - Music From The Motion Picture Score Composed And Conducted By Henry Mancini (1961)

Note: my copy is the 1988 remaster.

35 minutes of nuanced composing that might be better than the movie itself. Mancini is on top of his game here. Great lounge music, many tracks have a bossa/Latin feel. Still hip today, I've played this at parties with great success. A big hit when it was released, this album spent the first half of 1961 atop the Billboard album chart. At the 1962 Academy Awards, Mancini and Johnny Mercer won Oscars for Best Original Song for Moon River, while Mancini picked up a second statue for Best Original Score. Henry Mancini also won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording or Score. Recommended for cheesy fun.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #1 (12 weeks between Feb 10 - May 5, 1962)

Tracks: Believe it or not, I usually skip Moon River and head straight for the swinging '60s big band music. Moon River is a great song, but that folky ballad is very different from what follows. Top cuts are Something For Cat, The Big Blow Out, Latin Golightly, Loose Caboose, and Moon River Cha Cha. Named after the Mickey Rooney character, the song Mr. Yunioshi is probably the weakest of the bunch, but, then again, that whole character is offensive now. Can you imagine the outrage if a character like Yunioshi was in a movie released now?

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Of course I'm reminded of the movie, which I've seen more times than I could count (even though I prefer Truman Capote's ending over Blake Edward's). My favorite scene is the party scene, especially the woman looking in the mirror.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Quincy Jones - Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (1968)

Quincy Jones - Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (1968)

Quincy Jones might best be known these days for his production work with Michael Jackson, but he made his mark as a composer/arranger. For this release, he arranges 12 Mancini works for big band. What a great combination: Mancini is an outstanding composer, Jones is a fantastic arranger. Jones transforms many of the pieces, making them funkier and jazzier. The overall sound of the release is indicative of what was going on in the world of big band arranging in the late '60s/early '70s. It's a fun listen.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I love how Jones takes a couple of ballads and makes them get uptempo tunes, like Charade. Jones even turns Moon River into a groovin' jazz waltz. Bird Brain gets your attention not only because of its style and an arrangement of the melody that doubles flute with either bass clarinet or vibraphone, but you also get a bass clarinet solo! The only weak arrangement on this CD is of The Pink Panther. Maybe the original is so good it can't be improved upon. The CD ends strong with the ever-popular Peter Gunn theme.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember playing the Mancini chart Mr. Lucky in high school jazz band, but the arrangement wasn't nearly as good or as swinging as the one included on this release.