Soundtrack
"Aviator" Music is Great, But Notes and Credits Don't Fly


by Albert Haim

MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS THE AVIATOR, MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE  (SONY/COLUMBIA CK 93628) 55:06 min.
Shake That Thing/Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra; I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise/Rufus Wainwright; Somebody Stole My Gal/The Original Memphis Five; Fireworks/The Original Memphis Five; Yellow Dog Blues/Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra; Thanks/Bing Crosby with Jimmy Grier & His Orchestra; Happy Feet/Manhattan Rhythm Kings; After You've Gone/Loudon Wainwright III; Moonglow/Benny Goodman; I Can't Give You Anything But Love/Django Reinhardt, vocal by Freddy Taylor/; Ain't Cha Glad/David Johansen; Nightmare/Artie Shaw & His Orchestra; Stardust/Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra; Do I Worry?/The Ink Spots; I'll Be Seeing You/Martha Wainwright; Back Beat Boogie/Harry James & His Orchestra; Moonlight Serenade/Glenn Miller & His Orchestra; Howard Hughes/Leadbelly.



     The soundtracks of some current and recent films include jazz and dance band music from the 1920s and 1930s. These soundtracks are generally found in films of two distinct types: those in which the action takes place in the present, and those that are set in the 1920s or 1930s.

     Typical of the first category are the films of Woody Allen: often these are based on quintessential characters from the New York scene of the 1970s to the present, but the soundtracks include music from the 1920s and 1930s, such as Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" by Louis Armstrong, "At the Jazz Band Ball" by Bix Beiderbecke and His Gang, "Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington, "Begin the Beguine" by Artie Shaw, etc.  The musical director for Allen's films is the talented and knowledgeable Dick Hyman and, consequently, the selections are outstanding. Since Allen himself is an aficionado of 1920s music, the tunes chosen for the soundtracks of his films reflect his preferences.

     The second category of films has not fared as well when it comes to faithful recreation of period music. Thus, in various Hollywood biopics, the action may take place during the 1920s, but the soundtrack music is typical of the 1940s or even later!! A notable exception is Martin Scorsese's recently released film "The Aviator," a biographical account of the middle part of billionaire Howard Hughes' extraordinary life. The action takes place in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The occasional music (as distinguished from the background score composed specifically for the film) consists of period recordings as well as current recreations. Both help to bring to life the times depicted in the film.

     Two CDs have been released in conjunction with "The Aviator." One consists of Howard Shore’s original score: Decca 000397902. The other, reviewed herein, "The Aviator, Music from the Motion Picture," Columbia/Sony CK 93628, includes the complete recordings of the tunes -- jazz, swing, and pop songs -- that were used as short excerpts in the film.

     The original period recordings are by the Original Memphis Five, one of the earliest jazz bands, and by such well-known big band leaders as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Harry James, and Glenn Miller. Amongst the remaining tracks, there is one by Leadbelly. Martin Scorsese is a well-known blues aficionado, and Leadbelly is one of his idols.

    The new recordings of period tunes are the superb work of Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks Orchestra, and include vocals by the Wainright family and David Johansen.

The Original 1920s-1940s Recordings.

     There are two tracks from the 1920s: "Somebody Stole My Girl" and "Fireworks" by the Original Memphis Five. Trumpeter Phil Napoleon (born Filippo Napoli), with his buddy Frank Signorelli, had a group named "Memphis Five" (in tribute to W. C. Handy, leader of "Handy's Orchestra of Memphis" and "Handy's Memphis Blues Band”). Phil Napoleon met trombonist Miff Mole in the early 1920s, and together they created the "Original Memphis Five." The band recorded prolifically throughout the 1920s. The liners for the CD specify that the two tracks were "Originally Released in 1929 by MCA Records." I note, however, that the numbers were recorded on September 11, 1924 and June 3, 1928, respectively. "Somebody Stole My Gal" is a "standard" 1920s tune and was recorded dozens of times. In contrast, "Fireworks" was recorded only a few times in that decade, notably by Louis Armstrong's Hot Five, about two weeks after the recording by the OMF. "Fireworks" is a highly imaginative tune written by Spencer Williams. The OMF version has Phil Napoleon on trumpet, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, Jimmy Dorsey on clarinet and alto sax, Frank Signorelli on piano, an unknown banjoist, and Stan King on drums. The contrast between the two recordings by the OMF is remarkable. The 1924 tune is played in a rather simple, even primitive manner. The 1928 tune, on the other hand, is far more advanced and highly sophisticated, a splendid example of hot jazz chamber music.

     Several tracks cover the 1930s. The choice is interesting. From 1937, one of Benny Goodman's small groups, the Quartet, plays the classic tune "Moonglow;" and from 1939 we have "Moonlight Serenade," the theme song of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. There is a somber, even funeral march quality, to "Nightmare" (1937) by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra; and a lively "Back Beat Boogie" (1939) by Harry James and His Orchestra. Although the liners credit Django Reinhardt in 1947 for the recording of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," the performance, an excellent example of the symbiosis between Django and Stephane Grappelly is in fact by The Quintette of the Hot Club of France in 1936. The great Bing Crosby signs in with "Thanks," a quintessential Bing tune written for the film "Too Much Harmony," and recorded in 1933 by the Jimmie Grier orchestra. This recording was, deservingly, number two on the pop charts for two weeks.   
     Two tracks are from 1940. "Do I Worry" by the Ink Spots, one of their million dollar sellers; and Leadbelly's "Howard Hughes," one of Alan Lomax's Library of Congress Recordings. The lyrics begin as follows, "Get up in the morning, Put on your shoes, Read about Howard Hughes."

The Recreations.

    For several decades, Vince Giordano has distinguished himself as a jazz scholar, collector, musician, and bandleader. Vince's profound knowledge and appreciation of jazz and dance band music, and of its history, are reflected in his faithful reinterpretations and recreations of music from the 1920s and 1930s. It is regrettable that Vince is given credit for only three tracks in the liners for the CD. In an interview with David French for allaboutjazz.com, Vince tells David, "We're on eight tracks but we're credited for three." The three tracks credited to "Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra" demonstrate the versatility of Vince's band. "Shake That Thing" is a highly dynamic rendition of this 1925 tune, and is based on the stock arrangement by Arthur Lange, which was utilized by the Abe Lyman band for their 1926 Brunswick recording. Vince doctored this stock arrangement so as to emulate the Lyman recording. There are terrific hot solos by several members of the band: Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet), Brad Shigeta (trombone), Dan Levinson (clarinet), piano (Tom Roberts). Vince plays the bass with technical virtuosity and great enthusiasm: he drives the whole band to perform at their best. The arrangement of "Yellow Dog Blues" follows very closely that of the excellent 1929 recording by Ben's Bad Boys (the "Bad Boys" were, among others, Benny Goodman, Jimmy McPartland, Ben Pollack, and Glenn Miller). This is the stock arrangement by Elmer Schoebel. Tom Roberts transcribed the solos for the Nighthawks to read. The third tune credited to Vince, Hoagy Carmichael's immortal "Stardust," recreates Artie Shaw’s 1938 recording, and is played as a ballad. Mark Lopeman replicates Artie Shaw’s legendary solo.

     Vince Giordano's band plays in five additional tracks. In three of them, the band accompanies members of the Wainwright musical family. Rufus Wainwright sings George Gershwin's tune "I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise." The accompaniment by Vince Giordano's Nighthawks is sassy and brassy. It is based on the arrangement by Ferde Grofe for the 1922 recording of the tune by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. The arrangement was modified and edited by Vince and Tom Roberts. There is an excellent turn by violinist Skye Steele [subbing for Andy Stein] and he imparts to his solo a somewhat burlesque quality. Loudon Wainwright sings "After You've Gone" at a bluesy trot, after which the band explodes into a snappy swing, culminating in a hot coda. The arrangement is a transcription by Brian Lynch of the 1931 recording by Joe Venuti-Eddie Lang and Their All-Star orchestra. Both of these tunes are played in an authentic and compelling 1920s style. In contrast, in the accompaniment of Martha Wainwright for her version of "Ill Be Seeing You," the Nighthawks switch to a pensive, melancholy big band 1940s sound.

     There are two additional tunes with the Nighthawks band. "Ain’t Cha Glad" with a vocal by David Johansen singing in a style reminiscent of that of Jack Teagarden. The arrangement was transcribed by Andy Stein from the Benny Goodman recording of 1933. At the end of the recording, trombonist Brad Shigeta quotes, note for note, Teagarden's coda in the Goodman recording. "Happy Feet," with a vocal trio singing in the style of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, is credited in the liner notes to the Manhattan Rhythm Kings. In fact, the MRK are only the singers on this track, while the instrumentals are by Vince Giordano's Nighthawks. The arrangement, by Ferde Grofé, is from the 1930 Paul Whiteman recording. The tune was also used in the film "The King of Jazz." In one scene of “The Aviator,” a trio is seen “singing” “Happy Feet” in a set that replicates the Cocoanut Grove, the famous spot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.  In fact, the members of the trio, one of them Vince Giordano, who is seen with his string bass, are not singing, they are lip synching to the soundtrack, previously recorded in New York by the Manhattan Rhythm Kings and Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks. One of the most impressive aspects of the performance comes right after the vocal. Just as in the original recording by Whiteman, three solos, transcribed by Tom Roberts, are taken in succession by Mark Lopeman on saxophone (8 bars, recreating Frank Trumbauer), Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet (8 bars, recreating Andy Secrest), and Andy Stein on violin (16 bars, recreating Joe Venuti). These musicians, under the leadership of Vince Giordano, emulate faithfully the precise sound of the three jazz giants in Whiteman's band.

    The album was produced by Martin Scorcese and Randall Poster, and mastered at Sterling Sound, New York, by Greg Calbi. The sound is excellent, but, to my chagrin, the liner notes are inadequate. First, as I discussed above, there are errors in some dates and in some of the credits. Second, the information is scanty, at best. For example, the names of the musicians in Vince Giordano's band are given, but not their instruments. The liners are simply a listing of the tracks with a minimum of information about each track: just the names of the performers and of the composers. The duration of each track is not given, nor is that of the CD as a whole.

     Considering that the soundtrack includes original recordings from the 1920s-1940s as well as recreations from 2004, I find myself in awe as to how well the different time periods blend and how effectively the soundtrack works. This is a testimony to Mr. Giordano’s deep understanding of the music of another era, as well as to his meticulous approach to its authentic recreation.

     Finally, let us consider why the soundtrack of "The Aviator" includes both original and new recordings. To give the film an authentic feel, the soundtrack utilizes period recordings, when those recordings, with their characteristic and identifiable sound, are meant to be playing in the background of certain scenes, presumably on a radio or phonograph. However, several of the early scenes in the film take place in the Cocoanut Grove, with a live band on stage. The characteristic sound of original recordings (which are not stereophonic, may lack suitable fidelity, may contain surface noise, and which were mixed differently than is customary today) would have diminished the verisimilitude of those scenes. It was necessary for the soundtrack recording to recreate the vintage music with a live sound, and who better to accomplish this task flawlessly and faithfully than Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra?

Acknowledgment. I am grateful to Mr. Vince Giordano for his careful reading of the entire manuscript and for his additions and corrections.

Originally published in the March 2005 issue of "The Mississippi Rag."

Addendum. January 30, 2007.
I failed to mention that all the tracks by Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra were engineered by Troy Halderson. Mr. Halderson writes on Jan 25, 2007,

" I would like to thank Mr. Scorcese for making this wonderful project possible and Randall Poster for hiring me to do the recordings. It  was a fantastic experience. Greg Calbi always does a great job of  mastering and must have had his hands full, bridging the period recordings with the recreations. Two others who were directly  involved were Jim Dunbar and Stewart Lerman. I'm not sure how they  should have been credited, but they were acting as producers, helping  to shape, edit and balance the recordings. Of course, it could never have been done without Vince and his band. Their profound understanding of the music and use of period instruments was vital in making the sound authentic. Considering the amount of time and energy that went into those recordings, not to be credited correctly is a shame. My wonderful and talented coworkers at Clinton Recording Studios in New York and myself paid careful attention to microphone choices and setup to recreate the authenticity and immediacy of the experience of an actual live performance. Keith Shortreed was the  assistant engineer, doing all of the editing. There may have been other assistants as well but I can't recall. I  believe the sessions were spread out over the period of a year or more."

I thank Mr. Troy Halderson for providing additional information about the production of the CD.