The saxophone in movie soundtracks

**MESax** · 06-16-2007, 05:50 AM

That 1992 movie Sneakers with Robert Redford and Sidney Potier. Branford playing sax.

**Rick Adams** · 06-16-2007, 05:58 AM

The Commitments

**Jonathan C.** · 06-16-2007, 05:59 AM

Remember the Titans, Glory Road.

**brasscane** · 06-16-2007, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by Rick Adams

The Commitments

I love "The Commitments". You can't help wondering though how one alto and trumpet manages to sound like an entire horn section that prominently features a baritone.

**Rick Adams** · 06-16-2007, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by brasscane

I love "The Commitments". You can't help wondering though how one alto and trumpet manages to sound like an entire horn section that prominently features a baritone.

't'is the luck o' the Oirish (said in suitable fake accent

)

**Al Stevens** · 06-16-2007, 03:06 PM

Movies about sax players:

'Round Midnight (Dexter Gordon)
Bird (Forrest Whittaker)
Some Like it Hot (Tony Curtis)
Lush Life (Jeff Goldblum)
New York, New York (Robert Di Niro)
Paris Blues (Sidney Portier)
The Conversation (Gene Hackman)
The Fabulous Dorseys (Jimmy Dorsey)

**Al Stevens** · 06-17-2007, 03:19 PM

I watched "The Fabulous Baker Boys" last night. Some nice sax in the soundtrack, so I paid attention to the credits afterwards. It was Ernie Watts.

By the way, that movie comes closer to getting it right about the life of lounge musicians than any other I've seen. Beau Bridges was brilliant.

**brasscane** · 06-17-2007, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by Al Stevens

I watched "The Fabulous Baker Boys" last night. Some nice sax in the soundtrack, so I paid attention to the credits afterwards. It was Ernie Watts.

By the way, that movie comes closer to getting it right about the life of lounge musicians than any other I've seen. Beau Bridges was brilliant.

I totally agree (except for the part about lounge musicians, which I am not qualified to speak of being an amateur sax player). I have the soundtrack on CD. Ernie Watts, wow, never occured to me to look. BTW, the mere thought Michelle Pfeiffer singing "My Funny Valentine" is comical. The big surprise is that it actually works pretty well.

**Elmar Kurgpold** · 06-17-2007, 08:16 PM

Check the Lethal Weapon series. Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen did the original music for #1, but if I remember correctly David Sanborn was all over it. I checked the credits for LW2 and Sanborn is also listed as a composer.

**jmm1713** · 06-17-2007, 09:12 PM

There is some good stuff on the Passenger 57 soundtrack and Leaving Las Vegas soundtrack .

**brasscane** · 06-17-2007, 10:08 PM

Never seen the movie (Dutch from 1989) but the title tracks obviously was written by David Stewart and features Candy Dulfer on the alto sax.

**Anselmo** · 06-18-2007, 05:11 PM

"Kansas City" by Robert Altman 1996. Carter, Redman ..............
"Volver" by Pedro Almodóvar 2006. Andy Findon.

**princeganon** · 06-18-2007, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by cigar

The "Taxi Driver" alto should be Ronny Lang - Mancini`s favourite alto man!
He played lead alto for Les Brown in the early fifties - one of the best sounding sax-sections ever!
Superb player also on flute and baritone...........
Enjoy

are you sure? i always thought it was tom scott.

**brasscane** · 08-22-2007, 02:18 PM

Stolen from nitrosax (thanks) in another thread:

A little trivia you may or may not know about Phil Woods...Ever seen the movie THE HUSTLER with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason(One of my all time favorite movies by the way...REAL acting and a REAL plot before all this CG Shite...)...Phil Woods plays ALL the stuff on that movie's soundtrack and it's the most beautiful Phil Woods alto you've ever heard...it's soo gritty and lean and focused and I think it captures the whole essence of Phil's sound..

**Reedsplinter** · 08-22-2007, 02:31 PM

Everyone remembers Tony Curtis playing a sax player in "Some Like it Hot," but who remembers "The Rat Race" (a fair to middling film to watch on cable at 4 a.m. if you're a sax player):

A somewhat uneven but still entertaining comedy-drama, The Rat Race, by director Robert Mulligan, co-stars Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds as Peter Hammond, Jr. and Peggy Brown, two performers who meet in New York and are thrown together by their mutual poverty. Peter arrives on a bus from the Midwest with his sax in hand* and high hopes for a career. He gets a one-room walk-up and then meets Peggy, a dancer down on her luck who needs a place to stay. Ever the gentleman, Peter offers her space in his apartment and they string up a modesty curtain to divide their separate domains. But luck is not kind to Peter, right from the beginning. Some pranksters hose him down with cold water on his first trip into the city and he later gets his precious saxophone stolen by a trio of devious musicians/thieves. Peggy offers companionship in the face of difficulties, and before long the platonic relationship has distinct romantic overtones. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

*He actually arrives with, as I recall, 3 saxes in hand: Mark VI alto, tenor, and bari; the scene in which his axes get stolen will entertain you for sure. Then his girlfriend buys him a new family of Conns. He gets a big gig on a cruise ship -- Yikes!

**eidollon** · 08-22-2007, 02:36 PM

Pink Panther !!! (Tony Coe played on the 1st movie AFAIK)

I believe Anthony Ortega played for a movie from Cassavetes ?). Did not hear it though.

There was a good soundtrack for movie "Lulu on the bridge" by leader /saxophonist from Lounge Lizard (his name escapes me right now)

**saxviking** · 08-22-2007, 03:09 PM

Simpsons: the movie!!...

featuring Lisa on a bari that plays like a tenor..

**SaxyAcoustician** · 08-22-2007, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by Elmar Kurgpold

Check the Lethal Weapon series. Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen did the original music for #1, but if I remember correctly David Sanborn was all over it.

Yeah, I recall noticing the soundtrack while watching as a kid. Sanborn was ALL OVER that. He's SO AWESOME!

Originally Posted by MESax

That 1992 movie Sneakers with Robert Redford and Sidney Potier. Branford playing sax.

I remember that. Ah, the sweet soprano sound of Branford.

**Reedsplinter** · 08-22-2007, 03:45 PM

CATCHFIRE with Dennis Hopper and Jodie Foster. Weak movie, but features Hopper as a hit man who plays sax to blow off steam (between hits?). There is one interesting feature of the way the movie portrays this: Hopper's character is not supposed to know how to play (he's just acquired a horn somewhere and blows it aimlessly to "relax") and whoever plays sax for him conveys this by playing amazing multiphonics -- so here's a guy completely ignorant of the instrument playing notes (chords!) that you'd have to study for years to play with such consistency. Of course nobody in the audience knows that except for the sax players. . . .

As I recall, there's a culminating scene when Hopper, in a 20th floor (or so) condo, throws the tenor through a huge plate glass window. Pretty spectacular unless you have a weak stomach. . . .