Jellysmoke
Peter Calandra
" Easy listening, but satisfying enough to create an emotional and rewarding experience on cd. "Written by Bregt De Lange - Review of the regular release
Alongside Dario Marianelli, Alfons Conde and Jeff Grace, MovieScore Media continues composer collaborations with Peter Calandra and his score for Jellysmoke. MSM's debut featured his score for Unknown Soldier, back then only available as a download, and adds it now onto the same disc as Jellysmoke. Both feature Calandra's jazz background and together they are a very tasty combination indeed.
While not a very high rated movie (perhaps rightfully so as the storyline mentions "After being released from a psychiatric ward, a young man attempts to lead a normal life". Is it a comedy?), the score has no problem with being enjoyable. Calandra surfs from one smooth jazz cue to a fine piano driven melody to another easy going stylish piece. Obviously, this light side is not very theme driven, but instead focusing on the mood and atmosphere. But it's music to love, even in all its simplicity. The twinkling piano, the soft jazz instrumentation and the cool tunes just make up for a super chill listening experience. "Jacob's Theme" opens the score with a real smooth jazz piece, lead by saxophone and piano. Enjoyable cues following up range from the sunny "On the Boulevard", the foot tapping "Cindy's Samba" with a lead for some sort of harmonica, to the quirky "Walk/Don't Walk" piece.
Two or tree times, Calandra takes a just very bizarre route and raises the eyebrow with odd instruments or sounds. Rightfully called "Somethings Off Here", we hear some kind of snares, sounding like it's recorded 50 years ago. "What's This" takes the same way, this time added with weird electronic effects. Both definitely stand out and do exactly what the track titles want to say.
It may sounds like there's not much time to stand still here, but there are some slower, dramatic moments as well. They are all grouped together around the "Jellysmoke" theme, with several reprises throughout the album, and near the end, where the story clearly doesn't seem to end very happy. The focus lies on an extremely hypnotic piano theme, and unlike Unknown Soldier, it is actually a melody that becomes recognizable. Calandra does not let much interfere with his piano performances and that is admirable. As with Unknown Soldier, those cues sometimes feel very fluent and improvised. At the end of the score, he creates quite a nice and lonely atmosphere, again with solo piano. The last notes vaguely lets us hear something hopeful, and in all its silence, that's a moving way to end the album.
Jellysmoke is another good album added to MovieScore Media's catalog. Easy listening, but satisfying enough to create an emotional and rewarding experience on cd. Jellysmoke stands in the shadow of the jazz scores from Chris Young and Rolfe Kent, but that also means it stands close to those.
Tracklisting
Jellysmoke
1. Jacob's Theme (2.15)
2. The Long Walk (0.38)
3. Jellysmoke (2.11)
4. Wondering (1.02)
5. Something's Off Here (2.09)
6. Just Like That (1.10)
7. On the Boulevard (1.33)
8. One Day in the Park (2.44)
9. Jellysmoke (Reprise) (2.37)
10. On the Boulevard (Reprise) (1.19)
11. Cindy's Samba (2.26)
12. Walk / Don't Walk (0.48)
13. Lost Images (2.44)
14. What's This? (1.00)
15. Tell Me Your Secrets (2.16)
16. Fun Times (1.59)
17. Jellysmoke (Reprise 2) (1.55)
18. What Now? (1.56)
19. The Dream (2.56)
20. Please Help (1.49)
21. Tired of Running (1.38)
22. Jacob's Theme (Reprise) (2.31)
23. Losing Part I (2.08)
24. Judas Paul (0.48)
25. Losing Part II (2.03)
Unknown Soldier
26. Opening Party (2.37)
27. City Biking (1.22)
28. Teen Hijinks (3.02)
29. Fire Escape Meeting (0.56)
30. Elison's Pain (3.09)
31. Searching (2.11)
32. Can't Sleep Here (1.11)
33. Elison's Choice (2.28)
34. The Escape (5.13)
35. End Credits (3.24)
Total Length: 78.08
While not a very high rated movie (perhaps rightfully so as the storyline mentions "After being released from a psychiatric ward, a young man attempts to lead a normal life". Is it a comedy?), the score has no problem with being enjoyable. Calandra surfs from one smooth jazz cue to a fine piano driven melody to another easy going stylish piece. Obviously, this light side is not very theme driven, but instead focusing on the mood and atmosphere. But it's music to love, even in all its simplicity. The twinkling piano, the soft jazz instrumentation and the cool tunes just make up for a super chill listening experience. "Jacob's Theme" opens the score with a real smooth jazz piece, lead by saxophone and piano. Enjoyable cues following up range from the sunny "On the Boulevard", the foot tapping "Cindy's Samba" with a lead for some sort of harmonica, to the quirky "Walk/Don't Walk" piece.
Two or tree times, Calandra takes a just very bizarre route and raises the eyebrow with odd instruments or sounds. Rightfully called "Somethings Off Here", we hear some kind of snares, sounding like it's recorded 50 years ago. "What's This" takes the same way, this time added with weird electronic effects. Both definitely stand out and do exactly what the track titles want to say.
It may sounds like there's not much time to stand still here, but there are some slower, dramatic moments as well. They are all grouped together around the "Jellysmoke" theme, with several reprises throughout the album, and near the end, where the story clearly doesn't seem to end very happy. The focus lies on an extremely hypnotic piano theme, and unlike Unknown Soldier, it is actually a melody that becomes recognizable. Calandra does not let much interfere with his piano performances and that is admirable. As with Unknown Soldier, those cues sometimes feel very fluent and improvised. At the end of the score, he creates quite a nice and lonely atmosphere, again with solo piano. The last notes vaguely lets us hear something hopeful, and in all its silence, that's a moving way to end the album.
Jellysmoke is another good album added to MovieScore Media's catalog. Easy listening, but satisfying enough to create an emotional and rewarding experience on cd. Jellysmoke stands in the shadow of the jazz scores from Chris Young and Rolfe Kent, but that also means it stands close to those.
Tracklisting
Jellysmoke
1. Jacob's Theme (2.15)
2. The Long Walk (0.38)
3. Jellysmoke (2.11)
4. Wondering (1.02)
5. Something's Off Here (2.09)
6. Just Like That (1.10)
7. On the Boulevard (1.33)
8. One Day in the Park (2.44)
9. Jellysmoke (Reprise) (2.37)
10. On the Boulevard (Reprise) (1.19)
11. Cindy's Samba (2.26)
12. Walk / Don't Walk (0.48)
13. Lost Images (2.44)
14. What's This? (1.00)
15. Tell Me Your Secrets (2.16)
16. Fun Times (1.59)
17. Jellysmoke (Reprise 2) (1.55)
18. What Now? (1.56)
19. The Dream (2.56)
20. Please Help (1.49)
21. Tired of Running (1.38)
22. Jacob's Theme (Reprise) (2.31)
23. Losing Part I (2.08)
24. Judas Paul (0.48)
25. Losing Part II (2.03)
Unknown Soldier
26. Opening Party (2.37)
27. City Biking (1.22)
28. Teen Hijinks (3.02)
29. Fire Escape Meeting (0.56)
30. Elison's Pain (3.09)
31. Searching (2.11)
32. Can't Sleep Here (1.11)
33. Elison's Choice (2.28)
34. The Escape (5.13)
35. End Credits (3.24)
Total Length: 78.08