tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6853772569125614798.post283438210990395537..comments2024-03-28T09:45:33.089-07:00Comments on JazzProfiles: Hugo Friedhofer - A Compositional and Orchestral Genius [From the Archives]Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6853772569125614798.post-48509623998660912882024-01-08T13:18:00.446-08:002024-01-08T13:18:00.446-08:00 The great jazz guitarist/studio musician/educator... The great jazz guitarist/studio musician/educator Howard Roberts once told me that he had studied with Hugo Friedhofer. Howard considered this to be one of the most important influences on his development as a jazz musician and he also had a few stories he shared with me about Friedhofer.<br /> Howard also recorded a Friedhofer composition called “An Orchid for Miss Sterling” on one of his mid-fifties LP’s on the Verve label.<br /> I always wondered if this beautiful melody was originally a “stand alone” piece written for the album, or was it part of one of Friedhofer’s film scores and extracted by Roberts to be used on this LP?<br /> If anyone knows, I’d really appreciate any information you could provide -specifically about this piece and its origins! Thank you, Hank MackieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6853772569125614798.post-16432815206316064742023-05-24T08:50:53.387-07:002023-05-24T08:50:53.387-07:00A lifelong cinephile, I’ve developed a renewed app...A lifelong cinephile, I’ve developed a renewed appreciation for Westerns, in part due to my retirement relocation plans being literally set ablaze by the now irreversible threats of human driven climate change impacting the American western states. However, the story and/or the music have always been the two primary factors inducing me to watch any film or TV show, and far more so to consider adding it to my DVD/BD collection. “Bad Day at Black Rock”, “Day of the Outlaw”, “Hud” and the “Stoney Burke” TV series [ the late and very great composer Dominic (first season “Outer Limits”) Frontiere] are among the few of that genre in my large collection-but will soon be adding “From Hell to Texas”, “Thunderhoof” and “Brokeback Mountain”, “Rancho Notorious” and “Flamingo Road”. <br /><br />I’ve yet to see “One-eyed Jacks” as the story seems too unappealing to sit through. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Eyed_Jacks#Plot But now, in addition to having good reason to see Marlon Brando-whose “Fugitive Kind” and “Don Juan DeMarco” are his only titles in my collection-there’s also Hugo Friedhofer’s score. I can borrow the movie from the local public library system. This should make for quite an evening. <br /><br />I’ve always only wish that more but like I suspect that most composers are, like Hugo was, too modest or otherwise disinclined to discuss their background, and perhaps even the aesthetic and/or technical side of their work, which might not translate very well for conversation. But who still doesn’t just want to see and <br />hear them anyway? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1da9xGOmno&t=23s<br /><br /><br />As for Hugo’s stuff, the only music I believe I have of his is the some of the wonderful work he did with Earl Hagen on two DVDs I have from the “I Spy” TV series. And then there’s “Homicidal”, William Castle’s unique and brilliant horror masterpiece. I’ve long been disappointed with Sony’s 2002 DVD edition which inexplicably converted the film’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio to 1:33:1. And while the sound quality is little more than serviceable I always loved Hugo’s slow and largely mild sounding score, adding just the right level of creepiness or coarse dynamics when the scenes really call for it-much as Bernard Hermann did for Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, however much both films may compare to each other. But I also love Hugo’s slick sounding jazzy cue that rightly complements the refined looks of the main character during the opening scene where she enters the hotel lobby. FINALLY! UK distributor Indicator has issued Powerhouse Films’ BD edition of “Homicidal”. Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect, the BD also includes a high quality ISOLATED soundtrack of Hugo’s score. Enjoy! <br /> <br /><br />Gregnoreply@blogger.com