Paris Blues

AMG Review of Paris Blues

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

Paris Blues had the potential for being an important Hollywood movie. Originally, it was supposed to be about a pair of interracial romances involving American jazz musicians who were living in Paris. Instead, the producers chickened out at the last minute and made the plot a bit more conventional. However, the movie, starring Paul Newman (as a trombonist whose playing was ghosted by Murray McEachern), Sidney Poitier (on tenor, sounding an awful lot like Guy Lafitte), Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll, still has its moments and to an extent deals with the jazz life. Duke Ellington wrote the music for its score; his orchestra, McEachern, Lafitte, and lots of extra musicians are heard throughout, and Louis Armstrong has a small part and plays two numbers. Originally; the soundtrack was put out by United Artists. This CD reissue by Rykodisc has most of the significant music -- several Ellington standards plus some newer Duke songs such as "Battle Royal," "Wild Man Moore," "Guitar Amour" and "Paris Blues" -- and a little bit of dialogue from the film, although it surprisingly leaves out Ellington's short version of his "Clothed Woman," which appears in the movie. Because it is an enhanced CD, listeners with computers will also be able to watch the interesting trailer from the film. Although not a classic, Paris Blues (both the film and the soundtrack) is worth owning by jazz collectors.