Paris Blues
Encyclopedia
Paris Blues is an American feature film filmed on location in Paris
, starring Sidney Poitier
as expatriate jazz musician Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman
as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing American tourists, Connie Lampson (Diahann Carroll) and Lillian Corning (Joanne Woodward
) respectively. The film also deals with American racism of the time contrasted with Paris's kinder treatment of African Americans.
The film also features trumpeter Louis Armstrong
as Wild Man Moore and jazz pianist Aaron Bridgers
; both play musicians within the film. It was produced by Sam Shaw
, directed by Martin Ritt
from a screenplay by Walter Bernstein
, and with cinematography by Christian Matras
. Paris Blues was released in the U. S. on September 27, 1961.
by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
recorded and released on the United Artists
label in 1961 and reissued on Rykodisc
in 1996 with additional dialogue from the film and the film trailer on CD-ROM
. It features performances by Ellington's Orchestra with Louis Armstrong
guesting on two tracks.
awarded the album 3 stars and stated "Although not a classic, Paris Blues (both the film and the soundtrack) is worth owning by jazz collectors". A review in Jazz Times by Stanley Dance
, however, was quite critical of the release stating "both movie and music, in my opinion, were disappointing examples of how too many cooks spoil the broth... for the main NYC sessions, no less than five drummers were brought in, who lamentably failed to swing the big band as the absent Sam Woodyard
could have done all by himself. One of the few moments of truth occurs in the finale, "Paris Blues," when Johnny Hodges
is briefly heard".
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, starring Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
as expatriate jazz musician Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing American tourists, Connie Lampson (Diahann Carroll) and Lillian Corning (Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
) respectively. The film also deals with American racism of the time contrasted with Paris's kinder treatment of African Americans.
The film also features trumpeter Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
as Wild Man Moore and jazz pianist Aaron Bridgers
Aaron Bridgers
Aaron Bridgers was an African American jazz pianist who moved to Paris in 1947. Bridgers was jazz composer Billy Strayhorn's lover from 1939 until Bridgers' move to Paris....
; both play musicians within the film. It was produced by Sam Shaw
Sam Shaw
Samuel E. Shaw was an American professional baseball player who played parts of two seasons for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association and the Chicago Colts of the National League. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland the date and place of his death is unknown.-External links:...
, directed by Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
from a screenplay by Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein is an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s.-Early life:...
, and with cinematography by Christian Matras
Christian Matras (cinematographer)
Christian Matras was a French cinematographer who worked on more than 100 feature films, including Grand Illusion , directed by Jean Renoir; The Milky Way , directed by Luis Buñuel; and Thérèse Desqueyroux , directed by Georges Franju; Lola Montès , The Earrings of Madame De......
. Paris Blues was released in the U. S. on September 27, 1961.
Cast
- Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
as Ram Bowen - Joanne WoodwardJoanne WoodwardJoanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
as Lillian Corning - Sidney PoitierSidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
as Eddie Cook - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
as Wild Man Moore - Diahann Carroll as Connie Lampson
- Barbara Laage as Marie Séoul
- André LuguetAndré LuguetAndré Luguet was a French film actor. He appeared in over 120 films between 1910 and 1970.He was born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, France and died in Cannes, France.-Selected filmography:* The Mad Genius...
as René Bernard - Marie Versini as Nicole
- Moustache as Mustachio the drummer
- Aaron BridgersAaron BridgersAaron Bridgers was an African American jazz pianist who moved to Paris in 1947. Bridgers was jazz composer Billy Strayhorn's lover from 1939 until Bridgers' move to Paris....
Bridgers as Pianist - Guy Pederson as Bass Player
- Serge ReggianiSerge ReggianiSerge Reggiani was an Italian-born French singer and actor. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight...
as Michel "Gypsy" Devigne - Emilien Antille as Man with alto sax in jazz cave when Armstrong enters
- Roger BlinRoger BlinRoger Blin was a French actor and director notable for directing the first production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot....
as Fausto the moor - Charles Bouillaud as Luggage carrier in train
- Michel Dacquin as Guest at Devigne's party
- Hélène Dieudonné as The Pusher
- Michel Garland as Club 33 customer
- René Hell as Man with dog in the park
- Jo Labarrère as Club 33 customer
- Jack Lenoir as Club 33 waiter
- Frank Maurice as Luggage carrier on the platform
- Niko as Ricardo
- Michel PortalMichel PortalMichel Portal is a composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist.Portal studied clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris...
as Musician - Claude Rollet as Club 33 customer
- Albert Simono as Guest at Devigne's party
- André Tomasi as Club 33 bartender
- María Velasco as Pianist
- Dominique Zard
Soundtrack
Paris Blues is a soundtrack albumSoundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded and released on the United Artists
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
label in 1961 and reissued on Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
in 1996 with additional dialogue from the film and the film trailer on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
. It features performances by Ellington's Orchestra with Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
guesting on two tracks.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Scott YanowScott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
awarded the album 3 stars and stated "Although not a classic, Paris Blues (both the film and the soundtrack) is worth owning by jazz collectors". A review in Jazz Times by Stanley Dance
Stanley Dance
Stanley Dance was a jazz writer and oral historian of the swing era.He began writing about the jazz scene for the French magazine Jazz Hot in 1935...
, however, was quite critical of the release stating "both movie and music, in my opinion, were disappointing examples of how too many cooks spoil the broth... for the main NYC sessions, no less than five drummers were brought in, who lamentably failed to swing the big band as the absent Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums, and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, and then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner...
could have done all by himself. One of the few moments of truth occurs in the finale, "Paris Blues," when Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges
John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
is briefly heard".
Track listing
All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated- "Take the "A" Train' (Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
) - 2:14 - You Know Something? - 0:24
- "Battle Royal" - 4:31
- "Bird Jungle" - 1:59
- What's Paris Blues? - 0:45
- "Mood IndigoMood Indigo"Mood Indigo" is a jazz composition and song, with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills.-Disputed authorship:In a 1987 interview, Mitchell Parish claimed to have written the lyrics:...
" (Ellington, Barney BigardBarney BigardAlbany Leon Bigard, aka Barney Bigard, was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet....
, Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
) - 3:15 - "Autumnal Suite" - 3:14
- "Nite" - 3:32
- "Wild Man Moore" - 1:49
- "Paris Stairs" - 3:05
- I Wasn't Shopping - 0:21
- "Guitar Amour" - 2:02
- A Return Reservation - 0:33
- "Paris Blues" - 5:53
- Recorded at Reeves Sound Studios, New York on May 2 & 3, 1961
Personnel
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(tracks 3 & 9) - Cat Anderson, Willie CookWillie CookWillie Cook was an American jazz trumpeter.Cook grew up in Chicago and learned to play violin before settling on trumpet as a teenager. He joined King Perry's band in the late 1930s, then replaced Charlie Parker in Jay McShann's band early in the 1940s...
, Ed Mullens, Ray NanceRay NanceRay Willis Nance was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer.Nance is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington through most of the 1940s and 1950s, after he was hired to replace Cootie Williams in 1940...
, Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
- trumpet - Louis Blackburn, Lawrence Brown, Murray McEachernMurray McEachernMurray McEachern was a Canadian jazz trombonist and alto saxophonist born in Toronto, perhaps best-known for having played trombone for Benny Goodman from 1936-1937...
, Britt WoodmanBritt WoodmanBritt Woodman was a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his work with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus....
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Juan TizolJuan TizolJuan Tizol was a Puerto Rican trombonist and composer.He was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Music was a large part of his life from an early age. His first instrument was the violin, but he soon switched to valve trombone, the instrument he would play throughout his career...
- valve trombone - Arthur Clark, Jimmy HamiltonJimmy HamiltonJimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington....
- clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Johnny HodgesJohnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
, Oliver NelsonOliver NelsonOliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Russell ProcopeRussell ProcopeRussell Procope , an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists....
- alto saxophone, clarinet - Paul GonsalvesPaul GonsalvesPaul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
- tenor saxophone - Harry CarneyHarry CarneyHarry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, clarinet, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet... - Harry Smiles - oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- Les SpannLes SpannLeslie Spann, Jr. was an American jazz guitarist and flautist.Spann was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States....
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Aaron BellAaron BellSamuel Aaron Bell was an American jazz double-bassist.As a child, Bell played piano, and learned brass instruments in high school. He attended Xavier University, where he began playing bass, and graduated in 1942; following this he joined the Navy, completing his service in 1946...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Sonny GreerSonny GreerSonny Greer was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Duke Ellington.Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. before joining Duke Ellington, who he met in 1919...
, Dave Jackson, Jimmy Johnson, Philly Joe JonesPhilly Joe JonesJoseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
, Max RoachMax RoachMaxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....