Gregg Simpson Jazz Hour: Detective Jazz

[Gregg Simpson]

This week it's the great music of the tv detective series of the late 50's and early 60's: Peter Gunn, Johnny Staccato, Mike Hammer, Naked City, M-Squad and more.

You'll want to pull on a fedora and get into a '56 Ford after you hear this show. www.artisanradio.com at 10am and 5pm

[LAZZ]

This week it's the great music of the tv detective series of the late 50's and early 60's: Peter Gunn, Johnny Staccato, Mike Hammer, Naked City, M-Squad and more.


Elmer Bernstein
Yippee !!

[Brian Nation]

Elmer Bernstein As I recall it (I was about 14 or 15 when it first aired) Bernstein wrote the "Johnny Staccato" theme music but Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, and others appeared in the show as part of the band that Johnny Staccato played in. For the few of you out there younger than me, Johnny Stacatto was a piano playing private eye, played by John Cassavetes, no less!

[Gregg Simpson]

Brian, I was about 12 or so and I always liked Staccato. It was a very hip show especially with John Cassavetes. On reading the liner notes of the LPs, I see that Barney Kessel was in the Bernstein orchestra along with Conte Candoli, who incidentally played with Al Neil as his pianist at the Cellar in the '50's.

That album doesn't mention Manne or Mitchell, but they were with Mancini on Peter Gunn along with Pete Candoli. It's sort of tv noir music. It was a fun show to put together from old vinyl. I also dig the Mike Hammer theme and M-Squad's was written by Count Basie.

I really like coming up with odd themes to put on my show. I may do a Japanese jazz hour soon which can feature Rick Kitaeff's side of that CBC LP, Pacific Rim, with Sunship.