Piero Umiliani / Chet Baker – Smog – LP

Alternative Fox

Alternative Fox presents a reissue of Piero Umiliani and Chet Baker‘s original soundtrack for “Smog“, originally released in 1962.

In 1961, Umiliani and Baker joined forces again for the soundtrack of the film “Smog“, a complicated courtroom drama about an Italian lawyer’s travels to Los Angeles, which resulted in all manner of unexpected escapades. Baker features prominently on the moody theme song, the unexpected swing of “Thinkin’ Blues”, the terse melody of the aptly-titled “Tension”, the lingering moodiness of “Alone In A Crowd” and the intense edginess of “Twilight At Los Angeles”; Helen Merrill contributes an alternate reading of the theme song in vocal form and a sultry number called “Dawn”. The remainder is pure Umiliani, mostly in the form of heavily-orchestrated big-band jazz, fitting music for a silver-screen venture.