ALBUM SPOTLIGHT

BENNY CARTER, DIZZY GILLESPIE, QUINCY JONES

“Journey to Next”

Lightyear Entertainment

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Jazz and animation have long had a happy working relationship. Cartoons, from early Walter Lantz shorts to more recent Ralph Bakshi features, have incorporated every manner and style of jazz in their soundtracks. Sadly, it is now almost impossible to determine, other than by making an educated guess, who the players--some undoubtedly well-known--may have been. And the original recordings, for the most part, are gone, leaving only the film soundtracks, in which music is mixed with sound effects and dialogue.

But here’s an exception. The gifted animators John and Faith Hubley produced 22 pictures, seven of which were nominated for Academy Awards. Three won Oscars: “Moonbird” (1959), “The Hole” (1963) and “Tijuana Brass” (1959) (animated to music by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass).

They also were devoted jazz fans, and two of the jazz-tinged films represented here-- “Voyage to Next” (1973) and “Of Men and Demons” (1969)--received Academy Award nominations.

The result is this fascinating collection of jazz for seven animated films, issued for the first time as an audio recording.

While the CD includes occasional brief fragments obviously intended to accent or bridge scenes, there also are extended, suite-like pieces by each of the composers. Carter’s segments (for five pictures stretching from 1956 to 1985) are far-reaching in style and substance, reminiscent of Duke Ellington in some places, filled with Carter’s immediately memorable melodies in others.

Gillespie’s music for “Voyage to Next” (1973)--his first film score--is an engaging work, combining wordless scatting by Dee Dee Bridgewater and boppish exchanges between Gillespie and his then-young protege, Jon Faddis, in a frame of typically energized rhythm. And Jones’ “Of Men and Demons” (1969) contrasts gripping (and early) use of synthesizer passages and humorous vocals by trombonist Richard Boone.

The large cast of top-level players who dart through a wildly eclectic array of solos includes Lionel Hampton, Frank Wess, Joe Wilder, Hank Jones, Hilton Jefferson and Jean-Luc Ponty. Despite a few moments in which one might wish to see the picture with the sounds, this is, for the most part, an enchanting compilation--especially appealing because it is revelatory of each of the composer’s musical psyches in ways not always apparent in their purely audio outings.

(Audio-visual versions of the original cartoons--”The Cosmic Eye,” “Of Men and Demons,” “The Hole” and “Voyage to Next”--are available in four videos titled “Art and Jazz in Animation,” also from Lightyear Entertainment.)

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).