''Music from Odds Against Tomorrow'' (also released as ''Patterns'') is an album by American jazz group the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), ...

featuring interpretations of the soundtrack score for the 1959 motion picture ''

Odds Against Tomorrow ''Odds Against Tomorrow'' is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise and starring Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel of the same name by William P. McGivern. Blacklist ...

''. It was released on

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

, the label that the films' production company

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

had founded two years earlier for its film soundtracks.Modern Jazz Quartet discography
accessed September 1, 2012 The album was recorded with the Modern Jazz Quartet and a 22-piece orchestra. Pianist

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

wrote and arranged the original score. Although he had already written music for ''

No Sun in Venice ''No Sun in Venice'' (french: Sait-on jamais...) is a 1957 French-Italian drama film directed by Roger Vadim. It was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. The soundtrack for the film was composed by pianist John Lewis, and perf ...

'', this was the first time Lewis—given early 16 mm film proofs—composed along the story-line rather than delivering “a set of isolated pieces”.

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

, who organized the orchestra for the original soundtrack recordings, noticed that “it can serve its purpose in the film. But it can also stand as absolute music apart from the original situation.”

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review states "all of the selections have their memorable moments and it is good to hear this classic unit playing such fresh material".Yanow, S
Allmusic Review
accessed May 29, 2012

Track listing

''All compositions by John Lewis'' # "Skating in Central Park" - 6:07 # "No Happiness for Slater" - 5:18 # "A Social Call" - 4:45 # "Cue No. 9" - 5:00 # "A Cold Wind Is Blowing" - 7:29 # "Odds Against Tomorrow" - 3:33

Personnel

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...

- bass *

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control United Artists Records soundtracks Modern Jazz Quartet albums 1959 soundtrack albums