Mo' Better Blues (soundtrack)

Music from Mo' Better Blues
Soundtrack album to Mo' Better Blues by Branford Marsalis Quartet featuring Terence Blanchard
Released	July 31, 1990
Studio	RCA (New York City) Sound on Sound (New York City)
Genre	Jazz
Length	37:35
Label	Columbia
Producer	Spike Lee (exec.) Bill Lee Delfeayo Marsalis DJ Premier Raymond Jones
Spike Lee film soundtracks chronology
Do the Right Thing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1989) Music from Mo' Better Blues (1990) Music from the Movie "Jungle Fever" (1991)
Branford Marsalis albums chronology
Crazy People Music (1990) Music From "Mo' Better Blues" (1990) The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1991)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Harlem Blues" (featuring Cynda Williams)	William Christopher Handy	Raymond Jones	4:50
2.	"Say Hey"	Branford Marsalis	Delfeayo Marsalis	3:18
3.	"Knocked Out the Box"	B. Marsalis	Delfeayo Marsalis	1:35
4.	"Again, Never"	William James Edwards Lee III	Bill Lee	3:54
5.	"Mo' Better Blues"	Lee III	Bill Lee	3:39
6.	"Pop Top 40" (featuring Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes)	B. Marsalis Shelton Jackson Lee	Delfeayo Marsalis	5:40
7.	"Beneath the Underdog"	B. Marsalis	Delfeayo Marsalis	5:07
8.	"Jazz Thing" (featuring Gang Starr)	Keith Elam Christopher Martin B. Marsalis Lolis Eric Elie	DJ Premier Branford Marsalis (co.)	4:50
9.	"Harlem Blues (Acapulco Version)" (featuring Cynda Williams)	Handy	Raymond Jones	4:48
Total length:				37:35

Personnel

• Branford Marsalis – soprano and tenor saxophone, co-producer (track 8)
• Kenny Kirkland – piano
• Robert Hurst – bass
• Jeff "Tain" Watts – drums
• Terence Blanchard – trumpet
• Cynda Williams – backing vocals (track 1), alto vocals (track 9)
• Denzel Washington – vocals (track 6)
• Wesley Snipes – vocals (track 6)
• Keith "GuRu" Elam – rap vocals (track 8)
• B. David Whitworth – backing vocals (track 8)
• Mark Ledford – backing vocals (track 8)
• Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (track 8)
• Brooklyn Crooks – chorus shouts vocals (track 8)
• Clare Fischer – string arrangement and conductor (tracks: 1, 9)
• Peter Hunstein – programming (track 8)
• Raymond Jones – producer (tracks: 1, 9)
• Delfeayo Marsalis – producer (tracks: 2, 3, 6, 7)
• William "Bill" Lee III – producer (tracks: 4, 5)
• Chris "DJ Premier" Martin – producer (track 8)
• Larry DeCarmine – recording (tracks: 1, 9)
• Larry Ferguson – mixing (tracks: 1, 9)
• Patrick Smith – recording and mixing (tracks: 2–7)
• Rob Hunter – recording and mixing (track 8)
• Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee – executive producer
• Ken Kochman – design

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [7]	63
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [8]	21
US Traditional Jazz Albums ( Billboard ) [9]	1

References

1. Yanow, Scott. "Music from Mo' Better Blues - Branford Marsalis | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved April 3, 2021.
2. McIntosh, Daryl (May 8, 2020). "100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time: 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990)". Albumism. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
3. "The 50 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time". Complex . October 16, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
4. Suzanne-Mayer, Dominick (November 18, 2017). "The 100 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved April 3, 2021.
5. Fitzgerald, Trent (August 5, 2018). "20 Great Hip-Hop/Jazz Albums of the '90s". The Boombox . Retrieved April 3, 2021.
6. Murray, Noel (October 4, 2018). "The 40 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time". Vulture . Retrieved April 3, 2021.
7. "Terence Blanchard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
8. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: Week of October 20, 1990". Billboard . Retrieved April 3, 2021.
9. "Traditional Jazz Albums Chart: Week of October 27, 1990". Billboard . Retrieved April 3, 2021.

External links

• Music From Mo' Better Blues at Discogs (list of releases)