Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick from the novelette by Lehman. The shadowy noir cinematography filmed on location in New York City was shot by James Wong Howe. The picture was produced by James Hill of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists. The supporting cast features Sam Levene, Barbara Nichols, Joe Frisco, Edith Atwater, David White, and Emile Meyer. The musical score was arranged and conducted by Elmer Bernstein and the film also features jazz performances by the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Mary Grant designed the costumes.
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its US label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president too. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca, and the link between the UK and US Decca label was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre.
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, first with a quintet featuring the cello as a lead instrument, an unusual choice for a jazz band in the 1950s, and subsequently leading bands that performed cool jazz, post bop, and jazz fusion.
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Harry Nilsson, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald.
Edwin James Costa was an American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. In 1957, he was chosen as DownBeat jazz critics' new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two categories in the same year. He became known for his percussive, driving piano style that concentrated on the lower octaves of the keyboard.
Paul Horn was an American flautist, saxophonist, composer and producer. He became a pioneer of world and new age music with his 1969 album Inside. He received five Grammy nominations between 1965 and 1999, including three nominations in 1965.
William Marcel "Buddy" Collette was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.
"Walkin' After Midnight" is a song written by Alan Block and Don Hecht and recorded by American country music artist Patsy Cline. The song was originally given to pop singer Kay Starr; however, her label rejected it. The song was left unused until Hecht rediscovered it when writing for Four Star Records. Originally Cline was not fond of "Walkin' After Midnight", but after making a compromise with her label she recorded it. However, the first released recording was by Lynn Howard with The Accents, released in August 1956.
John Pisano was an American jazz guitarist.
Irving Townsend was an American record producer and author. He is most famous for having produced the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, which is the best-selling jazz album of all time according to the RIAA. He later served as president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.
Hoodlum: Music Inspired By the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to Bill Duke's 1997 crime drama film Hoodlum. It was released on August 12, 1997 via Loud Records and Interscope Records, and consisted of a blend of hip hop and R&B music. The album features songs performed by 112, Adriana Evans, Big Boi, Big Bub, Big Noyd, Chico DeBarge, Cool Breeze, Davina, Erykah Badu, Faith Evans, L.V., Mobb Deep, Rahsaan Patterson, Rakim, Tony Rich and Wu-Tang Clan.
Frederick Katz was an American cellist and composer. He was among the earliest jazz musicians to establish the cello as a viable improvising solo instrument. Katz has been described in CODA magazine as "the first real jazz cellist."
Kenton's West Side Story is an album by the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded in 1961 and released by Capitol Records. It won the Grammy Award in 1962 for Best Jazz Performance – Large Group (Instrumental). The album was recorded in 1961 and released quickly to take advantage of the movie premiere of the musical West Side Story. Kenton won his first Grammy Award and he won again the next year in the same category with Adventures in Jazz. Kenton's West Side Story peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard magazine album chart.
Jack K. Pleis was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, Pleis worked with many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Benny Goodman, Earl Grant, Brenda Lee, and Joe Williams. Between 1950 and 1976, more than 150 songs were arranged by Pleis. His surname is pronounced "Pleece".
Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton's Quintet featuring multi-instrumentalist Buddy Collette, released on the Pacific Jazz label. The album was recorded in 1955 with one side recorded live and the other recorded in the studio.
The Chico Hamilton Quintet with Strings Attached is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton's Quintet, recorded in 1958 and released on the Warner Bros. label. The album features some of the earliest released recordings of Eric Dolphy.
Themes and Songs from The Quiet Man is a Decca Records album by Victor Young and Bing Crosby featuring the music used in the Republic Pictures film The Quiet Man. It was issued as a 10” LP with catalog No. DL5411 and as a 4-disc 45rpm set (9–342).
Hecht-Lancaster & Buzzell Music, Inc. was an American music publishing company founded by film producer Harold Hecht, his brother-in-law Loring Buzzell, and Hecht's business partner, actor/producer Burt Lancaster.
Loring Bruce Buzzell was an American music publisher and record label executive. Together with film producer Harold Hecht and actor Burt Lancaster, he formed a series of music publishing imprints in the middle and late 1950s. His music publishing companies, Hecht-Lancaster & Buzzell Music, Calyork Music, Leigh Music and Colby Music, were responsible for copyrighting, publishing and promoting the soundtracks and theme songs from such notable films as Marty, Trapeze, The Kentuckian, Sweet Smell of Success, Separate Tables, Cry Tough, Take a Giant Step and The Unforgiven. Buzzell's companies also published "May You Always", the recordings of which by The McGuire Sisters for Coral Records and Joan Regan for HMV Records, became the top-selling records and the second-best-selling sheet music in the United States and the United Kingdom for 1959. Calyork Records and Maine Records were two independent record labels operated by Buzzell in partnership with Hecht and Lancaster.
Sweet Smell of Success may refer to:
