Through film composer Henry Mancini, mere background music in movies became part of pop culture--an expression of sophistication and wit with a modern sense of cool and a lasting lyricism that has not dated. The first comprehensive study of Mancini''s music, Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music describes how the composer served as a bridge between the Big Band period of World War II and the impatient eclecticism of the Baby Boomer generation, between the grand formal orchestral film scores of the past and a modern American minimalist approach. Mancini''s sound seemed to capture the bright, confident, welcoming voice of the middle class''s new efficient life: interested in pop songs and jazz, in movie and television, in outreach politics but also conventional stay-at-home comforts. As John Caps shows, Mancini easily combined it all in his music.
Mancini wielded influence in Hollywood and around the world with his iconic scores: dynamic jazz for the
Trade Review"Accessible and engaging, this fresh view of Mancini's oeuvre and influence will delight and inform fans of film and popular music."--
Turner Classic Movies"Caps' assiduously research study of Mancini's life and career ... is detailed and insightful. . . . It will be enjoyed both by film buffs and music lovers."--
Allaboutjazz.com "Will satisfy musically experienced readers as well as laypeople. It deserves a place in every film and popular music collection."--Library Journal
"A stimulating chronicle of the life and works of film and television composer Henry Mancini. Consistently thorough and detailed, this book contains a considerable wealth of information and insight into this extremely popular composer."--James Wierzbicki, author of
Film Music: A History and
Elliott Carter "A well-researched study of a musical career. . . Film by film, the book reveals how Mancini negotiated and compromised to become the computer of many a moviemaker's dreams."--Booklist
"An important book, and, in many ways, a crucial one, too, it's chief value resting in Caps' articulate championing of one of the most singular compositional talents to emerge from Hollywood's film factory."--
Classical Music"In this lively, syncopated survey of Mancini's movie music, Caps offers a comprehensive critique of the composer's film/TV scores and hit albums."--Publishers Weekly
