Magical Movie Music: Reviving memories from the 1960s, Bosque Arts Center pays tribute to an extraordinary legacy with Jukebox Saturday Night Concert featuring "The Music of Mancini" July 8
CLIFTON – As soon as the first notes play, people recognize the Pink Panther movie’s music theme and their mind’s eye pictures the cartoon panther’s antics across the screen. Another highly recognizable classic music theme is the 1960s Peter Gunn television series’ theme, which was rejuvenated in the 1980 musical comedy film classic The Blues Brothers.
And then the exquisitely stylish Audrey Hepburn in a black and pearl Givenchy evening gown with sunglasses, munching on a croissant in front of the Tiffany’s display window while “Moon River” plays during the famous opening scene of the 1961 romantic comedy film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. These are all perfect examples how the music enhances the memories we have of movies and TV series.
Henry Mancini, creator of the above three iconic scores was a masterful composer, musician and orchestra director. Relive the 1960s and its motion picture music at the Bosque Arts Center’s presentation of “The Music of Mancini” on Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m. Jukebox Saturday Night, an offshoot of the popular Glenn Miller Productions, will fill the Frazier Performance Hall with the sounds of these memorable Mancini pieces and more. Reserved seating remains on sale for $30, $50 and $75 with sponsor packages also available for $100, which include a complimentary reception prior to the concert.
The Jukebox Saturday Night’s captivating show celebrates Mancini’s extraordinary musical legacy and the indelible impact on music on his 100th birthday. This spectacular tribute takes the audience on a musical journey, starting from Mancini's early days with the Glenn Miller Orchestra to his successful and timeless melodies. A concise narration offers fascinating insights into Mancini's illustrious career, from his humble beginnings in Pittsburgh to his rise in Hollywood.
Winner of four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe award, and Grammy awards, son of Italian immigrants in Ohio, Mancini is celebrated for his many musical scores from more than ninety movies – the list includes so many amazing songs – and more than twenty television series. Mancini also scored a No. 1 hit single on the Hot 100 in 1969 with his arrangement and recording of the "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet." He also wrote the score to the 1971 romantic drama Love Story, made popular by Andy Williams, and for the 1979 romantic comedy film 10.
According to award-winning writer and documentary producer John Caps, Mancini reinvented film music. Because of Mancini, what used to be just 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.” According to Cap, 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 captured the bright, confident, welcoming voice of the middle class's new efficient interested in pop songs and jazz, in movie and television, in outreach politics but also conventional stay-at-home comforts. In his book about Mancini, Caps traces Mancini's collaborations with important directors and shows how he homed in on specific dramatic or comic aspects of the film to create musical effects through clever instrumentation, eloquent musical gestures, and meaningful resonances and continuities in his scores.
Some of the television shows for which he wrote theme music are Peter Gunn, The Richard Boone Show, Remington Steele, The Thorn Birds, Charlie’s Angels, Car Wash, Roots and even the NBC Nightly News. He also wrote for many of the crooners of the day, like Frank Sinatra, Pat Boone and Perry Como.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with food and drink available for sale prior to the show. Tickets are available online at BosqueArtsCenter.org and by phone at 254.675.3724. The Bosque Arts Center is located at 215 S. College Hill Drive.
Photos courtesy of JUKEBOX SATURDAY NIGHT & BOSQUE ARTS CENTER
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