Breakfast at Tiffany's [Orignal Soundtrack] [White Vinyl]

by Henry Mancini

Overview

This soundtrack to the movie adaptation of Truman Capote's novel Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of Henry Mancini's best. The pleasing blend of pop (the perennial "Moon River") and swing stays fresh over the album's 12 tracks and shows off Mancini's considerable writing and arranging skills. The cuts range from the layered, big-band mambo "Something for Cat" to the transcendentally smooth lounge number "Sally's Tomato" with some vaudeville moments coming via "Mr. Yunioshi" (check out that banjo eating up the faux Japanese scales) and "Hub Caps and Tail Lights" (sounds like the "Addams Family Theme"). Mancini keeps the lounge/easy listening mood from collapsing in on itself with many fine jazz solos, a driving rhythm section, and his expert (yet pleasantly cheesy) handling of the liquid-toned chorus parts. He also strikes a nice balance here between his crime-jazz backdrops for the Peter Gunn TV show and Touch of Evil and the later, more streamlined soundtracks for The Pink Panther and Charade. Throughout Breakfast at Tiffany's solid program, Mancini makes it clear that he isn't just a peddler of Muzak but a fine composer. The 2005 Japanese BMG reissue offers crisp remastering to audiophile standards, similar to what was done with Elvis Presley's catalog in Japan -- the results are startling, with exceptionally vivid textures throughout, but nowhere more so than on "Moon River," where the opening quote of the central melody on the harmonica, the next instrumental verse picked up by the strings, and the third done by the chorus, all sound like they're right in your lap. The whole album sounds that way, with the result that all of the musicianship and Mancini's finely nuanced direction never seemed more up close and personal. ~ Stephen Cook & Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	08/18/2023
Label:	Reel To Reel Records
UPC:	5055748541327
Rank:	36465

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Henry Mancini   Primary Artist,Piano,Conductor
Audrey Hepburn   Primary Artist
Johnny Mercer   Primary Artist
Henry Mancini & His Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Shelly Manne   Drums
Edgar Lustgarten   Cello
Alexander Murray   Violin
Jack Sheldon   Trumpet
Larry Bunker   Drums,Vibraphone
Frank Beach   Trumpet
Bob Bain   Guitar,Mandola
Milton Thomas   Viola
Ray Triscari   Trumpet
Sam Freed   Violin
Armand Kaproff   Cello
William Miller   Violin
Mort Herbert   Violin
Eudice Shapiro   Violin
Nathan Ross   Violin
Carl Fortina   Accordion
Laurindo Almeida   Guitar
Jimmy Rowles   Piano (Upright)
Wilbur Schwartz   Reeds,Saxophone
Justin Gordon   Saxophone
Vincent DeRosa   French Horn
Ralph Collier   Drums
Richard Taylor "Dick" Nash   Trombone
Milt Holland   Drums
Arnold Koblentz   Oboe
Tom Kenny   Vocals
Nathan Kaproff   Violin
George Roberts   Trombone
George Fields   Harmonica
Herman Clebanoff   Violin
Ronald Langinger   Reeds,Saxophone
Raphael Kramer   Cello
Bernie Parke   Vocals
Betty Moor   Violin
Karl de Karske   Trombone
Joe Stepansky   Violin
Sue Allen   Vocals
John Drake   Vocals
Pearl Kaufman   Piano
Irma Neumann   Violin
James Rowles   Piano
Robert Ostrowsky   Viola
Armand Karpoff   Cello
Lou Klass   Violin
Samuel Cytron   Violin
Ambrose Russo   Violin
Alexander Neiman   Viola
Earle Brown   Vocals
Joseph Stepansky   Violin
Suellen Allen   Vocals
Nathan Kaprov   Violin
Gene "Cip" Cipriano   Reeds
Benny Gill   Violin
Erno Neufeld   Violin
Victor Gottlieb   Viola
Gilda Maiken   Vocals
Ethmer Roten   Flute,Flute (Bass)
Louis Singer   Percussion
Keith Mitchell   Bass
Alton Hendrickson   Guitar
Robert Bairn   Guitar
Marvin Limonick   Violin

Technical Credits

Chick Crumpacker   Digital Producer
Leonard Feather   Liner Notes
Dick Pierce   Producer
Johnny Mercer   Composer,Lyricist
Dick Peirce   Producer
Peter Grant   Design,Art Direction
Akira Taguchi   Producer
Henry Mancini & His Orchestra   Performer
Henry Mancini   Leader,Arranger,Composer
Joe Harley   Creative Director
Al Schmitt   Engineer
Alan Yoshida   Mastering
Robert Helfer   Contractor,Music Contractor
Kevin Berg   Project Coordinator
Patrick Snyder   Liner Notes
Henry Mancini & His Orchestra & Chorus   Performer
Howell Conant   Cover Photo
Jorki Pujol   Release Production