Henry Mancini - Breakfast At Tiffany's OST

By 1961, film composer Henry Mancini was already well known in Hollywood for his jazzy, brassy scores to Touch of Evil and Peter Gunn. But it was this effervescent soundtrack for Blake Edwards' adaption of Truman Capote's wistful novella that propelled Mancini into the major league of Hollywood composers. Though there were other jazz-oriented arrangers working in Hollywood at the time, none possessed Mancini's imagination and skill in orchestration. (He was a veritable Berlioz in the way he cast instruments as characters in the story.) Only John Barry could ever match his gift for melody.

The Oscar-winning "Moon River" is a case in point. Toots Thielemans' tremulous, lonely harmonica introduces the simple, near-folk tune, neatly evoking protagonist Holly Golighty's "secret" country roots. Later on, Mancini vividly illustrates urban living itself with the lively mambo "Something For Cat" and a big-band blues, "The Big Blow Out," as well as sleek New York panoramas "Holly" and "Breakfast At Tiffany's" itself, delicious concoctions of voices and strings, trombone and vibes. Culture shock was never so appealing. 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. allmusic

Tracks:
01. Moon River [2:43]
02. Something for Cat [3:11]
03. Sally's Tomato [3:08]
04. Mr. Yunioshi [2:32]
05. The Big Blow Out [2:29]
06. Hub Caps and Tail Lights [2:32]
07. Breakfast at Tiffany's [2:47]
08. Latin Golightly [2:58]
09. Holly [3:21]
10. Loose Caboose [3:11]
11. The Big Heist [3:10]
12. Moon River Cha Cha [2:35]