Sex and the Single Girl & The Chapman Report - Classic Romance Novels for Women - Perfect for Book Clubs, Beach Reading & Relaxation

Neal Hefti's music for Sex and the Single Girl is fairly typical Hefti and is easy to take except for the intolerable Fran Jeffries vocals which plague two tracks. Hefti is better served by his sassy charts for the Count Basie Band.The real reason to buy the CD is Leonard Rosenman's score for The Chapman Report. The composer's writingrepresents an occasionally dissonant mixture of 20th-century bitonal music blended with a jazz influence. It has some similarities to Leonard Bernstein in this regard, although Rosenman has his own distinctive composer's voice.Purists have been known to scream at blends of jazz with serious music but Rosenman's writing never sounds contrived. His is thework of a master craftsman. His ideas for thematic development consistently work and his orchestration isgorgeous. The textbooks claim that flute scoring in low range won't be heard if other instruments are also present. Well, listen to Rosenman'swriting for the instrument and quickly learn that the books are incorrect. Even with the inclusion of other instruments suchas muted brass or blended woodwinds, the solo flute in low range still emerges with clarity and as an expression of beauty.The CD also includes two superior pop arrangements of the main themes of Rosenman's music for East of Edenand Rebel Without A Cause, both starring the late James Dean.So, we have one score that is generally pleasant and catchy, another score which is both emotionally deep and one of Hollywood's finest.The transfers to CD are flawless and recorded sound is outstanding.