Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Original Soundtrack) by Branford Marsalis The Netflix film features Chadwick Boseman's final performance and Viola Davis in the title role. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is the new Netflix film, out December 18, that stars Viola Davis as blues icon Ma Rainey and the late Chadwick Boseman in his final on-screen performance. Tthe soundtrack featuresoriginal music from Branford Marsalis.

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Milan Records announces the release of MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (MUSIC FROM THE NETFLIX FILM), an album of music from Netflix’s newest original film about “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey. The album features score music by critically-acclaimed saxophonist, instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator BRANFORD MARSALIS, as well as newly-recorded covers of both popular Ma Rainey tracks and blues and jazz standards from the era. The multi-GRAMMY Award® winner brings over four decades of experience across stylistic boundaries to the project, imbuing the film with an authentic 1920s Chicago soundscape.

Of the soundtrack, composer BRANFORD MARSALIS says, “When George Wolfe called to ask me to compose music for his upcoming film, the project forced me to quickly fill in a gap in my musical experience: addressing the music of the 1920’s. I was excited about learning a new sound for my aural library and had to get right to work... Having only written arrangements for the modern big band (17 instruments, no strings), I looked forward to the challenge of writing in a ‘20s format and convincing the musicians to play the music as authentically as possible.”

Director GEORGE C. WOLFE adds, “When I signed on to direct Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, I instantly knew I wanted to work with Branford Marsalis, because when you collaborate with Branford the composer/arranger, Branford the historian, musicologist, dramatist and raconteur shows up as well. And because he understands the inherently transgressive nature of the blues, Branford’s arrangements capture not only the cultural and regional DNA in Ma Rainey’s songs, but the wit and rage embedded in every note, shout and moan.”

Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), her ambitious horn player (Chadwick Boseman), and the white management determined to control the legendary “Mother of the Blues.” Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe. Adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Produced by Denzel Washington, Todd Black and Dany Wolf. Starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige, Jonny Coyne, Jeremy Shamos and Dusan Brown.

Anne of Green Gables is based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novel. Norman Campbell, the composer, and Elaine Campbell, the lyricist, collaborated with Don Harron and Mavor Moore to create Anne of Green Gables – The Musical. The musical first hit the stage in 1965, and is Canada’s longest-running musical. (Sony)

Ernesto Halffter, one of Manuel de Falla’s most admired disciples and a student of Stravinsky and Ravel, was a close associate of iconic figures such as Dalí, García Lorca, and Buñuel on the 20th century Iberian cultural scene. His magnificent score for Jacques Feyder’s 1926 silent film, Carmen, is one of the great impressionistic Spanish masterpieces of its era. More sombre and tragic than the music for Bizet’s opera, Halffter’s vivid panorama depicts the range and depth of the powerful emotions encompassed within the Carmen story, a tale of thwarted love, passion, jealousy, and violence set in the heart of Andalusia in southern Spain. This is not only the work’s world première recording but the first performance to realise the composer’s musical intentions in full.

Carl Davis writes: "Buster Keaton's subjects ranged from the Stone Age to the American Civil War of the 1860s, as well as the present day, meaning the 1920s. Part of the fun of the show has been to include as a curtain raiser, Buster's 1920-21 shorts, which reveal much about his development as a filmmaker. Some of these are considered to be masterpieces in their own right. This recording consists of highlights from the original soundtracks." (CDC)

Original score composed by Terence Blanchard for "Red Tails". Directed by Anthony Hemmingway (The Wire), produced by George Lucas & starring Cuba Gooding Jnr, this is an gripping WWII action movie. Blanchard has previously scored "Malcolm X" & "25th Hour". The soundtrack features jazz soloists Fabian Almazan & Kendrick Scott.

Salad Days was commissioned in February 1954, by Denis Carey, at the time Director of the Bristol Old Vic. Julian Slade was the resident composer there, and Dorothy Reynolds one of the leading actresses. The show was written during March and April, and presented on May 1st for three weeks, as part of the regular summer season. It was designed to suit the existing company of twelve actors, who even though accustomed to acting in plays, entered so happily into the spirit of musical comedy. Salad Days was transferred in August 1954, to the Vaudeville Theatre, London.