Alan Shulman The Tattooed Stranger
(Bridge Recordings)
In the mid-20th century, when the then seemingly incompatible worlds of classical music and jazz were still newly overlapping, cellist, composer, and arranger Alan Shulman (1915-2002), was right there at the crossroads. The musician, who spent his final years in Hudson, came from a conservatory background and played with, among others, the venerated NBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Arturo Toscanini as well as the popular chamber jazz group the New Friends of Rhythm. During the golden ages of radio and Hollywood and the early years of television, Shulman—who taught orchestration to Nelson Riddle—flowered as a prolific, in-demand composer and arranger. Compiled by his son Jay Shulman, The Tattooed Stranger surveys the maestro's RKO Pictures soundtrack recordings circa 1946-1950, including the title film noir. It's a trip back to the years of sweeping, symphonic Silver Screen epics. Also out: harpist Laura Newell's The Philharmonic Recordings, with Alan and his violinist brother, Sylvan Shulman.
