Jackpot

The Talking Pictures TV channel is often of interest, serving up, as it does, a variety of films that present vintage films that we've forgotten about, vintage films that we wish we had forgotten about, films we missed the first time round and films we're glad that we did miss the first time round!

However, most of these films, invariably shot in black and white and not always particularly well-acted, often have some jazz interest whether in plot or in soundtrack.

In the former category Face the Music - a.k.a The Black Glove - (1954) had Kenny Baker ghosting trumpet for Alex Nicol and it has to be said his trumpet playing was magnificent - when was it not? I wonder who ghosted the vocals for Eleanor Summerfield?

Jackpot (1960) was a cops and robbers film that I wasn't taking much notice of until the inevitable shoot out at the end. I forget who shot who but, what I didn't forget was the music. A screaming big band, high note trumpet, bebop sax this was better than the film itself!

When the credits rolled I noted that the music was by Don Banks.

Googling Don Banks I discovered that he was an Australian concert, classical and jazz composer who was friendly with Tubby Hayes and actually wrote some compositions for him - come in Simon Spillett. As the film was released around about the time of the better known All Night Long and Banks wasn't seemingly involved in that 'masterpiece' the imagination doesn't need to be stretched too far to suggest that many top British jazzmen of the day were involved in both pics - Lance