Jeep's Blues in American Hustle

[ATR]

I saw American Hustle yesterday, and I was interested in the use of 'Jeep's Blues', from the Ellington at Newport album, as the opener to the film and the lovers' theme music. The original record, as we know, is a famous fake as well. The full story pretty much was told in the liner notes to the 1999 two disc complete edition, which contains two versions of 'Jeep's Blues'. Just out of curiosity, and I did listen to both today, does anyone know which version was used in the movie and whether the film makers understood the layers of irony in using this composition? I can't find anything on the web that suggests they did, maybe they just thought it would mostly go over everyone's head. As if the use of previously unreleased Electric Light Orchestra wouldn't go over mine.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

by fake, are you refering to how in the film they were obssessing over the 'electronically rechanneled for stereo' cut of it? i got a big lol over that...

Edited December 28, 2013 by chewy

[Hot Ptah]

I found it amazing that a love of Duke Ellington generally, and "Jeeps Blues" in particular, was the thing that attracted the two main characters to each other. "Jeeps Blues" is played by the two main characters on their turntable twice in the film, and the cover of "Ellington at Newport" is prominently displayed. Also, the female lead turns to jazz as a way of reinventing herself before her move to New York. She is shown examining the covers to Blue Train, Midnight Blue and other jazz albums. This seems amazing to me in a mainstream big budget Hollywood film.lI liked this film very much.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Hot Ptah

[Larry Kart]

by fake, are you refering to how in the film they were obssessing over the 'electronically rechanneled for stereo' cut of it? i got a big lol over that...

By "fake" (too strong a term IMO) ATR probably is referring to the fact that the "Jeep's Blues" issued on the original "Ellington at Newport" was not the performance recorded at Newport but one that the band recorded later on in the studio (with crowd noise dubbed in) because Ellington was not happy with the performance and/or the recorded sound of the Newport version. If the filmmakers were aware of this, that would be a nice extra layer of irony. In any case, the two main characters bonding over their love of this recording was quite effective dramatically, I thought. As for the 'electronically rechanneled for stereo' cut of it, what's the problem? That quite likely would be the version of "Ellington At Newport" that those two people would have gotten their hands on at that time they did.

[Hot Ptah]

I think that if the filmmakers were aware that the version of "Jeep's Blues" which they used in the film was a version later recorded in the studio, with crowd noise dubbed in, it would have indeed been an appropriate twist to a film about deception and things not being what they seem.

I find it unlikely that many people not on this board, or perhaps on a few other online music boards which will remain nameless, would have knowledge of that fact--either while making the film, or while watching it.

I agree that the Electronically Rechanneled for Stereo issue is not a big deal, because that would have been the only LP version available for purchase in the late 1970s. It was a time in which relatively little jazz had been reissued, and almost nothing had been reissued in multiple source or mix versions. It was a very different time than now, for reissued jazz.

I loved the female lead's Duke Ellington charm on her charm bracelet. I think that the conversation about that Ellington charm was supposed to take place in 1978, from the words onscreen--unless the two leads had been running their scams for 4 years before they got together with the FBI agent, which seems possible but unlikely. So the male lead's comment that "he died this year" would have been inaccurate.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Hot Ptah

[l p]

I think that the conversation about that Ellington charm was supposed to take place in 1978, from the words onscreen--unless the two leads had been running their scams for 4 years before they got together with the FBI agent, which seems possible but unlikely. So the male lead's comment that "he died this year" would have been inaccurate.

that conversation took place when they first met, so 1974 would be correct.

[gmonahan]

I also loved the film and was genuinely surprised to hear "Jeep's Blues" (an old favorite of mine, but then, I've always loved Johnny Hodges) featured in a mainstream Hollywood movie. It would be nice if more directors turned to America's greatest art form for inspiration!

gregmo