1. Peter Gunn
2. Sorta Blue
3. The Brothers Go to Mother's
4. Dreamsville - Henry Mancini, Evans, Ray [1]
5. Session at Pete's Pad
6. Soft Sounds
7. Fallout!
8. The Floater
9. Slow and Easy
10. A Profound Gass
11. Brief and Breezy
12. Not from Dixie
13. Walkin' Bass
14. Blue Steel
15. Spook!
16. Blues for Mother's
Amazon.com
Ensemble sound was more important than virtuosic, emotive soloing in the West Coast style known as "cool" jazz. Henry Mancini took a number of his cues from that mellow '50s sound when he scored the television crime-drama series, Peter Gunn. This soundtrack CD is full of memorable themes, lush textures, and succinct solos played by big band veterans. Vibraphonist Victor Feldman is heavily featured and his instrument's soft, ringing tone plays a key role here. Occasionally Mancini slips into turning out indistinctive, generic pieces, and soundtrack-composer-to-be John Williams's piano playing can be plinky and stiff. But other than that, this is top-notch TV soundtrack fare, highlighted by the irresistible, proto-surf-rock theme song. Instead of just filling up digital space, the bonus tracks really are a valuable addition. A growling trombone solo on "Walkin' Bass" and Shelly Manne's swinging drum work are just a couple of the reasons why. --Fred Cisterna
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The Music from Peter Gunn (1958-1961 TV Series)
- Audio CD: 0 pages (1999-06-15)
- Publisher: Buddha
- Label: Buddha
- Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
- Studio: Buddha
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 24 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #42692
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great find 2008-01-10
Comment: Was so delighted to find this Peter Gunn cd with the additional tracks on it. In excellent condition and service and shipping great.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: For those of us who are old enough to not forget to remember... 2007-10-02
Comment: Ah, the joys of pre-socially-unconscious television! Todays' TV can be truly called bad, but it was not always thus! The '50s and early '60's had some short-lived, but really good TV, and some GREAT people composing themes and incidental music for them. Henry Mancini's legacy in this genre is without peer and prolific - Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky are just two examples. His place in cinematic history is solid as well, with "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Elephant Walk", and many other great works in his repertoire. This album shows him at his best in his favorite form - cool jazz.
As a '50s brat, I watched Peter Gunn as much for the post-episode jazz sets as for the plot, and not just for the theme - everyone's heard that! It's great to hear these masterpieces in Hi-Fi (what stereo USED to be called), instead of out of the speaker from our old Sears black-and-white set, or off of some old LP, complete with scratches.
If you like cool jazz, this is one of the best. The Peter Gunn theme is legendary, but pieces like "The Brothers Go to Mother's" and "Fallout" will bring back that feeling of real artistry - and you'll expect to see a cigarette commercial break somewhere. "Slow and Easy" is one of those old-style blues pieces that's understated, but oh-so good!
So, let's break out the frozen TV dinner, pull up the bean bags, and remember when music on TV was actually GOOD.
Heavens to... Murgatroyd!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Music from Peter Gunn 2007-05-17
Comment: I didn't think I could find the complete copulation of music. Great Mancini and wonderfully reproduced.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Mancini Music is the best music ever on TV 2007-03-11
Comment: This album is a must if you ever watched Peter Gunn on TV way back when. Each one of these songs are great. Interesting to note that John Williams was the pianist on most of these songs. I always thought it was Mancini hemself. Great album. Get it before it's not made anymore. You cannot have my copy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: The First, The Most 2006-05-23
Comment: This was Henry Mancini's first hit album. Hey, when this was released, the notion of "record album" was still fairly new itself, and yet listen to how well this material stands up today.
Henry Mancini had been a big-bad conductor before this album arrived. He'd issued some "gag" disks and gimick recordings, and this was more than a little bit different for him.
I can remember being 8 years old, listening to this stuff emanating from my big sister's room. It was just so, adult. So sophisticated and cool.
It comes from the 50s-era jazz combos, and yet it is arranged for a big band. Vibes, string bass, muted drums, and then a whole bunch of really polished players. This precise combination was Mancini's own at the time. The sounds were so different and so ear-catching. Yet, Mancini's purpose was limited to bringing a backdrop to a TV detective show.
Does anybody remember the detective TV series starring Craig somebodyorother? No, not really. It's not too high on the nostalgia radar for some reason. But this music, which really launched Mancini's career, was impossible to forget.
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The Music from Peter Gunn (1958-1961 TV Series)
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