Album artwork courtesy of the label
On the turntable
Some links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases; it never changes what appears here.
CinemaNo. 17 of the Continental 100See the full list →
Les parapluies de Cherbourg
Michel Legrand · 1964
A film in which every line is sung, scored by a jazz pianist with an alarming gift for melody.
Why it matters
Legrand wrote tunes that behave like jazz standards but arrive dressed as film music. It is romantic to the point of recklessness and saved, every time, by the sophistication of the harmony underneath. The famous theme has been recorded a thousand times; the original still cuts deepest.
The Continental setting
A candlelit table for two, somewhere with too few tables and no music of its own.
Start here
- 01I Will Wait for You
- 02Recit de Cassard
- 03Watercolours of Cherbourg
