Episode 80 - Rosewood
When jazz composer and renowned trumpet player Wynton Marsalis was unable to write a score for "Rosewood" that suited director John Singleton, John Williams was brought in to compose music that would fit the mood of the film. And he created one of his most underrated scores for the true story of an all-black town burned to ashes during a riot started by a neighboring all-white town. Williams wrote three gospel songs for the film, his first time tackling songwriting on his own. Host Jeff Commings examines these three tunes, as well as the thematic music that portrayed the dignity of Ving Rhames' main character, the sweetness of his love interest and the horrors inflicted on the town by the white people. It's a score that deserves all the attention we can give it on this episode.