4 Hits And A Mister
4 Hits And A Mister
PREVIEW CASSETTE # 212174 From Universal Pictures comes this bizarre yet sexy set of Cinebox music videos of traditional jazz songs performed by Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band. As the title suggests there are four musical vignettes. The following are some of the shots within each "video". 1) "Stranger on the Shore" - CU of a man's hands (wearing fingerless gloves-- aka bum mittens) playing a clarinet. Cut to CU of man, Acker Bilk, dressed as a hobo and playing a soft introspective number on a set made out to be a foggy London night, a Rolls Royce parked beside him. He's serenading a woman, her reflection visible in a cottage window. A distant Bell Tower rings midnight; Bilk stops, gets into the Rolls, drives away. 2) "In a Persian Market" - CU's of a trap kit drummer playing fills on a snare. CU's of the bells of a trombone, a clarinet and a trumpet. This is an Arabic-tempered traditional jazz piece on a set dolled up to be an Arabian marketplace. The jazzbos are dressed in fezes and barber shop vests. CU's and MS's of belly dancers. CU's of tom-toms, the musicians, the dancers, their breasts, their hips, their hands...etc. 3) "Gotta See Baby Tonight" - Another traditional jazz number. Opens with CU of a fake tiger skin rug complete with grimacing head as a young blond lady lies on it and looks about the room wistfully, seductively before turning on the record player. CU's of Acker singing into the camera, the girl's tender foot playing with the tiger's teeth and mouth, the girl petting the head while giving the camera a come-hither stare, and finally, the record being turned off. 4) "Creole Jazz" - The band gets jiggy in a Southern concert Hall/ Mansion styled set. MS's and CU's of the band playing, two young black kids dancing in the doorway. Ends with tight LS's of the band and the kids' family dancing happily. Very evocative of Bourbon Street jazz, the whole New Orleans flavor. The film ends with the credits being part of a storybook, then the book being closed, ending the film.