Jacques Tati Swing! (2023, Born Bad Records)

Such perfection, as practiced by the vision of Jacques Tati, works in all mediums. One would think the cinema would be enough, but the images of the great cinematic comedian Tati can make a strong presence in books, graphic design, and of course, music. Jacques Tati Swing! is a compilation of all of his soundtrack music from his major film releases, including Jour De Fête (1941), Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot (1953), Mon Oncle (1958), Playtime (1967), Traffic (1971), and his little-seen Parade (1974). I don’t know if Wes Anderson, Roy Andersson, and others would exist, but indeed the presence of Jacques Tati’s visual sense has touched these filmmakers and others. Even looking outside my window, my street represents a Los Angeles version of a Tati landscape. People walking their designer dogs, or mutts, rarely interacting with each other, but excepting space shared by all.

The music on Jacques Tati Swing! can be considered to be hardcore lounge, with touches of light jazz, and romantic orchestration. The composer/arranger Charles Dumont is the most consistent, in that he did the music for Traffic and Parade, and the others were singular works by Francis Lemarque, Frank Barcellini, among others. Yet as an album it sounds like work from one mind. I think this has to do with how Tati can transform his world and make it into a specific image. And my mouth waters thinking that Tati before he passed away was about to work with my favorite band Sparks (Ron and Russell Mael). That is too perfectly great!

Like disliking Sparks, I would think hating Tati would be impossible. His observation on the everyday that takes place and turn it into a remarkable series of moments, is the work of an exquisite mind. Tati has such a powerful vision that one can’t mistake his work for another artist. Therefore one sees Tati in other people’s (Wes Anderson for example) work, but Tati cannot be anything else except Jacques Tati. And that is what makes him an unique and special genius. He had designers, producers that he worked with but in the end of the day, it will always be his work. And the same goes for the soundtrack music. He doesn’t play or compose one note, but it becomes the property of Tati.

Although it’s a new album, I’m not sure what store would carry this collection. To save time, I would order the album through the Forced Exposure website, who distributed the label Born Bad Records, which is usually excellent. Here: Jacques Tati Swings!