Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

This Clint Eastwood vanity-project was one of the biggest box office disappointments of 1997, despite a masterful performance by Kevin Spacey, Eastwood's typically subtle direction and, to these ears anyway, one of the most satisfying collections of songs gathered in service of a film in many a year. It didn't hurt that they were all penned by the late, great Johnny Mercer (a native of Savannah, GA, the film's locale and most crucial, underrated element) and with the exception of Tony Bennett's "I Wanna Be Around" and Sinatra's classic "Summer Wind," were rendered by an all-star team of jazz players (Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Kevin Eubanks, Christian McBride among them) and an impressive line-up of vocalists including k.d. lang, Paula Cole, Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Cassandra Wilson, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, and Kevin Mahogany. Eastwood has long been a jazz devotee and, in recent years, eager proselytizer; this album plays like a love letter to one of his most beloved musicians and composers. --Jerry McCulley