Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2023 October 21

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October 21

Fancy 'jazz' music in movies

It seems like there is a trope in movies that at fancy cocktail parties (like at embassies or expensive hotels) there is a band playing jazz while characters have a dance, often exchanging witty remarks with each other. It is a very specific type of music IIRC. What is the name of that sub-genre? I have a reference question (talk) 06:09, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

Can you name one or two movies featuring this trope?  --Lambiam 12:14, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

All About Eve has a scene with it. Let me find another example. I have a reference question (talk) 21:40, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

I feel like the original Frasier tv show has an episode that has what I'm talking about. I have a reference question (talk) 21:43, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Elevator music comes to mind. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:11, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

Difficult to dance in an elevator. 'Swing music' is a more likely candidate. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 46.65.231.103 (talk) 21:14, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

Elevator music is not just in elevators. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:46, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

But a band at a fancy cocktail party at an embassy or expensive hotel playing elevator music? Was the party also regaling the guests with skittles and Sun Drop?  --Lambiam 08:49, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Hard telling. But since the OP only edits about once a year, it might be after the 2024 elections before we hear from him again. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:56, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

interesting hypothesis. I have a reference question (talk) 21:41, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

"Cocktail Jazz" is a term I've heard (from a jazz musician, no less) although we don't have an article and a quick google search doesn't seem to indicate it's widely used. But it refers to a form of light melodic jazz that would be appropriate for occasions such as the ones described by the elusive OP. Xuxl (talk) 14:14, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

When I saw this question, the first thing that came to mind was the background music in this clip from Superman II.[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:46, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

You made me curious about your dancing style.  --Lambiam 16:49, 22 October 2023 (UTC)}

E.g. Bolling: A Cocktail Party (CBS, 1975)^[2] -- 136.54.106.120 (talk) 14:59, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Bolling's music has been characterized as "a mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing".^[3] Music that music draws inspiration from the Baroque style is sometimes termed neo-Baroque music, but much of authentic Baroque music is based on dance forms (allemande, bourrée, chaconne, gavotte, gigue, rigaudon, sarabande) and can be performed with a natural swing (as by the fortuitously named Swingle Singers).  --Lambiam 16:10, 22 October 2023 (UTC)