Jazz For The Screen ★ Pete Rugolo

Pete Rugolo

The Music From Richard Diamond

The character of Richard Diamond originated in 1949 as a radio drama created by writer and director Blake Edwards and starring Hollywood actor Dick Powell. On the radio, Diamond was a charismatic New York private investigator, a former police officer who had the unique quirk of playing the piano and singing to his girlfriend, Helen, at the end of each episode.  In 1957, Four Star Television (co-founded by Powell himself) adapted the formula for television, casting a young David Janssen in the lead role. While the show retained the core of the film noir hardboiled detective—cynical yet charming—the TV adaptation dropped the character's singing trait and evolved toward a more stylized tone tailored to the late-1950s crime drama aesthetic.

During its first two seasons on CBS, the series featured traditional background music scored by Frank De Vol. However, for its third season in 1959, the show underwent a major overhaul: it moved to NBC, relocated Diamond from New York to Los Angeles, and embraced a distinct West Coast atmosphere. Capitalizing on the commercial success Henry Mancini had achieved a year earlier with Peter Gunn, TV networks recognized that modern jazz provided the perfect sonic vehicle for private eye stories.

To lead this musical shift, the producers hired Pete Rugolo. Rugolo, renowned for his work with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and a key figure in West Coast jazz, assembled a top-tier group of Los Angeles session musicians in Hollywood recording studios. The resulting soundtrack featured biting brass arrangements, driving hard bop rhythms, and improvisations charged with dramatic tension. The LP released by Mercury Records in 1959 was not merely a collection of short background cues taken from the TV audio tracks. Instead, it offered expanded arrangements, specifically re-recorded with high-fidelity production for the commercial record market, ultimately becoming a classic of the crime jazz subgenre. 

Back in the early '30s, in Pittsburgh, I played trumpet, clarinet, and saxophone and led my own band. I've never lost my enthusiasm and enjoyment for jazz and I've followed, with undiminished interest, the development of modern American music and its creators.

When we at Four Star Films Inc. were planning the current Richard Diamond television series I insisted on live background jazz and I insisted on the best. We got the best. We got Pete Rugolo. Rugolo gained international acclaim with his compelling compositions for Stan Kenton. And for the last decade Rugolo has been the leader in his field. His distinctive scoring has been heard in every medium.

Pete's imaginative and stimulating music for the Richard Diamond television programs is both intensely expressive and exciting. The whole music world has such high respect for Rugolo's inventive scores. The music in this album represents some of his best work. 

*Dick Powell (from the liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Richard Diamond Theme

2 - Diamond On The Move

3 - Fancy Meeting Karen (Love Theme From Richard Diamond)

4 - I'm Always Chasing Butterflies

5 - Who's Sam?

6 - All Star

Side 2

7 - The Teaser

8 - Ye Olde Curiosity Shape

9 - Teen Age Rock

10 - The Sleeve Job

11 - Does Mama Know You're Out?

12 - Richard Diamond's Blues

(All compositions by Pete Rugolo)

Pete Rugolo (arranger, conductor);

Pete Candoli [#1, #3, #5, #6, #9, #10, #12], Buddy Childers [#2, #4 to #8, #10, #11],

Don Fagerquist [#5, #6, #8, #10], Ray Linn [#2, #4, #7, #11], Mickey Mangano [#2, #4, #7, #11],

Ollie Mitchell [#1, #3, #9, #12], Jimmy Salko [#2, #4, #7, #11],

Joe Triscari [#1, #3, #5, #6, #9, #10, #12], Stu Williamson [#1, #3, #9, #12] (trumpets);

Frank Rosolino, Milt Bernhart [#1, #3, #5, #6, #9, #10, #12],

Francis "Joe" Howard [#1 to #4, #7, #9, #11, #12], (trombones); 

George Roberts  (bass trombone);

Vincent DeRosa [#5, #6, #8, #10], Claude Sherry [#2, #4, #7, #11] (french horns);

Paul Horn, Bud Shank (piccolo, flute, alto sax);

Buddy Collette (tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute [#2, #4, #7, #11]);

Bob Cooper (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute);

Chuck Gentry [#1, #3, #9, #12], Dale Issenhuth [#2, #4 to #8, #10, #11] (baritone saxes);

Larry Bunker (vibes, percussion, bongos, xylophone [#2, #4 to #8, #10, #11]);

Bernie Mattison - vibes, percussion [#1, #3, #9, #12]); Jimmy Rowles (piano);

Al Viola (guitar); Edgar Lustgarten (cello);

Rollie Bundock [#2, #4, #7, #11], Red Mitchell [#1, #3, #5, #6, #9, #10, #12],

Phil Stephens [#2, #4 to #8, #10, #11] (basses);

Irving Kluger [#2, #4, #7, #11], Shelly Manne [#1, #3, #5, #6, #8 to #10, #12] (drums).

Recorded at United Recording Studios, Hollywood, California, March 10, 1959 (#1, #3, #9, #12), 

March 31, 1959 (#5, #6, #8, #10) and April 9, 1959 (tracks #2, #4, #7, #11)

[other source gives: March 12, 1959 (#1, #3, #9, #12), March 19, 1959 (#5, #6, #8, #10)

and March 20, 1959 (tracks #2, #4, #7, #11)]