‘The Eddy’ Full Soundtrack Review: The heart bleeds for multicultural jazz musicians and live performances
Damien Chazelle's 'The Eddy' centers around Elliot Udo, the owner of a failing jazz club venue in the center of Paris.
While much can be said about the show's performances and intersecting storylines, 'The Eddy's greatest gift to its viewers is certainly its music. The club Elliot runs features a live jazz band that he manages, and the show went the extra mile to include a cast of real-life jazz musicians in these roles. Given the show's choice to redefine jazz so it is more reflective of modern musicians and audiences, 'The Eddy' had to go beyond simply using existing jazz classics in its soundtrack.
To that end, the team behind 'The Eddy' brings us a musical drama with a soundtrack that sounds like classic jazz at its heart while also being reflective of what music in contemporary Paris sounds like.
Music is undeniably a central unifying element for 'The Eddy', being the thread that connects its seemingly disparate storylines together. So it is understandable that the soundtrack and score were the first aspects of the show that its producers focused on. Grammy-winning songwriter Glen Ballard produced 20 original songs for the soundtrack, stating in 'The Music of The Eddy' that the music had to be "the lifeblood of the show."
A major goal for the team behind 'The Eddy' was to make jazz music more accessible to an audience that may not be as familiar with it. When the idea for the show was first being developed all the way back in 2008, Ballard was writing music for a fictional jazz club set in a world where the genre never faded into obscurity -- only to be heard in seedy back-alley clubs, elevators, or at senior centers, but instead evolved and fused with popular music of the times to become a style that could thrive in the heart of a bustling city. And this contemporary vision of jazz manifests itself so well on 'The Eddy' because the creators of the show and its music recognized the need to free jazz from what people think it ought to be, instead allowing themselves and their band to explore the freedom that jazz is built on.
But beyond the effort and love that went into creating this soundtrack, it's the diversity of culture that is reflected in the music that really makes the music soar. The multicultural band that plays at the club includes jazz musicians from France, Cuba, Croatia, Poland, Haiti/Canada, and Los Angeles. The cast additionally features New Yorkers like Elliot and his daughter Julie along with a supporting cast that includes Muslim people of Algerian descent. And aside from the musicians who had to learn to act, the actors in the cast also had to learn to play instruments and sing in order to portray their characters believably and bring their individual storylines to life.
These elements all come together to create a dynamic wherein jazz musicians from multiple cultures can be seen blending their styles to create something unique while those unfamiliar with the genre developed a new-found love for music they never considered their cup of tea before. And that dynamic is exactly what audiences will find themselves taking away from the show after they're done watching it.
And to add to all of that magic, the band's performances were recorded live as they played the songs on soundstages built to resemble a real-life jazz club, thereby adding a layer of authenticity to the music being played as well as the scenes being acted. As director Alan Poul states, "Everything about The Eddy, when you're watching it, is meant to feel like you're there."
'The Eddy's soundtrack isn't just a simple list of jazz fusion songs. It features a real band playing songs written specifically for the story the shot is trying to tell, and therefore reflects the characters' personalities, hopes and desires, and story arcs perfectly while also reintroducing jazz to a whole new audience.
And that is precisely why the music of 'The Eddy' is its greatest accomplishment.
Stream or purchase the music of 'The Eddy' via Spotify or Amazon.
‘The Eddy’ features an original soundtrack developed by Glen Ballard with Randy Kerber, Julia Harriman, Sopico, Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. (Mika), and many more serving as co-writers. The songs are performed almost entirely by ‘The Eddy Band’ with the rest of the cast as well as other musicians and singers featuring on a few tracks.
Here is a full list of the music featured on the 'The Eddy':
Episode 1: ‘Elliot’
‘Call Me When You Get There’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Bar Fly’ (The Eddy Band)
‘Au Milieu’ (The Unnamed featuring Sopico and Adil Dehbi)
‘Fallen’ (The Josiah Woodson Quintet)
‘Kiss Your Ass Goodbye’ (The Eddy Band)
‘Murder In The Rue’ (The Eddy Band featuring Tahar Rahim)
‘Mira’ (The Robby Marshall Quartet with Anissa Nehari)
‘Play Through’ (The Robby Marshall Quartet with Anissa Nehari)
‘PCH’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘The Eddy’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
Episode 2: ‘Julie’
‘Kiss Me In The Morning’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Au Milieu’ (Acoustic) (Sopico, Omar El Barkaoui, and Afida Tahri)
‘Not A Day Goes By’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘East Paris’ (The Eddy Band)
‘Let It Go’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Kiss Me In The Morning’ (Instrumental) (Amandla Stenberg on clarinet)
‘Au Milieu’ (End Title version) (Sopico, Damien Nueva Cortes, Omar El Barkaoui, Ludovic Louis, and Jowee Omicil)
Episode 3: ‘Amira’
‘Elliot's Party Blues’ (The Eddy Band)
‘Drop Me Off In Harlem’ (The Eddy Band featuring Tahar Rahim)
‘The Wake’ (The Eddy Band and Friends)
‘The Long Way Home’ (Randy Kerber)
‘Not a Day Goes By ‘(The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Black Cat’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
Episode 4: ‘Jude’
‘Paris in September’ (Damien Nueva Cortes)
‘I Must Have Known It Then’ (Randy Kerber)
‘Can't Stay Away’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Bar Fly’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Elle Me Dit’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Toda La Gente’ (Damian Nueva Cortes, Onilde Gomez Valon, Abraham Mansfaroll, Pedro Barrios, Sebastian Quezada, and Anissa Nehari)
‘Play All Night’ (Damian Nueva and Randy Kerber)
‘Paris in September’ (Damian Nueva and Randy Kerber)
Episode 5: ‘Maja’
‘Le Serpent Qui Danse’ (Randy Kerber, Joel Shearer, Damian Nueva, and Arnaud Dolmen featuring Tcheky Karyo and Joanna Kulig on vocals)
‘Dupin's Blue’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘My Little Criminal’ (Randy Kerber)
‘On the Way’ (The Eddy Band with Arnaud Dolmen featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Play All Night’ (The Eddy Band with Arnaud Dolmen and featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘The Eddy’ (Uptempo) (The Eddy Band with Yoann Danier)
Episode 6: ‘Sim’
‘Open To Persuasion’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘On The Way’ (The Eddy Band)
‘Sooner or Later’ (The Eddy Band and The Unnamed featuring Adil Dehbi and Amandla Stenberg)
‘The Guembmri Jam’ (Benjamin Petit, Omar El Barkaoui, Ludovic Louis, Jowee Omicil, and Damian Nueva Cortes)
Episode 7: ‘Katarina’
‘Catch Me’ (Randy Kerber and Damien Nueva Cortes)
‘Melancolia’ (Randy Kerber)
‘Can't Say Away’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
Episode 8: ‘The Eddy’
‘Gossip’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig)
‘Snow’ (Amandla Stenberg, André Holland, Ludovic Louis, and Randy Kerber)
‘The Eddy’ (The Eddy Band featuring Joanna Kulig, Amandla Stenberg, and André Holland)
‘Call Me When You Get There’ (Instrumental) (The Eddy Band)