The eighties tributes I know (Nina Rota Amarcord, [...]) have stellar momen
ts to say the least, but they REALLY stand out for
their togetherness, combining at the same time the throwaway feel of a regular various artists album. [...], or Jaki Byard playing La Strada).
good point. The flow (sequencing, segueing) was particularly good on that one: back in the LP days, whenever I put the needle on Side 2, I knew I'd be held in rapt attention all the way to the end, despite my not necessarily wanting to hear Steve Lacy solo or Jaki Byard solo per se -- it was all so seamless, who want want to interrupt any of it? Also, this is a case where Scott Yanow, writing on allmusic.com, kind of botches things by characterizing the performances/arrangements as "eccentric": oddly enough, it was Willner's versions of these melodies that stuck in my mind's ear for years afterwards, and not the film versions, regardless of how many times I went to see them.