A new conundrum: “what is an Irish film soundtrack?” Well, one thing it typically doesn't sound like is November Afternoon. Co-director John Carney's clever jazz score and choice of recorded tracks were some of the main elements that made the film stand out as one of the most refreshing debut features in recent years at its Cork Film Festival screening in October.

Carney’s confident, swinging music is a totally new departure for contemporary Irish cinema. Not since Louis Stewart’s marvellous scoring of Briain O’ Loughlin’s 1975 RTÉ drama A Day in the Life of Martin Cluxton has an Irish film had an entire jazz soundtrack. This element adds an extra dimension to a film already so stylistically different from traditional Irish fare. At crucial points in the film when a haunting harmonica call, a plaintive blast of the uileann pipes or a delve into 70s (and even 80s) nostalgia would be employed by other directors, Carney’s original music transports us to a setting both universal and yet, typically Irish. The beauty of November Afternoon is that the music both adds a continuos dimension to the story while placing it in a quartier that could as easily be Greenwich Village, the Liberties or Camden.

The film almost seems to be music-led, although Carney insists that “the music didn’t come first, but a lot of musical ideas did.” By his own accounts, “70-80%” of the film’s music is original. “I couldn’t stand to use unoriginal music unless it didn’t attract attention to itself Ð its bankrupt and cheatingÓ he continues, citing lazy use of music to complete or even create a scene.Ó Yet even Carney is guilty of this himself, in his use of Oscar Peterson singing ‘Orange Coloured Sky’ to contrast the chilliness and effervescence of the male leads.

In an early scene, Carney, ex-bassist with The Frames, nails his musical colours to the mast as John (Mark Doherty) goes through Robert’s records: “Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus, Nat King Cole, Chick Corea...” “he’s wonderful” interrupts Robert (Mark McElhatton). ÒI wouldnÕt knowÓ the hapless John replies, in a perfect set-up for what will follow. A live gig at the Baggot Inn is the musical highlight with the director himself on guitar, joining a sextet which includes veteran tenor player Dick Buckley in a blazing session, topped by a beautifully haunting solo version of ‘Where or When’ by vocalist Camille O’ Sullivan. Carney’s respect for the music extends to his exclusion of any dialogue during this five-minute scene and indeed at several points in the film, dialogue punctuates the music rather than vice versa.

Echoing the acting foursome throughout the film is a rhythm quartet (guitar, piano, bass and drums). The guitar-led rhythm melodies are similar to those of Django Reinhardt and his innovatory 1930s Quintette du Hot Club de France, link scenes or strike up as the tone or direction of the story changes. It's a languid feel that fits well with the laid-back angst of the story itself as the fragile walls surrounding the four slowly collapse.

There is a repeating theme in November Afternoon which almost replicates the opening bar in Gershwin's 'Our Love id Here to Stay', and is given an upbeat treatment for the film's lighter passages. With, at different points, nods towards the piano trios of George Shearing and Oscar Peterson, Carney's lyrical, swinging jazz is the lifeblood of the film. Even the characters make verbal references to Ella Fitzgerald and Peterson. Carney's musical heart is clearly set in the three decades up to the 1950s when The Great American Songbook was in its heyday. For his next project – 'The Tender trap' – the first Irish musical with all original songs, he intends to use as his touchstone those great American songwriters of the era: Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter.

Carney's guerrilla film-maker approach was also adopted during the recording of the soundtrack. Over ten days on a DAT in his sitting room he played and recorded guitar, piano, bass, drums and some clarinet, getting professional musicians for overdubs on a couple of tracks. He is already irked at the film being termed cool, hip and jazzy because of its soundtrack. "it;s just music" he says. And although we have several jazz musicians of international repute living here, and a thriving jazz culture, why has nobody used a jazz soundtrack before? November Afternoon should open doors for musicians, composers and directors who may have felt that a film that sounds like this could never work.

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