"Blue Jasmine" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Blue Jasmine (Music from the Motion Picture)" Soundtrack Description

Questions and Answers

Is there an official soundtrack album?

Yes. Blue Jasmine (Music from the Motion Picture) was released digitally in September 2013 by Madison Gate Records with 20 tracks (~37 minutes).

What kind of music does it feature?

Woody Allen’s trademark vintage jazz and early pop: Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jimmie Noone, plus a new rendition of “Blue Moon” performed by pianist Conal Fowkes.

Is there original score?

No traditional score. The film is scored wall-to-wall with pre-existing jazz and standards, a long-standing Allen approach.

Which song is thematically central?

“Blue Moon” recurs as Jasmine and Hal’s “song,” growing more haunting as her denial unravels.

Does the album match the movie cues exactly?

It’s representative rather than exhaustive; cue placements in the film lean on multiple period recordings and edits.

Where can I listen?

Major digital services (e.g., Apple Music/Spotify) carry the official album release.

Notes & Trivia

• The album is a pure needle-drop collection—no commissioned score cues (as noted by Film Music Reporter).
• The centerpiece, “Blue Moon,” is performed in-film by jazz pianist Conal Fowkes, a longtime collaborator in Allen’s New York band (according to the Woody Allen Pages site).
• Madison Gate Records (Sony Pictures) handled the digital release in September 2013; runtime and 20-track count are consistent across storefronts (per Apple’s listing).
• Louis Armstrong bookends key moods with “Back O’ Town Blues” and “Aunt Hagar’s Blues,” anchoring the set in classic New Orleans jazz.
• King Oliver, Jimmie Noone, Lizzie Miles, and Mezzrow-Bechet supply 1920s–40s cuts that contrast sharply with Jasmine’s present-day chaos.
• “Blue Moon” functions diegetically as Jasmine and Hal’s couple anthem and non-diegetically as a memory trigger—LA Times covered its backstory and on-screen use.

Overview

How do you soundtrack denial? Blue Jasmine answers with 78-rpm ghosts: hot-club clarinets, cornet smears, and waltzing standards that feel borrowed from another century. The music isn’t nostalgia wallpaper; it’s Jasmine’s talisman. When she clings to “Blue Moon,” it sounds tender at first—then queasy, like a seasick lullaby.

The compilation leans on Louis Armstrong and early-jazz pillars (King Oliver, Jimmie Noone), spiked with period dance tunes and salon pieces (Julius Block). In between, Conal Fowkes’ “Blue Moon” threads the film’s timelines. The result is a portrait of a woman pretending she still lives in the old, polished world—while the band plays on.

Genres & Themes

• New Orleans/Trad Jazz ↔ Reality Check: Brassy, stomping tunes pull Jasmine out of fantasy and into crowded rooms where people sweat, not pose.
• Parlor Waltzes & Standards ↔ Class Performance: “Blue Moon” and salon pieces signal aspirational polish—a mask she can’t afford anymore.
• Small-combo Swing ↔ Memory Loops: Intimate combos mirror flashbacks: close-mic’d, a little too perfect—like curated recollections.

Key Tracks & Scenes

“Blue Moon” — Conal Fowkes
Where it plays: Recurs as Jasmine & Hal’s “song,” surfacing in flashbacks and in moments of psychic retreat (various points).
Why it matters: It’s the film’s thesis—romance repurposed as self-deception, then as a frail life raft.

“Back O’ Town Blues” — Louis Armstrong and His All Stars
Where it plays: Early montage/establishing beats that plant the film’s jazz DNA.
Why it matters: The swaggering, late-’40s Armstrong cut sets a gritty, unvarnished mood beneath Jasmine’s high-society gloss.

“Speakeasy Blues” — King Oliver
Where it plays: Party/restaurant ambience evoking a bygone urbane world.
Why it matters: Old-world sophistication hums ironically under conversations about fraud, class, and reinvention.

“Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me” — Jimmie Noone
Where it plays: Light transitional scene underscoring social maneuvering.
Why it matters: Airy clarinet lines make the “keeping up appearances” dance feel effortless—until it isn’t.

“Aunt Hagar’s Blues” — Louis Armstrong
Where it plays: A reflective passage as Jasmine’s façade thins.
Why it matters: Yearning horn phrases echo the film’s central ache: you can’t go back.

Music–Story Links (characters & plot beats)

• Jasmine & Hal ↔ “Blue Moon”: Their courtship theme mutates into a trigger; each reprise adds cracks to her fairytale veneer.
• Ginger’s grounded life ↔ Small-combo jazz: Earthier cuts feel tactile—kitchens, sidewalks, kids—countering Jasmine’s curated flashbacks.
• Class pretenses ↔ Parlor tunes: Waltzes and sweet standards cushion ugly truths in pleasant melody—exactly Jasmine’s coping pattern.
• Collapse ↔ Blues motifs: When the blues arrive, they don’t just comment; they corner her.

How It Was Made (supervision, score, behind-the-scenes)

Woody Allen personally curates period jazz for his films; Blue Jasmine continues that playbook. Instead of a bespoke score, the team cleared historically specific recordings—Armstrong, King Oliver, Jimmie Noone—with Madison Gate Records packaging the selections for the official release. Conal Fowkes, a regular in Allen’s band, cut the film’s signature “Blue Moon,” tying the soundtrack to Allen’s live-music circle.

The result feels archival yet immediate: needle-drops are edited for scene rhythm, not museum preservation. That’s why “Blue Moon” can be tender in one scene and chilling the next; arrangement, placement, and mix do the storytelling heavy lifting (as stated in the LA Times feature about the tune’s narrative role).

Reception & Quotes

“The Rodgers & Hart standard isn’t just wallpaper; in Allen’s film it becomes a character.” Los Angeles Times (feature context)

“A vintage-jazz jukebox that paradoxically modernizes Jasmine’s delusions.” Observations echoed in contemporary soundtrack roundups

Availability: The 20-track album is available to stream and purchase digitally; storefront metadata lists a 37-minute runtime and September 2013 release (according to Apple Music).

Technical Info

• Title: Blue Jasmine (Music from the Motion Picture)
• Year / Type: 2013 / Movie soundtrack (needle-drops, no traditional score)
• Primary performers featured: Louis Armstrong; King Oliver; Jimmie Noone; Lizzie Miles; Mezzrow-Bechet Septet; Conal Fowkes (“Blue Moon”)
• Label: Madison Gate Records (digital release)
• Album release: September 2013; 20 tracks; ~37 minutes; digital
• Notable cues: “Blue Moon” (Conal Fowkes); “Back O’ Town Blues” (Louis Armstrong); “Speakeasy Blues” (King Oliver); “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me” (Jimmie Noone)
• Trailer reference: Multiple official trailers circulated (WB UK/Sony Pictures Classics channels)

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Apple Music (album page); Film Music Reporter; Los Angeles Times; IMDb (Soundtracks); The Woody Allen Pages; Spotify (playlist mirror).

October, 25th 2025