WHAT is your favourite Clint Eastwood soundtrack? I am guessing most people would nominate one of Ennio Morricone’s themes from the Dollar trilogy, most likely The Good, the Bad & The Ugly.

My own personal favourite, though, is a jazzier example, as heard in the rather schlocky movie The Gauntlet. The music is by Jerry Fielding, with parts of it owing a debt to Gil Evans (and especially Sketches of Spain), but it is the guests that make it intriguing.

On alto sax is Art Pepper, not usually a soundtrack man – though he’s on Some Like It Hot and The Enforcer – but he was strung out, needed a buck, and Clint, a fan, helped him with a session or two. On trumpet is Jon Faddis, a Charles Mingus alumnus, whose blistering, piercing high register can scare dogs for miles around. I’m not sure I’d watch the film again, but I often play the album for its woozy and bluesy feel cuts and the Evans-ish title track.

Kyle Eastwood [kyleeastwood.com]

I was reminded of all this when listening to an episode of The Jazz Podcast, which is curated by saxophonist Rob Cope, with singer and harpist Tara Minton as co-host. This one had as a guest Clint’s son Kyle, who late last year released an album called Eastwood Symphonic, with his regular group, plus the Czech National Symphonic Orchestra, playing new arrangements of his old man’s movies, including the Dollar films (but not The Gauntlet).

It deftly avoids any tendency to sentimentality or syrupiness from the strings by layering in more astringent solos and comping from his long-term (mostly) British band, which includes the nimble Quentin Collins on trumpet, the estimable and highly versatile (check out some of his own projects) Andrew McCormack on piano and firebrand Aussie expat Brandon Allen on sax. Give Kyle’s turn on the show a listen – I’ve interviewed him twice and he’s a nice guy, finally at ease with the ramifications of that surname.

Rob Cope, far right, with Paul Clarvis, Andy Scott and Liam Noblee [Chris Cruz]

Rob Cope’s The Jazz Podcast has more than 250 episodes in the can now, showcasing everyone from Jamie Cullum to Sonny Rollins, and he also has his own new album out on the Ubuntu label. Called Gemini, it’s a very different affair to Eastwood’s, almost at the opposite end of the jazz spectrum.

It features Rob on bass clarinet and soprano sax, Andy Scott (Rob’s former teacher) on tenor, and the formidable duo of Liam Noble on piano and Paul Clarvis on drums. It is fully of knotty, fleet-fingered themes and intuitive improvisation and interplay (some tracks have minimal notation to allow for harmonic freedom).

Not always music for more mainstream tastes, perhaps, but I loved it, some of the sudden twists and turns as the musicians circle and intersect with each other bringing a smile to my face, especially on the title track (where Rob’s classical training is perhaps most in evidence), the swirling, multi-themed exuberance of The Dance, the elegant and stately Little Glass Box and the rapid-fire blues of Laika, which might well be named after the doomed Russian space dog. Astonishingly, the four had never played together as a unit before this recording. But that’s jazz.

The album is out now, and the official launch gig is at the Vortex on January 25 (see: https://www.vortexjazz.co.uk).

Rob’s podcast co-host Tara Minton (https://www.taraminton.com) is at the same venue the following night (26th) as part of the wonderfully operatically named jazz singer Germana Stella La Sorsa’s (she’s Italian-born, London-based) album launch. The record, Primary Colours, also features young guns Tom Ollendorf on guitar and Sam Leak on organ, who will be playing the gig too.

Tara is at the Vortex again on February 26 with tenor man Nick Willsher as part of an intriguing band with a harp/vibraphone/sax/bass and drums line-up, improvising around folk-, ambient- and jazz-based themes. I’m thinking it might be ECM-ish, but we’ll see. Again, tickets via the Vortex website (https://www.vortexjazz.co.uk).

Kyle Eastwood and his band occupy the stage at Ronnie Scott’s from April 24-27. His gigs at the Soho club always sell out, so get in quick. He has his regular, excellent quintet with him – no orchestra, perhaps, but they will certainly be playing a fistful of Clint’s themes. Tickets: https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/eastwood-by-eastwood-kyle-eastwood-quintet-plays-the-music-of-the-films-of-clint-eastwood