Whiplash

Whiplash is a battle of will between a young, possibly prodigiously gifted jazz drummer, and his drill sergeant conductor, who pushes the musician well past his comfortable limits. As portrayed by JK Simmons, Terence Fletcher believes jazz is all about precision -- he dismisses drummers by saying the rhythm they're playing is "not quite my tempo," a phrase that draws blood in the course of the movie -- which is a little odd for a music that's often based on groove, feel, and improvisation, but it does somewhat fit for a tale of a drummer, as they rely on rudiments more than many of their peers. That precision can be heard throughout the soundtrack to Whiplash and that's partially due to the construction of the record, which relies on music cues over full-length performances and often interjects snippets of dialogue pulled from the film. The album doesn't mirror the progression of the film -- the elegiac piano showcase "Fletcher's Song in Club" appears very early on the record -- and the quick succession of frenetic cues in the middle of the record mirrors the hard-edged, blindered approach of Miles Teller's central figure Andrew Neiman. Consequently, the Whiplash soundtrack winds up playing more like a film than a jazz album: it has its own singular momentum and drama that wind up overshadowing whatever long-shaded pieces that reside on the record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine