• Composed by Ennio Morricone
• Decca / 61m

A 1985 erotic drama, La Gabbia (literally “The Cage” but it was released as The Trap internationally) is about an American businessman who finds himself in a love triangle in Italy after his girlfriend goes off on holiday. The other two sides of the triangle are mother and daughter. Hmm… Ennio Morricone’s jazz fusion score is a fine example of one of the numerous styles he used to score such films, intense and flavoured and with some very interesting instrumental touches. For the opening piece the focus is on electric bass, percussion and stabbing strings, with an occasional two-note blast from the brass that for all the world sounds like Neal Hefti’s Batman theme. It’s very stylish and effective, even if it lacks that core melodic hook that tends to set the best of these things apart. The style continues into the second piece, “Incatenato”, but here there is some terrific piano writing and a flavoursome flugelhorn solo played by regular Morricone collaborator Oscar Valdambrini.