Woody Allen's "Amadeus".

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2005)

The guitar is the subtlest of instruments,capable - in the right hands - of expressing nuances so fragile that they appear to fade into nothingness almost as soon as they are heard.Sublety is a formidable weapon in the jazz guitarist's arsenal,and Howard Alden,who plays the guitar on the soundtrack of "Sweet and Lowdown" is a master of the "Chord Melody" style and a man with the touch of a gentle yet ardent lover.When he plays "I'm forever blowing bubbles" as a solo a la Eddie Lang you are hearing sublime artistry.Could a person capable of making music of such beauty be a lying cheating thieving son of a bitch? Well,yes,actually,if that man is Emmett Ray(Sean Penn) in Woody Allen's examination of the nature of genius. One minute stunning a noisy nightclub crowd into silence with a breath- taking version of "Parlez - moi d'amour",the next urging his girl-friend "Let's go to the dump and shoot some rats",Mr Ray is not an easy read. Jazz lovers are particularly prone to looking at their heroes through rose - coloured glasses,a trait Mr Allen has a gentle dig at despite quite possibly possessing it himself.As a jazz lover no doubt he worshipped many a musician and probably more than a few failed to live up to his fantasies. They were still brilliant artists but flawed human beings .Emmett Ray is no Mozart,but "Sweet and Lowdown" is Woody Allen's "Amadeus".