Spike Lee - Contributed

As we continue our retrospective on Spike Lee, we look at his use of music, a strong feature of his movies - or joints, as he calls them.

To borrow the parlance of the club owner who looks out at a sea of dancing figures in his place and sees the cash register ticking over right before his eyes, the joint is jumping when Spike Lee puts out a movie.

The film we are taking a look back at today, 1990's Mo Better Blues, is laden with the sounds that would have influenced the son of a jazz bass player, as Spike Lee is. That is natural, as it surrounds Denzel Washington as trumpeter and bandleader Bleek Gilliam (you gotta be a musician or a criminal with a name like that; just ain't no accountants and teachers called 'Bleek') and his struggles with himself and his quintet of musicians and duet of serious women.

Heavily into R&B

But Jungle Fever, with its interracial love and attendant problems theme, went heavily into the R&B of Stevie Wonder, who did the entire soundtrack. These Three Words would be the most recognisable name from the 11 songs, including the title song and one that may just fit the 'bleachers', Chemical Love.

Lee has been, if not all embracing, then certainly varied in his tastes, utilising Public Enemy's raps in Do The Right Thing, Prince's funk in Girl 6 and Bruce Springsteen's huskiness in 25th Hour.

As touching as those were, there can be few to match Lee's use of music in When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, about the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans from September 11, 2005, onwards. Jazz was a natural in the city of the jazzman and, with Fats Domino still alive and almost swimming, Walking To New Orleans was a natural.

Then there were those ending shots of a dancing mini-parade, tooting horns and singing When The Saints Go Marching In.

Next Week: Another joint.

- Mel Cooke