Two classic albums on one CD, 2012 new digital remaster with full original album art in booklet. Oscar Peterson's 1962 album, Oscar Peterson Plays: West Side Story, features the pianist and his trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, reinterpreting compositions from the classic 1961 film version of the Broadway musical. This is a highly engaging album that showcases Peterson's trio at their finest, with some truly inventive takes on such songs as "Somewhere," "Tonight," and "Maria." Oscar Peterson's 1959 album, Play Porgy & Bess, features the pianist and his trio (with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen) explore ten of the stronger themes from George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess…
This electrifying bossa nova version of ten great songs from the West Side Story admirably showcases Bill Barron's triple-threat talent as soloist, arranger, and leader. Bill's relaxed, long-lined solos on tenor saxophone confirm him as a member of that school of "hard-nosed" lyricism wich includes Miles Davis, Stan Getz and Bill Evans.
The last of a series of showtune albums recorded by the trio of pianist Andre Previn, bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Shelly Manne finds the all-star group focusing on the music of West Side Story (Previn and Manne alternated leadership, and it was the drummer's good fortune to have the famous My Fair Lady album under his own name). This CD reissue has eight of the main themes from the famous musical, including "I Feel Pretty," "Maria" and "America." As usual, the melodies are treated respectfully yet swingingly, and Andre Previn in particular excels in this setting.