Now Sound — All Formats  

Long before he became the giant of mainstream fusion, Dave Grusin was one heck of a jazz player – with a light lively touch on the keys that rivalled that of contemporaries like Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner. Unlike those guys, though, Dave always had a better eye for the bigger picture – and on this album, he's perfectly matched with some soaring arrangements by Robert Mersey that color his already rich piano work with some beautiful washes of sound. The record's a rare piano and strings session that we'd rank up there with the best – like Herb Albert Presents Pete Jolly, or Oscar Peterson's Inventions & Dimensions – and it's a treasure we come back to again and again over the years. Titles are mostly standards – like "Love Is Here To Stay", "Fly Me To The Moon", "What Is This Thing Called Love", and "The Party's Over" – but Dave takes them to the next level, turning each of them into sublime little jewels that fit perfectly together!

Rare work from British easy maestro Ron Goodwin – one of England's most important orchestral talents of the 50s and 60s! Disc one of the set features Goodwin's instrumental singles of the 50s – many of which were done in a style that's similar to some of Les Baxter's pre-exotica work for Capitol. Like Baxter, Goodwin came from a more traditional style of mood music, but was also willing to work in farther-reaching modes – and would pick up traces of some of the more ambitious easy styles of his time. The second disc features Goodwin's soundtrack work of later years – much of which was done in highly dramatic styles that often supported historical narratives, war stories, and other films of an epic nature. Together, the 2CD set makes for a great look at Goodwin's oft-neglected work – and is packaged with a great set of notes and a huge amount of tracks! Titles include "Concetta", "Red Cloak", "The Melba Waltz", "Messenger Boy", "Jet Journey", "Tropical Mirage", "Josita", "Wagon Train", "Aces High", "Departure", "Frenzy", "Decline & Fall", "Cafe Royal Waltz", "Return My Love", and "When Eagles Dare". 53 tracks in all!