Previn plays Fats Waller tunes in a trio setting, produced by Dave Pell. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly nice stuff – especially considering that the album was one in a string of Previn piano sessions for Contemporary – all based around Broadway themes as part of the success of his My Fair Lady date with Shelly Manne! This set still features Manne on drums – and Red Mitchell on bass – but it's also got a thoughtful feel that takes it way past any cookie cutter expectations you might have – really recapturing the genius of the Lady record, in the way the trio works with triangulated action to come up with unusual rhythms and melodies for the tunes. Titles include "What Is A Man", "It's A Great Big Town", "Do It The Hard Way", "That Terrific Rainbow", and "Take Him". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Al Hendrickson on guitar, Red Mitchell and Carson Smith on bass, and Irv Cotter and Shelly Manne on drums. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the albums Collaboration, Plays Songs By Vernon Duke, Double Play, Dinah Sings & Previn Plays, Pal Joey, Secret Songs For Young Lovers, West Side Story, and A Touch Of Elegance. CD

Andre Previn's got some very hip pals here – drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Red Mitchell – both frequent partners during the late 50s, especially on this classic run of jazz-Broadway records for Contemporary! The spirit here is very much like that of the famous My Fair Lady date made by the trio – a strong extrapolation of familiar tunes from a hit show – taken way out into instrumental jazz territory – with less thought of the core melody, and more focus on the tunes use as vehicles for jazz improvisation. Previn's piano has hardly sounded better – and more creative, both in tone and timing – an inspiration that certainly comes from Manne's inventive drum work – and titles include "Aunt Alicia's March", "I Remember It Well", "The Parisians", "She Is Not Thinking Of Me", "Thank Heaven For Little Girls", and "A Toujours". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Andre Previn at the piano, Joe Pass on guitar, and Ray Brown on bass. Tracks include "Limehouse Blues", "What Am I Here For", "Cotton Tail", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good". CD

An overlooked set from the late 50s show-meets-jazz run of Shelly Manne and Andre Previn – a cool jazz instrumental take on the score to Bells Are Ringing! As with other Manne/Previn pairings, the music is incredibly sprightly – some of the best jazz Andre ever recorded in the 50s, with piano lines that are a lot more fluid and freewheeling than on his mood music sets for other labels – and Manne's careful approach to percussion makes for lots of light, lyrical rhythms – which have plenty of support in spirit from the wonderful bass of Red Mitchell. Titles include two versions of "The Party's Over" – one slow, one as a "party" version – plus "I Met A Girl", "Just In Time", "It's A Perfect Relationshi", "Is It A Crime", "Mu Cha Cha", and "Long Before I Knew You". LP, Vinyl record album

A solo piano set – tracks include "Cocoanut Sweet", "Let's Fall In Love", "A Sleepin' Bee", and "My Shining Hour". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A goofy title and cover – but a really unique session of two-piano jazz, recorded with Russ Freeman and Andre Previn on the keys, plus only the drums of Shelly Manne to provide additional support! The sound is really great – and Previn's especially wonderful here, really stretching out to meet the harder style of Freeman. Both players also seem really inspired by Manne's drum work – and in a way, it almost feels like Shelly's directing the piano from the drum kit, especially on the more uptempo numbers. The notes do a very detailed job of breaking down the piano work, so that you can figure out who's soloing when – and titles include "Who's On First", "In The Cellar Blues", "Called On Account Of Rain", "Fungo", "Safe At Home", and "Double Play". Baseball, anyone? LP, Vinyl record album

A rare mid 50s collaboration between pianist Andre Previn and trumpeter Shorty Rogers – an instrumental collaboration between the pair – one that's mostly set up in the mode of Rogers style of the time with his Giants group – but which also really sparkles tremendously with the addition of Previn's brightly-colored piano lines! We'd honestly never thought that highly of Andre's work until hearing this set – and his presence here really adds a new dimension to the Shorty Rogers groove of the 50s – a set of tones that spring out wonderfully, and really illuminate the set! Other players include Bud Shank, Milt Bernhart, Jimmy Giuffre, and Bob Cooper – on 13 titles that include "It's Delovely", "Heat Wave", "40 Below", "Claudia", "General Cluster", "Everything I've Got", "Call For Cole", and "Lullaby Of Birdland". LP, Vinyl record album

A nicely lean take on the music of West Side Story – done during part of a big late 50s wave of jazz-meets-Broadway albums – and served up by a group who often approached the material better than most! In previous years, Andre Previn could be more of a softer, mood-oriented pianist – but he's at his jazziest here, and works with wonderful dexterity next to the hip drum work of Shelly Manne, and the subtle but powerful bass of Red Mitchell – a player who may well be the real hero of the best trio dates like these! The tunes are familiar, but they're hardly a rehash of the themes – as Previn really takes off on his solos, with plenty of improvised moments – on titles that include "Cool", "Jet Song", "Something's Coming", "Gee Officer Krupke", "Maria", and "Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

Helen Humes gets great small combo backing – from players who include Benny Carter on trumpet, Frank Rosolino on trombone, Teddy Edwards on tenor, Andre Previn on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and either Shelly Manne or Mel Lewis on drums. (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Shelly picks up on a very successful format for his trio of the late 50s – begun with the My Fair Lady album, and followed through with this one – a batch of jazz-based readings of tracks from the hit Broadway musical based on the comic strip Lil Abner. Apart from that bit of history, and the goofy cover, which has Manne dressed as Abner, the overall feel is straight trio work in Shelly's most popular mode of the time – with Andre Previn on the ivories and Leroy Vinnegar on bass. Titles include "Matrimonial Stomp", "Jubilation T Cornpone", "Oh Happy Day", "Namely You", "Past My Prime", and "Progress Is The Root Of All Evil". LP, Vinyl record album

A key early entry in the "jazz meets Broadway" genre – and a record that was so successful, it went onto inspire countless imitations! Shelly Manne's working here in a lightly playful trio setting – alongside Andre Previn on piano and Leroy Vinnegar on bass, in a reading of tunes originally composed for the musical My Fair Lady. Given Manne's talent for unusual rhythms and melodic percussion, the session's got a bit of a whimsical edge that takes it way past the core compositions that most listeners already knew – into a realm that allows for much great improvisation and play with the melodies. Previn's nicely restrained on the keys, and Vinnegar adds in a good sense of bottom to the set – and titles include "Get Me To The Church On Time", "I Could Have Dance All Night", "Ascot Gavotte", "Show Me", and "With A Little Bit Of Luck". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Pepper's most classic sets for Contemporary – a record that puts him in the company of the Miles Davis rhythm section – Jimmy Cobb on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano – who make up 3/5 of a quintet that also includes trumpeter Conte Candoli! The tracks open up a bit more from some of Pepper's 50s work in LA – arguably a bit tighter at times, and possibly a bit more "classic" – at least to longtime fans of the set. There's a bit less edge here than on some of Art's other 50s dates, but the album's still a great one – with titles that are a mixture of originals like "Getting Together", "Diane", and "Bijou The Poodle", plus a few other strong numbers, like Chambers' "Whims Of Chambers" and Dory & Andre Previn's "Why Are We Afraid?" LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Pepper's most classic sets for Contemporary – a record that puts him in the company of the Miles Davis rhythm section – Jimmy Cobb on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano – who make up 3/5 of a quintet that also includes trumpeter Conte Candoli! The tracks open up a bit more from some of Pepper's 50s work in LA – arguably a bit tighter at times, and possibly a bit more "classic" – at least to longtime fans of the set. There's a bit less edge here than on some of Art's other 50s dates, but the album's still a great one – with titles that are a mixture of originals like "Getting Together", "Diane", and "Bijou The Poodle", plus a few other strong numbers, like Chambers' "Whims Of Chambers" and Dory & Andre Previn's "Why Are We Afraid?" LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Pepper's most classic sets for Contemporary – a record that puts him in the company of the Miles Davis rhythm section – Jimmy Cobb on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano – who make up 3/5 of a quintet that also includes trumpeter Conte Candoli! The tracks open up a bit more from some of Pepper's 50s work in LA – arguably a bit tighter at times, and possibly a bit more "classic" – at least to longtime fans of the set. There's a bit less edge here than on some of Art's other 50s dates, but the album's still a great one – with titles that are a mixture of originals like "Getting Together", "Diane", and "Bijou The Poodle", plus a few other strong numbers, like Chambers' "Whims Of Chambers" and Dory & Andre Previn's "Why Are We Afraid?" CD

A well-titled album from the great Benny Carter – already a giant in jazz, thanks to countless years blowing the alto sax as a leader and sideman in other groups – really opening up a fresh chapter of his career in a great run of smaller combo work in the second half of the 50s! This set's a great demonstration of the way that Carter was able to bring an older jazz experience into more modern modes in the postwar years – an edge on his horn that's still one of the most distinct voices on the alto, yet very different than Charlie Parker or other modernists who came after him – exquisitely matched here in a combo that includes Ben Webster on tenor, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Barney Kessel on guitar. Rosolino and Webster drop out on two tracks, piano is by Andre Previn or Jimmy Rowles, and the group's completed by Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Titles include "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me", "Blue Lou", "A Walkin Thing", and "Old Fashioned Love". CD

One of Art Pepper's most classic sets for Contemporary – a record that puts him in the company of the Miles Davis rhythm section – Jimmy Cobb on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano – who make up 3/5 of a quintet that also includes trumpeter Conte Candoli! The tracks open up a bit more from some of Pepper's 50s work in LA – arguably a bit tighter at times, and possibly a bit more "classic" – at least to longtime fans of the set. There's a bit less edge here than on some of Art's other 50s dates, but the album's still a great one – with titles that are a mixture of originals like "Getting Together", "Diane", and "Bijou The Poodle", plus a few other strong numbers, like Chambers' "Whims Of Chambers" and Dory & Andre Previn's "Why Are We Afraid?" CD

One of Art Pepper's most classic sets for Contemporary – a record that puts him in the company of the Miles Davis rhythm section – Jimmy Cobb on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano – who make up 3/5 of a quintet that also includes trumpeter Conte Candoli! The tracks open up a bit more from some of Pepper's 50s work in LA – arguably a bit tighter at times, and possibly a bit more "classic" – at least to longtime fans of the set. There's a bit less edge here than on some of Art's other 50s dates, but the album's still a great one – with titles that are a mixture of originals like "Getting Together", "Diane", and "Bijou The Poodle", plus a few other strong numbers, like Chambers' "Whims Of Chambers" and Dory & Andre Previn's "Why Are We Afraid?" CD

The group billed as "The Mitchells" is an unusual "family" projects put together by Leonard Feather – featuring Whitey Mitchell on bass, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and Red Mitchell on both bass and piano – none of them related, but coming together here because they all share a last name! Whitey directs the music on the record, and is really the boss of the set – and other players include Frank Rehak on trombone, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, and Andre Previn on piano – working together in a tightly-focused way that carries some of the hallmarks of some of Adams' other albums of the period. Titles include the originals "Three Cheers", "Blues For Brian", "Get Those Elephants Outta Here", and "Monster Rally". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-titled album from the great Benny Carter – already a giant in jazz, thanks to countless years blowing the alto sax as a leader and sideman in other groups – really opening up a fresh chapter of his career in a great run of smaller combo work in the second half of the 50s! This set's a great demonstration of the way that Carter was able to bring an older jazz experience into more modern modes in the postwar years – an edge on his horn that's still one of the most distinct voices on the alto, yet very different than Charlie Parker or other modernists who came after him – exquisitely matched here in a combo that includes Ben Webster on tenor, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Barney Kessel on guitar. Rosolino and Webster drop out on two tracks, piano is by Andre Previn or Jimmy Rowles, and the group's completed by Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Titles include "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me", "Blue Lou", "A Walkin Thing", and "Old Fashioned Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A key early entry in the "jazz meets Broadway" genre – and a record that was so successful, it went onto inspire countless imitations! Shelly Manne's working here in a lightly playful trio setting – alongside Andre Previn on piano and Leroy Vinnegar on bass, in a reading of tunes originally composed for the musical My Fair Lady. Given Manne's talent for unusual rhythms and melodic percussion, the session's got a bit of a whimsical edge that takes it way past the core compositions that most listeners already knew – into a realm that allows for much great improvisation and play with the melodies. Previn's nicely restrained on the keys, and Vinnegar adds in a good sense of bottom to the set – and titles include "Get Me To The Church On Time", "I Could Have Dance All Night", "Ascot Gavotte", "Show Me", and "With A Little Bit Of Luck". CD