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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?

A couple of great soundtracks for the films of Billy Wilder – 1960's The Apartment, composed by Adolph Deutch, and Andre Previn's work for The Fortune Cookie – back-to-back on a single CD! Adolph Deutch's compositions from The Apartment roll from an easygoing jazzy vibe to sweeping brassy bits, and titles include "Lonely Room", "Where Are You, Fran", Hong Kong Blues", "Little Brown Jug" and more. Fortune Cookie is a great Andre Previn soundtrack for a later Wilder film that starred Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau – plus the young Judi West, who sings a version of "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" on the album. The rest of the tracks are split pretty evenly between light jazzy numbers, featuring Previn's piano in the lead – and orchestral dramatic numbers directed with a pretty serious feel. Titles include "The Bad Guys", "The Nice Guys", "Second Chance", "Waltz Of The Fortune Cookies", and "The Detectives". CD also includes Previn's main title theme for "Irma La Douce".

A wonderfully gripping score from Andre Previn – one of his best early dramatic soundtracks! The work's got a style that really befits the dark image on the cover – muted strings that rumble in the background, as other bits of instrumentation – horns, harpsichord, and violin – emerge from the almost watery backdrop of sound. There's a tensness here that's really great – and the sharp-edged harpsichord almost recalls later Italian use of the instrument, especially by Morricone. Titles include "The Morgue", "Edie's Theme", "This Was His Room", "Hidden Jewelry", "The Police Is Waiting", "Figueroa", and "The Dog Attacks".

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".

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?

With Previn on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Frank Capp on drums.

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".

A set that features the successful Dave Pell Octet of the mid 50s – a group who was playing a lot of swing-oriented gigs at colleges around the country, hence the title. The set features Pell leading players that include Andre Previn, Don Fagerquist, and other smooth west coasters – and tracks include "Love Is The Sweetest Thing", "Let's Do It", "I've Found a New Baby", and "I've Got A Crush On You".

Think what you want about Dinah Shore, she could serve up some pretty great vocals at her best moments – and this album is definitely one of those moments! The style here is laidback and late nite – with Dinah singing alongside backing from the trio of Andre Previn on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Frank Capp on drums – all working in an easygoing mode that comes across with a great small club feel. Previn's piano is especially nice – filled with light flourishes that illuminate the tunes nicely, but in a subtle way that's never too over the top – and usually touched with just a hint of sadness to fit the mood of the songs. Titles include "April In Paris", "Then I'll Be Tired Of You", "The Man I Love", "That Old Feeling", "It Had To Be You", "I'll Be Seeing You", and "If I Had You".

Music from June Christy, Andre Previn, Johnny Green, Victor Young & others.

An odd choice for material, but a surprisingly nice record – and just the kind of session needed to break Barney Kessel out of some of his too-familiar trio modes of the 50s! The record here features jazz takes on tunes from the opera Carmen – in case you didn't figure that out from the title – all adapted by Barney himself, on charts that feature Buddy Collette on flute, Ray Linn on trumpet, Victor Feldman on vibes, and Andre Previn on piano – a lineup that helps keep things creative and playful without sounding too gimmicky. Titles include "Free As A Bird", "If You Dig Me", "A Pad On The Edge Of Town", "The Gypsy's Hip", and "Carmen's Cool".

The title only gets it half-right, because although these 18 tracks contain some cool folksy groovers by folks like Barbara & Ernie, Christine Harwood, and Keef Hartley, they've also got some very cool stripped down jazz funk tracks with a spare sample-laden groove. Cuts like this include "Holy Thursday" by David Axelrod, "Midnight's Theme" by Manzell, "Stringtronics" by Tropicola, "Higher Ground" by Hugo Montenegro, "Crab Apple Jam" by Jayson Lindh, and more by Andre Previn, Bill Conti, Ronnie Foster, and The Heath Brothers. Nudie cover, too!

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".