Andre Previn & His Pals Play West Side Story (XRCD)

West Side Story (Related Recordings), Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, Andre Previn | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 17, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1959
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jvc / Xrcd
• ASIN: B00005A0MV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,448 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Something's Coming

2. Jet Song

3. Tonight

4. I Feel Pretty

5. Gee, Officer Krupke!

6. Cool

7. Maria

8. America

Editorial Reviews

By the time Andre Previn, Shelly Manne & Red Mitchell recorded this album in 1959, they had set the standard for jazz versions of show and movie scores. West Side Story is not merely one of the groups best show tune albums, it is one of their finest albums, categories aside!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic Previn jazz album, August 5, 2004

By 

music fan "music fan" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andre Previn & His Pals Play West Side Story (XRCD) (Audio CD)

First off, this is not a substitute for the wonderful original West Side Story Broadway cast album. Instead, it is a jazz interpretation of the show's main songs, in Andre Previn's typical witty, understated style. Previn is inventive in his subtle way but does not violently alter the ideas of his friend and colleague Leonard Bernstein. This kind of jazz is far removed from the radically original work of Miles Davis and John Coltrane from the same period, but it is much further removed from the "jazz suites" of Claude Bolling mentioned by the reviewer below. Bolling wrote light, jazz-inspired pieces that are enjoyable but not especially imaginative. Previn's far more sophisticated album is a jazz classic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly Fantastic, October 29, 2007

By 

Richard D. Adams (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: West Side Story (Audio CD)

I have a lot of his "jazz" trio albums which are now on cd. He might not always "swing like Peterson"; instead, his treatment of ballads is soluxuriously harmonic and melodic that it frequently takes my breath away. I think his
"Like Love" and "Like Blue" albums from this period are as good as this. And, as has been previously observed, his left hand work is incredible.

10 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It almost swings..., December 20, 2001

By 

Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: West Side Story (Audio CD)

Andre Previn is a tremendously talented pianist and conductor, and he's working with Bernstein's greatest work... so why doesn't this really ever come together for me? It's clever, the band is tight, but it just never rises above the level of very competant playing.

The problem, I think, is that this isn't jazz so much as it is a carefully arranged suite in the jazz style. There's no risk, no emotion, no excitement. Just very precise playing. In that, it reminds me of the Claude Bolling suites that were so popular in the 1980s. No dissonance, no dynamics, nothing to upset the tea party.

If you like West Side Story, get the original Broadway Cast Recording (Larry Kert's "Something's Coming" will send chills down your spine) or Bernstein's recording of the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. This album unfortunately never rises much above the level of polite background music.