When it came to jazz versions of Broadway musicals, no one outdid the men who started the trend. André Previn and Shelly Manne produced a major hit when they recorded their celebrated interpretation of the music from My Fair Lady (OJCCD-336-2). Among their several followup albums, Pal Joey stands out not only because of the superb musicianship of Manne, Previn, and bassist Red Mitchell but because the songs were from one of the finest of all Rodgers and Hart scores. Like so much of the music of those two giants, pieces like “I Could Write a Book,” “Bewitched,” and “Zip” might have been written with jazz possibilities in mind. Previn and his Pals made the most of them.

with Red Mitchell, Shelly Manne