André Previn's ten records for Contemporary during 1957-1960 were among the finest jazz recordings of his career. Several of the albums were jazz interpretations of scores from Broadway shows although, ironically, the best-known one, My Fair Lady, came out under drummer
Shelly Manne's name. For this particular CD reissue,
Previn,
Manne, and bassist
Red Mitchell perform eight songs from the Lerner & Loewe show Gigi.
Previn had won an Oscar for his adaptation of the score, so he knew this music quite well. Best known among the songs are "I Remember It Well" and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," but the trio also uplifts and swings the other lesser-known tunes. ~ Scott Yanow