Bells Are Ringing (1958)

About this title: When Shelly Manne and His Friends (a trio starring pianist André Previn) had a surprise hit with their interpretations of melodies from My Fair Lady, it started a trend toward recording jazz versions of scores from plays. For this LP, Manne's trio (with Previn and bassist Red Mitchell) perform nine songs from the play Bells Are Ringing. Although seven of the pieces remained obscure, "The Party's Over" (which is heard twice) and particularly "Just in Time" caught on. As is always the case with this group, Previn's piano is the lead voice and his virtuosity, good taste, melodic improvising, and ... read more

Tracks:

1. I Met a Girl [Comden/Green/Styne]
2. Just in Time [Comden/Green/Styne]
3. The Party's Over [Comden/Green/Styne]
4. It's a Perfect Relationship [Comden/Green/Styne]
5. Is It a Crime? [Comden/Green/Styne]
6. I Better Think of Her [Comden/Green/Styne]
7. Independent (On My Own) [Comden/Green/Styne]
8. Muchacha [Comden/Green/Styne]
9. Long Before I Knew You [Comden/Green/Styne]
10. The Party's Over [Uptempo Version] [Comden/Green/Styne]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.