August 25, 2018 will mark what would have been the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, and while the maestro passed away in 1990 at the age of 72, he left behind a lifetime of remarkable music in multiple genres.  A number of classical releases have been issued for the Bernstein centennial, but a new entry concentrates on the popular side of the composer.  The 2-CD anthology Jazz Loves Bernstein, on the Decca Broadway label in association with Verve and UMe, collects 27 examples from the Universal vaults of just how well Bernstein's urgent, pulse-pounding, and intricate music translated to a jazz idiom, both for instrumentalists and vocalists.

Leonard Bernstein attempted to answer the question What is Jazz? on a 1956 Columbia Records LP, his spoken-word commentary on the form just one manifestation of his lifelong passion for both music and education.  Despite his classical pedigree, he certainly knew jazz quite well, even declaring to fellow songwriter Vernon Duke that "jazz and I are on excellent terms."  Naturally, Jazz Loves Bernstein concentrates on the beloved scores Bernstein penned for the musical theatre rather than his concert or opera works.  The set features selections from every one of his Broadway musicals except 1976's ill-fated (though still filled with stunning music) 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green's 1944 wartime musical On the Town yields seven selections here including the immortal "New York, New York" and brash "I Can Cook, Too" from pianist Bobby Scott; the sublimely wistful "Some Other Time" from guitarist Mark Whitfield and Diana Krall; the happy "Lucky to Be Me" from vocalist Monica Zetterlund and pianist Bill Evans; and the ravishing, somber "Lonely Town" from both trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and vocalist Mel Tormé.  (Fancy Free, the ballet which inspired On the Town, is represented here, too, by Billie Holiday's rendition of "Big Stuff.")  Bernstein, Comden, and Green's next collaboration was another love letter to the Big Apple, 1953's Wonderful Town.  Four tracks are from that delightful musical: pianist Bill Charlap on the ode to "A Quiet Girl," "It's Love," and "Ohio," and Carmen McRae also on the euphoric "It's Love."

The 1956 comic operetta Candide (with lyrics primarily by Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche) seems Bernstein's least likely candidate for jazz adaptation, but its richly melodic score was tackled by the young Bob James in his pre-CTI and Tappan Zee days ("My Love") and Bobby Scott ("It Must Be So").  Naturally, the lion's share of tracks on Jazz Loves Bernstein have been culled from the composer's most successful musical - and indeed, one of the greatest musicals of all time, West Side Story.  Thirteen West Side tunes can be found here including Billy Eckstine's velvety treatment of "Tonight;" Sarah Vaughan's "I Feel Pretty" and "Maria;" pianist Eric Reed's "Maria;" Manny Albam and His Jazz Greats' "Something's Coming," "Tonight," and a medley of "America," "I Feel Pretty" and "One Hand, One Heart;" and The Oscar Peterson Trio's "Somewhere," "Jet Song," "I Feel Pretty," and "Something's Coming."  (Peterson was just one of the artists to dedicate albums to the pulsating, lushly romantic Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim score.)

Jazz Loves Bernstein has been remastered by Mike Piacentini at Battery Studios and its 20-page booklet features new liner notes by compiler Didier C. Deutsch.  This salute to one of America's greatest composers from an eclectic roster of jazz greats makes for delicious listening for fans of jazz, classical, or the Broadway songbook.  It's available now at the links below!

Various Artists, Jazz Loves Bernstein (Decca Broadway/Verve/UMe B0028472-02, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Big Stuff - Billie Holiday
2. America/I Feel Pretty/One Hand, One Heart - Manny Albam and His Jazz Greats
3. New York, New York - Bobby Scott
4. Tonight - Billy Eckstine
5. A Quiet Girl - Bill Charlap
6. Cool - Oliver Nelson and His Orchestra
7. My Love - Bob James
8. Lucky to Be Me - Monica Zetterlund with Bill Evans
9. Maria - Eric Reed
10. It's Love - The Bill Charlap Trio
11. Lonely Town - Mel Tormé
12. Something's Coming - Manny Albam and His Jazz Greats
13. Somewhere - The Oscar Peterson Trio
14. I Feel Pretty - Sarah Vaughan

CD 2

1. Ya Got Me - Bobby Scott
2. Something's Coming - The Oscar Peterson Trio
3. It's Love - Carmen McRae
4. Jump - The Bill Charlap Trio
5. I Can Cook, Too - Bobby Scott
6. Maria - Sarah Vaughan
7. Jet Song - The Oscar Peterson Trio
8. It Must Be So - Bobby Scott
9. Tonight - Manny Albam and His Jazz Greats
10. Lonely Town - Maynard Ferguson
11. I Feel Pretty - The Oscar Peterson Trio
12. Ohio - The Bill Charlap Trio
13. Some Other Time - Mark Whitfield with Diana Krall

CD 1, Track 1 from Fancy Free, Decca, 1944
CD 1, Tracks 2 & 12 and CD 2, Track 9 from West Side Story, Decca, 1962
CD 1, Track 3 and CD 2, Tracks 1, 5 & 8 from Bobby Scott Plays the Music of Leonard Bernstein, Verve, 1959
CD 1, Track 4 from Broadway, Bongos & Mr. B, Mercury, 1961
CD 1, Tracks 5 & 10 and CD 2, Tracks 4 & 12 from Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein, Blue Note, 2003
CD 1, Track 6 from Full Nelson, Verve, 1963
CD 1, Track 7 from Bold Conceptions, Mercury, 1962
CD 1, Track 8 from Waltz for Debby, Philips, 1964
CD 1, Track 9 from Pure Imagination, Impulse!, 1997
CD 1, Track 11 from Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley, Verve, 1960
CD 1, Track 13 and CD 2, Tracks 2, 7 & 11 from West Side Story, Verve, 1962
CD 1, Track 14 and CD 2, Track 6 from Sassy Swings the Tivoli, Mercury, 1963
CD 2, Track 3 from Something to Swing About, Kapp, 1959
CD 2, Track 10 from Dimensions, EmArcy, 1954
CD 2, Track 13 from Forever Love, Verve, 1996