Leonard Bernstein

August 25, 2018 marked 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.  This set features a "Who's Who" of talents including Billie Holiday, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson, Bill Charlap, Mel Tormé, and Diana Krall!