When Rhino released Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones – a 4CD, 74-track collection – in 2001, it was a valiant attempt to tell a story that was still being written. The gifted bandleader, composer and producer, who passed away at the age of 91 in 2024, had an enduring way with sound, be it jazz, pop, R&B, rock or even film and television scoring. His decades of work with the 20th century’s greatest luminaries made him a tremendous (if controversial) raconteur, with countless stories to tell and luminaries to work alongside….
Hey, Big Spender: Stage Door Reissues “Sweet Charity” London Studio Cast on CD
Fun, laughs, good time… The team of director-choreographer Bob Fosse, librettist Neil Simon, composer Cy Coleman, and lyricist Dorothy Fields made good on those promises with the 1966 Broadway debut of Sweet Charity. Based on Federico Fellini’s film Nights of Cabiria, the musical depicted the bittersweet romantic adventures of dance hall hostess Charity Hope Valentine, so memorably created onstage by Gwen Verdon and introduced on film by Shirley MacLaine. The splashy production reopened the venerable Palace Theatre on January 29, 1966, netting a Tony Award for Fosse’s remarkable choreography and lasting 608…
