There have been numerous jazz albums exploring the music of a single musical, but this effort by
the Harry Allen Quintet -- with guitarist
Joe Cohn, pianist
Rossano Sportiello, bassist Joel Forbes, and drummer Chuck Riggs, and featuring vocalists
Eddie Erickson and
Rebecca Kilgore -- includes music from both the Broadway and film versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. Since many fans of the film (made a few years after its long Broadway run) didn't get to see the stage version or hear the original cast album starring
Mary Martin and
Theodore Bikel, they missed out hearing songs omitted from the Hollywood version starring
Julie Andrews and
Christopher Plummer. The arrangements are true to the melodies, providing a perfect backdrop for the vocals of
Kilgore and
Erickson, who have developed a great chemistry through their numerous appearances together on CDs and stages over the years.
Kilgore's warm vocal is complemented by
Allen's subtle tenor sax. "Do Re Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd" are played as breezy instrumentals, while "So Long, Farewell" starts quietly and turns into an uptempo bop vehicle. "Something Good" was written for the film by
Rodgers after his partner's death, and
Kilgore's dreamy rendition of his music and lyric revives this ballad from unjust obscurity. There's a twist in "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," as it is a feature for
Erickson rather than
Kilgore (sung by the Mother Superior in the film), and recast as a soft bossa nova.
John Coltrane's modal reworking of "My Favorite Things" is unlikely to be eclipsed in a jazz setting, but the return to a more traditional lyrical interpretation by
Kilgore with
Allen's lush, reserved tenor and a smaller vocal role for
Erickson stands on its considerable merits. Will Friedwald's literate, informative liner notes are an added bonus to this enjoyable CD. ~ Ken Dryden