Jazz Messengers Play Lerner and Loewe

One of the rarest of all Art Blakey records, this LP finds the Jazz Messengers (featuring new member Johnny Griffin on tenor and trumpeter Bill Hardman) performing jazz versions of six show tunes by Lerner & Loewe, including three ("Almost Like Being in Love," "I Could Have Danced All Night," and "On the Street Where You Live") that would soon become standards. Despite some of the musicians' unfamiliarity with the songs, this date is quite successful. ~ Scott Yanow