An excellent entry in Prestige's excellent Jazz Giants songbook series, The Jazz Giants Play Sammy Cahn: It's Magic largely lives up to the subtitle. At best, Cahn is at the front of the second string of the great pre-rock Tin Pan Alley songwriters, but this well-chosen collection hits the high points of his catalog. Cal Tjader's Latin-tinged version of "Pete Kelly's Blues," for example, sits beautifully next to Max Roach's hard bopping take on "It's You or No One," testament to the versatility of Cahn's songwriting ...
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An excellent entry in Prestige's excellent Jazz Giants songbook series, The Jazz Giants Play Sammy Cahn: It's Magic largely lives up to the subtitle. At best, Cahn is at the front of the second string of the great pre-rock Tin Pan Alley songwriters, but this well-chosen collection hits the high points of his catalog. Cal Tjader's Latin-tinged version of "Pete Kelly's Blues," for example, sits beautifully next to Max Roach's hard bopping take on "It's You or No One," testament to the versatility of Cahn's songwriting partners, most frequently Jimmy Van Heusen and Jule Styne. And with a list like Bill Evans (a lovely small-combo version of "Second Time Around") and Joe Pass (an equally spare and heartfelt "I Should Care"), the quality of the album is obvious. The twin highlights, however, are Coleman Hawkins' swinging "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" and a little-known but wonderful small-combo version of the classic "Teach Me Tonight," featuring Count Basie and Oscar Peterson on dueling pianos. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi
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