Bob Dorough Quartet - Excursion Through Oliver!: Songs from the Hit Show (2009)

Although the musical Oliver! was a successful musical (both in London and the U.S.), pianist Bob Dorough was one of the few (maybe only) jazz musicians who saw the possibilities to improvise upon its music. Omitting vocals on this occasion, Dorough examines both the dramatic nature of the 11 songs as well as finding humor within some of them. "Boy for Sale" is very moody, featuring Al Schackman on bouzoukee (not exactly an instrument heard on the common jazz date), while he switches to classical guitar for a bossa nova arrangement of the normally plaintive ballad "Where Is Love?" and sticks to electric guitar on the rest of the date. Ben Tucker and George Duvivier alternate on bass, with Paul Motian, Ed Shaughnessy, and Bobby Thomas each taking turns at the drums, though the latter also plays tympani with dramatic effect on several selections. Trombonist Tyree Glenn and trumpeter Clark Terry are added on several songs, with Glenn's saucy mute work and Terry's unmistakable open horn making the most of the conversational "It's a Fine Life." Originally released in 1963 by Music Minus One and reissued on LP in 1977 by the long-defunct Classic Jazz label, this unjustly obscure session is well worth acquiring.