VA - Blue Note Plays Rodgers & Hart (2006)

Blue Note Plays Rodgers & Hart is a solid single-disc collection of standards by Rodgers & Hart culled from various Blue Note jazz albums. Included are such cuts as pianist Sonny Clark's version of "Lover" off his eponymous 1957 date as well as trumpeter Thad Jones' duet with guitarist Kenny Burrell on "Little Girl Blue" from the 1956 release Detroit-New York Junction. While hardcore collectors will most likely own the complete albums these recordings are taken from, this is nonetheless a very enjoyable collection. As an introduction to the classic Blue Note catalog, the Blue Note Plays... collections are a nice place to start. -- Matt Collar