In all this discussion of jazzy sounds in classical music, has anyone
considered jazzed up versions of classical works.  I understand that
Les Brown did an album back in the fifties that included Love for Three
Oranges.  I also heard once on the radio a version of Beethoven's Third
Symphony arranged by Felix Slatkin that was a knockout.  I've never been
able to find either.  But the absolute killer album in this genre is Shall
We Swing, a powerhouse recording by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
of arrangements by Billy May.  Released around 1962 on Capitol and later
rereleased by Creative World (Kenton's label), it includes versions of
Franck's Symphony in d, Mozart's Jupiter, and a Poet and Peasant Overture
that will take your breath away.

I guess I shouldn't omit Kenton's excursion into Wagner, which sounds like
Sight Reading 101.  The arrangements are sub-par, and it never really
swings.  Oh, and let's not forget Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain.

Greg Bright