Quincy Jones - Golden Boy (1964)

This Quincy Jones big-band LP finds him exploring a wide variety of material in hopes of finding a hit. Among the selections are "Django," the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," "The Sidewinder," a remake of "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set" and three versions of the "Theme From Golden Boy." There are some spots for trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Joe Newman, altoist Phil Woods, guitarist Jim Hall, and the tough tenor of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, but the brevity of the selections (all but "Django" are between two and four minutes) and the conservative nature of many of the charts keep the music from taking any real chances.