No Strings Sextet & Mannie Klein - Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums: No Strings + The Sound of Music (2 LP on 1 CD) (2023)

• Peter Matz (1928–2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger, and conductor. His illustrious musical career in film, theater, television, and studio recording spanned five decades, during which he collaborated with several renowned artists, including Marlene Dietrich, Anita Ellis, Noël Coward, and Barbra Streisand. In 1962, he conducted the orchestra for the Broadway show ‘No Strings’ and led the sextet from the production in this jazz-oriented rendition of the musical’s songs. The combo performs the songs in a light and breezy style, enhancing the Richard Rodgers tunes with finesse. Matz’s fresh and imaginative arrangements of Rodgers’ superb ‘No Strings’ score are brought to life by six exceptionally talented wind players and two of the best rhythm musicians in the business. Qualities, which fully highlight the essentially lyrical nature of these songs.

• Emmanuel Klein (1908–1994) was an American jazz trumpeter closely associated with the Swing Era. He was active throughout the 1930s, working as a studio musician and performing with bands such as Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and others. In 1937, he moved to California and joined Frank Trumbauer’s orchestra, quickly becoming one of the most sought-after trumpet players in Hollywood studios. In this album, he and a group of West Coast jazz musicians perform selections from the highly successful Rodgers and Hammerstein II musical ‘The Sound of Music’ with taste and imagination, resulting in an outstanding recording. The arrangements were crafted by Henry Beau and Bobby Hammack. For this session, Klein assembled a stellar line-up of musicians, including Bobby Hammack on piano, Ronnie Lang on saxophone, Al Hendrickson on guitar (alternating with Bobby Gibbons), Morty Corb on bass, and Frank Flynn (alternating with Irving Cottler) on drums and percussion.