André Previn (1929-2019)

André Previn, a piano prodigy who began his career at MGM while still in high school in the mid-1940s and excelled at jazz, classical and easy listening in the 1950s and beyond, died on February 28. He was 89.

Previn escaped Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 when he was still a child. The family emigrated to Los Angeles, where they had relatives. Previn grew up in the Hollywood film studios thanks in part to his great uncle, Charles Previn, who was the musical director at Universal Studios. Over the course of his career, Previn won four Oscars for his scores of Broadway musicals for film adaptations between 1958 and 1964. He also won 10 Grammys for classical albums, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

On the jazz size, Previn began his recording career in 1945. For about 10 years, he turned out piano recordings that were largely in the pop mood-music category. A shift to jazz occurred in 1954 when Previn began playing and recording with West Coast jazz musicians. On Shorty Rogers's Collaboration for RCA, Previn's style seemed to combine the piano of Bud Powell and classical composers.

A far more interesting album and perhaps his finest jazz recording was Lyle “Spud" Murphy's 12-Tone Compositions & Arrangements By Lyle Murphy for Contemporary in 1955. It's a masterpiece, and Previn's playing is stunning.

Mid-decade, in the 12-inch LP era, Previn recorded often with drummer Shelly Manne. Among his best albums with Manne were recorded in 1956—Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By (Contemporary) and My Fair Lady (Contemporary), the first album to jazz up a Broadway musical. From there, Previn scored for the movies and recorded several Broadway-related jazz albums, including Gigi, Pal Joey, West Side Story and Camelot.

Previn's last great jazz album of the 1950s, recorded in 1959, was the film soundtrack to The Subterraneans. The film adaptation of the Jack Kerouac beatnik novel starred Gerry Mulligan. In the 1960s and beyond, Previn recorded mostly easy listening and classical albums as well as scores for films.

Here are six of my favorite jazz tracks featuring André Previn:

Here's Porterhouse from Shorty Rogers's album Collaboration...



Here's Fourth Dimension by Lyle “Spud" Murphy with Previn on piano...



Here's Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered from Dave Pell's Love Story...



Here's Cheerful Little Earful from Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By...



Here's On the Street Where You Live from Shelly Manne's My Fair Lady...



And here's the brilliant opening theme to The Subterraneans...