... Powerful sound of new Saigon MUSICALS COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE First Night's big album of last year was the double CD (KIM CD1) of the complete score of Miss Saigon, the leading roles being sung by principals who have featured in worldwide productions, and recorded in four studios two in London, one each in New York and Los Angeles. Kevin Gray, who was in the Toronto and Los Angeles stag ...

... Moving on to a higher level BRITISH JAZZ British jazz, which was in its infancy when the original recordings in the Topaz series were made, has now moved on to the international level, and in my opinion two CDs recently issued by female singers stand comparison with anything coming from j the States nowadays. I Carol Kidd's That's Me (Unn I AKD 044) is a magnificent set, j mainly of ...

... What a welcome education JAZZ Thanks to the development of the CD, it is much easier nowadays to receive a listener's education in any type of music, more especially jazz, as evidenced by Pavilion Records' excellent Topaz series. This label is dedicated to giving us generous samples of all the great musicians of the twen ties, thirties and early forties, demonstrating all the contexts in ...

... More than enough Etting for now NOSTALGIA Ruth Etting is a singer who has been more written about than heard, her life story, Love Me or Leave Me, having been filmed 40 years ago, concentrating on her relationship with her gangster husband Moe 'The Gimp' Snyder. Full marks then to Flapper for ging uui ^3 ui ner leuuiumgs diiu releasing them under the same title as the film (PAST CD 7061). ...

... Weill riches to savour MUSICALS COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE The most interesting CD for many months for collectors of musical theatre material must be Kurt Weill- from Berlin to Broadway (Peart GEMM CDS 9189), two discs-another is promised-full of rarities. The first contains excerpts from three versions of Die Dreigroschenoper, including the original on Homocord, with the first Mack the Knife, ...

... Copious variety produces that old radio feeling NOSTALGIA Hall Variety (Lismor LCOM 5249) is a reissue of a compilation originally issued in 1983 by the now defunct Oriole label in aid of the Variety Club of Great Britain. Devised and produced by George Elrick and Morris Levy, with musical links by Gordon Franks, it is more like a radio programme, as cheerful Elrick introduces snatch es of ...

... Gershwin style on a roll TWENTIES During the last few years, George Gershwin has probably been the most written-about composer, mainly on the strength of his musicals. Now we are beginning to appreciate Gershwin the pianist. This is partly due to musicians such as Jack Gibbons, who have been able to reproduce his style in the concert halls and partly because of Artis Wode- house, who has ...

... Love that Latin sound CONTEMPORARY Brighton-based Terry Seabrook proves that one can produce high-octane Latin music even when you have names like Tristan Banks, Gareth Stevens and Joe Robinson, three of the members of his band Cubana Bop, now spreading their tic sounds tar Deyona tne soutn coast. It is an exciting, authentic music they produce on their own CD, most of the numbers being ...

... A grand affair fit for a Prince Nobody in this country seems to have known much about the gala concert in honour of Hal Prince, which Bavarian Radio in Munich staged last October and which Hugh Wooldridge directed. But to judge from First Night's CD (DOCRCD 2), it appears to have been a grand affair, enthusiasti cally received, with many American performers, some known here, like Len Cariou ...

... It doesn't get more exciting COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE By all accounts, the tenth anniversary concert version of Les Mlserabies staged at the Royal Albert Hall last October was one of the great musical events of 1995. Nearly everybody who took part, down to the members of the 150-strong choir, had been in me snow ai one ume or another. The principals were a veritable dream team Colm ...

... No calamities On the Town Pride of place in recent recordings of musicals must go to TER's new version of On the Town, with five American principals, Gregg Edelman, Tim Ravin, Ethan Freeman, Kim Criswell and Judy Kaye, plus Louise Gold, Valerie Masterson and Tinuke Olafimihan, the exciting score bril liantly played by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards. We know ...

... Still a barrel of fun 50 years on What better way to relax in the glorious summer sun than listen to some music? Peter Hepple tunes in RECORDS REVIEW It is a bit of a shock to realise that it is 50 years since Annie Get Your Gun was first seen in London, but TER's double CD (CDTER2 1229) marks the anniversary in style, with one of the current queens of the American musical stage, Judy Kaye, ...