Musical

Musical on vinyl: songs from the stage – and their way into jazz

In short: This selection brings together original cast recordings and songs from musicals as interpreted by singers and jazz musicians. Many jazz standards started life in musicals – which is why the style so often leads straight into jazz. The Vinyl Room currently has 14 musical records.

What belongs in this musical category?

Musicals in jazz: The Mastersounds play the tunes from “Kismet”, André Previn and his pals take on “Pal Joey”, and Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine sing Irving Berlin songs together.

Stage, television and film: the original cast of “They're Playing Our Song” with Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, Diana Ross & The Supremes together with The Temptations on “On Broadway”, the record of a joint TV special, and Dave Clark’s “Time The Album”. From Japan comes Joe Hisaishi’s music for Studio Ghibli films.

What to look for

Our musical records are mainly US editions, many of them from the fifties; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

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FAQ

What is an original cast recording? A recording of a musical with the cast of the stage production.

Why are there so many jazz versions of musicals? Many jazz standards come from musicals – jazz musicians took up the songs early on.

Does film music with songs count? Yes, films with songs count too, such as “The Lion King”.

Which musical records do you have? Here, for example, The Mastersounds’ “Kismet” and Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine’s “Sing The Best Of Irving Berlin”.