London-born but US-based, Jule Styne (real name Julius Stein) rates his place among the great American songsmiths even if he never quite attained the heights achieved by, say, Berlin and Gershwin. Over a long career, Styne penned some 1,500 songs often in collaboration with lyricist Sammy Cahn and wrote for a series of shows and films, some of his tunes making it to the upper rungs of the hit parade.

Even so, for a what might be called a ‘strictly jazz’ audience, this latest Retrospective CD, the 14th in their songwriter series, may just seem like the ultimate mix-tape, with its 27-track appeal confined to show-biz nostalgics. Much that is here is sentimental, often trite, schmaltzy even, with Shore, for instance, lumbered by a heavenly choir and Crosby battling with the Andrews Sisters on a war-time song but Sinatra’s ‘Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night’ is a swinger and the pure-voiced Forrest makes ‘I’ve Heard That Song Before’ into a mover with Harry James’ band, the boss blowing effectively alongside. Then again, there’s Les Paul’s limpid guitar with Crosby on ‘It’s Been A Long Time’ and Lee always sounds fine while Monroe intrigues on her three tracks and Martin on his. Styne’s 1959 score for the musical Gypsy falls outside the compiler’s brief; shame, for it includes ‘Days of Wine & Roses’, always a favourite with jazzers.