Lush Life is a 1967 album by Nancy Wilson, arranged by Billy May, Sid Feller, and Oliver Nelson.
In his AllMusic review, Nick Dedina says the album continues "Wilson's winning formula of combining jazz and adult pop." He also praises Billy May's arrangement of the title track "as a means to tip his hat to Billy Strayhorn, the song's composer, with a smart mix of big band swagger, intimate small-group jazz, and moody orchestral flourishes straight out of an old film noir."
Author and music critic Will Friedwald also recommends the title song, hailing it as one of the "good orchestral versions" of the famous jazz standard and commending Wilson for how she "slyly uses 'A-Train' as a countermelody."
A 1970 LP reissue was entitled The Right To Love. In 1995, Capitol released the album on compact disc under its original title, with one additional track ("Do You Know Why") and a different song order.
Track listing 1967 Original LP
1995 CD reissue
Personnel Performance From The Music of Billy May: A Discography (Greenwood Press, 1998). Nancy Wilson – vocals Ted Nash –clarinet, flute Abe Most – clarinet, flute Justin Gordon – bassoon, clarinet, flute Harry Klee – bass flute, clarinet, flute Robert Hardaway – English horn, bassoon, clarinet, flute Phillip Teele – trombone Vincent DeRosa – French horn Henry Sigismonti – French horn Richard Mackey – French horn William Hinshaw – French horn Donn Trenner – piano John Collins – guitar Buster Williams – double bass Shelly Manne – drums Larry Bunker – percussion Victor Feldman – percussion Ann Stockton – harp Catherine Gotthoffer – harp
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