Leonard Bernstein's WEST SIDE STORY is not just a musical. It is THE MUSICAL.

Never before and never after has there been such wealth of music, drama and emotion on musical stage. The mixture of complex musical forms with catchy tunes, the diversity of musical styles and the closeness to the jazz idiom has always inspired jazzmen: progressive big-band leader Stan Kenton or piano giant Oscar Peterson, smooth jazz producer Dave Grusin or sax explorer David Liebman - each musician illuminated totally different aspects of Bernstein's score.

Joerg Kauffman is a progressive traditionalist. His brilliant arrangements are very close to the original score when it comes to musical essence - take for instance the "frenetic fugue" of "Cool". And then he's far away from the original when the tune has been played too often or arranged to death by minor musical craftsmen. And when he is alone with his instruments - take the beginning of  "Maria" - he simply is a great sax player.