Stan Kenton (piano/arranger) lends his highly stylistic touch to an assortment of Broadway and silver screen selections on the appropriately-titled Finian's Rainbow (1968). His proficiency as a jazz arranger and consummate musician provide unique interpretations on ten familiar melodies -- five taken from the score of Finian's Rainbow [Original Broadway Cast] (1947), and five from films. While only Kenton is attributed [note: many of his platters of the era were credited to the Stan Kenton Orchestra], his notable renderings are what the full ensemble interpret on this long-player. "Old Devil Moon" and "If This Isn't Love" open the effort with feisty reworkings that sizzle beneath the driving percussive rhythms and full-bodied execution. Rather than the Irish inflection that the original would have intimated, the tunes are taken closer to the Equator with all the energy and syncopation of an Afro-Cuban inspired samba. The languid and moody "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" is subdued, with an absolutely gorgeous brass and woodwind lead that is one of the highlights of Kenton's later works. The ebb and swell of the trombones against the muted trumpet solo is nothing short of fixating. The great movie songs collected here are a mixed bag of material, ranging from an almost manic "Lullaby From 'Rosemary's Baby'," to a version of the "Theme From "The Odd Couple," that recalls Miles Davis' "Bags' Groove" in spirit. The "Theme From 'Chastity Belt'" is fascinatingly set against a Spanish-flavored acoustic guitar, which frames the inventive, if not somewhat quirky nature of Kenton's prowess. In 2003, Collectors' Choice Music coupled Finian's Rainbow with World We Know (1968) on a single CD, making both titles available for the first time in nearly three decades.