Whilst much of his later success came with classical music, Michel Legrand enjoyed a hugely successful career as a jazz musician and as a composer of film music. His classical background (he studied at the Paris Conservatoire) invariably served him well in other genres, and he was equally at home with a small group as he was with a big band. For Broadway Is My Beat, Michel tacked fourteen of the best known songs from fourteen of the best known Broadway shows, giving them a distinct jazz flavor . The album proved successful enough to prompt something of a follow-up album devoted entirely to the music of Richard Rodgers, again with a big band. Hallmark.