I have the West Side Story score at home, and there are days when I’ll sit at the piano and slowly dig my way through the interludes, the crescendos, the epic orchestrations, and marvel at the grandiose sections — the sympathetic and emotional interplay between boy and girl.

There will never be a score like this. La La Land, for all its awards and acclaim, doesn’t have a melody or line of the same sheer brilliance as West Side Story. I have never heard one person recall a song from the score. With West Side Story, the songs are the story. They transport us from tenement house to playground, from fight scenes to the fragile human heart.

On the big screen, it was the presence of actress Natalie Wood that gave the musical and film an almost dreamlike quality. Wood’s grand beauty and vulnerability shone through. Still, it’s the music that endures. Below are five jazz takes on classic West Side Story songs that can still excite each new generation in experiencing this magnificent score.