I close out the month with some great options for the best of what’s New In Music This Week: June 30th.
My top pick is:
JAZZ: ANTHOLOGY – CHARLIE WATTS
Best known as the drummer for The Rolling Stones, Watts was equally passionate about jazz. During a nearly two-decade period, Watts recorded songs such as Long Ago (And Far Away), My Ship, Stompin’ at the Savoy and Take The “A” Train. He did so with both small and large ensembles and sometimes with an orchestra.
Theses recordings began in 1986 and this anthology includes a few never-before released tracks.
Watts passed away in August of 2021. This is a wonderful way of recognizing both his musicianship and his passion for music that extended well beyond rock ‘n’ roll. Trust me you’ll get plenty of satisfaction in this recordings.
The rest of my selections for New In Music This Week: June 30th are:
CLASSICAL: CPE BACH: WÜRTTEMBERG SONATAS – Keith Jarrett (ECM New Series)
Pianist Jarrett recorded these sontas by Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach in 1994, but they remained unreleased until today. This is Johann Sebastian Bach’s son.
The six sonatas on this recording were originally written for the harpsichord. Jarrett felt that a piano version needed to also exist. Also six sonatas were recorded by Jarrett on a single day.
This is 85 minutes of classical music you may not know well, but will not doubt find much to enjoy in this recording.
CLASSICAL: RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONES NOS. 2 & 3 AND ISLE OF THE DEAD – Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)
The Philadelphia Orchestra continues their exploration of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s symphonic works with this second and final disc. As is made clear by the title, this recording has the composer’s second and third symphonies along with Isle of Dead.
Rachmaninoff was inspired by Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin’s Die Toteninsel. There were multiple versions of the work by the artist between 1880 and 1886 and it was a very popular image. Rachmaninoff wrote the piece in 1909 and gave the world premiere performance in Moscow a mere two weeks after he completed writing it.
For those unfamiliar with this work, Isle of the Dead will be the biggest discovery on this terrific album.
FILM MUSIC: A SYMPHONIC CELEBRATION – MUSIC FROM THE STUDIO GHIBLI FILMS OF HAYAO MIYAZAKI – Joe Hisaishi (Deutsche Grammophon)
I don’t often include film music, but the work of composer Hisaishi is being celebrated in concert halls this year. As it should. He is to Japanese filmmaker and animator Hayao Miyazaki what Danny Elfman is to Tim Burton; Nino Rota was to Federico Fellini and Bernard Herrmann to Alfred Hitchcock. In other words, the films wouldn’t be the same without this music.
Miyazaki is best known for such films as Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
This is music that perfectly complements each of these films, but hearing this beautiful music away from the films is just as enchanting. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performs Hisaishi’s music.
JAZZ: LUNA – Doug Beavers (Circle 9 Records)
Latin Jazz is front and center in this new record from trombonist and composer Beavers. Perhaps best known as a member of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Beavers has written 10 of the 11 tracks on this album that is destined to put you in a good mood.
From the opening track Luna (intro), it’s impossible not to find your hips moving and the smile getting bigger on your face. And you thought trombone music couldn’t do that!
JAZZ: WALTZ FOR DEBBY – Bill Evans Trio (Craft Recordings)
This 1962 album is considered one of Evans’s most important recordings. This album was recorded live at the Village Vanguard in 1961 and features bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian.
The album opens with My Foolish Heart and immediately you are taken away to a simpler time with the ease in which Evans plays the opening lines of the song. The album also contains songs written by Leonard Bernstein, Miles Davis and George Gershwin.
And if you’ve ever wondered who the Debby is for whom Evans wrote the waltz, it was his niece.
This is being released on 180-gram vinyl and HD audio.
THEATER: SAY, DARLING – Original Broadway Cast Recording (Stage Door Records)
In 1958 the play Say, Darling opened on Broadway. It played for 332 performances and featured Vivian Blaine, Elliott Gould, Robert Morse (who received a Tony nomination) and David Wayne.
This was a comedy set in the world of musicals. So who better to write the songs than composer Jule Styne and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
This deluxe edition of the Original Broadway Cast Album includes the 13 original songs plus a bonus track called Good Little Girls. The second disc features artists such as Perry Como, Blossom Dearie, Peggy Lee, Tony Martin and Dinah Shore performing songs from Say, Darling that were recorded around the time of the musical.
This is a limited edition with only 500 units available.
That’s my list of the best of what’s New In Music This Week: June 30th. What are you listening to? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Enjoy the music and have a great weekend.
Main Photo: Art from Keith Jarrett’s CPE BACH: WÜRTTEMBERG SONATAS (Courtesy ECM New Series)