Happy Memorial Day Weekend to our US readers and welcome to New In Music This Week: May 24th.
With there being a holiday there aren’t a lot of new releases. Which is too bad, given the extra day to explore music. But here are several great options.
My top pick for New In Music This Week: May 24th is:
MUSICALS: THE OUTSIDERS – A NEW MUSICAL – Original Broadway Cast Recording – Masterworks Broadway
When the now Broadway musical The Outsiders had its premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in the spring of 2023, critics said there was much to admire, but that perhaps the show had bitten off more than it could chew.
Flash forward and the results of some reworking by the creative team have yielded 12 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical.
I haven’t seen this adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel, but one listen to this OBCR and you immediately get the appeal of this show. The music and lyrics are by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine. The book is by playwright Adam Rapp.
Stephen Sondheim always said you must let the audience know in the first 15 minutes what kind of show they are going to see. Tulsa ’67 perfectly accomplishes that as the opening song. The rest of the album is just as strong.
I will definitely see this musical on a future trip to New York City. Until then we al have this wonderful new album.
Here are my other choices for New In Music This Week: May 24th:
CLASSICAL MUSIC: SCHUBERT: LÄNDLER – Pierre-Laurent Aimard – PENTATONE
Fans of Franz Schubert’s music will certainly want to check out this impressive collection of dances composed by Schubert and performed beautifully by pianist Aimard.
There are 45 different compositions performed on this album including selections from the composer’s Valses sentimentales, Op. 50; 18 German Dances and Ecoissaises; 20 Waltzes, Op. 127 and 36 Originaltänze, Op. 9.
These are seemingly simple pieces, but as everyone know, simplicity is very tough to master. Aimard more than masters the art of simplicity on Ländler.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: RENAISSANCE – Matteo Myderwyk
This is the first of two albums on this week’s New In Music This Week: May 24th that finds composers revisiting their works in a new form. For composer/pianist Myderwyk, music that was previously recorded on an upright piano have been re-recorded on a concert grand piano.
This is my first introduction to Myderwyk and I enjoyed listening to Renaissance. Baroque Voyage, the second track on the album, reminded me of music I have heard on the show Succession, though his playing and writing is much more delicate than the music heard there.
With the exception of Crossing Border and Leaving Time, this is a particularly quiet album. That makes Renaissance an album to savor during troubled times.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: GABRÍEL ÓLAFS: ORCHESTRAL WORKS – Reykjavik Orkestra/Viktor Orri Árnason – Decca Records
Icelandic composer/pianist Ólafs has composed new arrangements of tracks from his studio albums (Absent Minded, Solon Islandus and Lullabies for Piano and Cello) for this recording.
I hadn’t heard Ólafs’ previous albums, but there’s something vaguely film score-esque about this music and I mean that in a good way. I easily saw images in my mind, perhaps even of a silent film from Europe, while listening to Orchestral Works.
This is beautiful music to listen to when you just want to escape your world and free your mind.
JAZZ: OUT OF THE QUESTION – Allegra Levy – Steeple Chase
When I first received this album, I immediately went to eighth track: What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life? It has a haunting melody by Michel Legrand and has been covered hundreds of times. What would Levy do differently?
So impressed was I that I immediately start this album from the very beginning. Each song title asks questions and I had my own question: Where had Allegra Levy been all of my life?
Her singing reflects a number of styles and influences. You also have to admire her chutzpah to perform Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by The Clash. She goes from almost Peggy Lee/Fever type singing to singing the blues. I loved it!
I can answer the question posed by that Clash song: Levy should definitely stay and continue working with her all-female band: Mimi Jones on bass; Allison Miller on drums and Carmen Staaf on piano.
JAZZ: SELAH – Jesus Molina – Dynamo Productions
Columbian pianist/composer Jesus Molina’s new album is a kaleidoscope of musical influences wrapped up in 10 original songs.
He is front and center of his trio that includes Guy Bernfield on bass and Cain Daniel on drums. All three musicians graduated from Berklee College of Music.
My favorite tracks on Selah are Dear Fall (with Hubert Laws), Pichi and Blue New Year. Listen to just those three tracks and you’ll get an idea how diverse and broad his imagination is.
JAZZ: HORIZONS – Alex Sipiagin – Blue Room Music
Trumpeter/composer Sipiagin was a member of the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Mingus Big Band. Those experiences paid off and are on full display in this impressive new album.
Sipiagin, who also plays the flugelhorn, is joined by Matt Brewer on bass; John Escreet on piano and keyboards; Eric Harland on drums and Chris Potter on saxophones for this 10-track album.
Six of these tracks were composed by Sipagin. Two, While You Weren’t Looking which opens the album and When is it Now? were written by Pat Metheny for this album.
There’s a reason Metheny wrote songs for Sipiagin. He’s very talented as Horizons richly proves.
They say that 7 is a lucky number and this week’s New In Music: May 24th offers some lucky listeners great music.
Enjoy the weekend!
Enjoy the music!
Main Photo: Part of the album art for The Outsiders – A New Musical (Courtesy Masterworks Broadway)