The last week of the month is filled with quite a few great records. I could easily have had three top picks. So, let’s jump right into New in Music This Week: June 26th:
My top pick is:
JAZZ: WITH EVERY BREATH I TAKE – Cécile McLorin Salvant – Nonesuch Records
Love isn’t easy on this stunningly beautiful new album from singer/songwriter Salvant. Comprised of only ballads, she has assembled 10 songs that cover love in all of its messy wonder.
The album includes songs by Noël Coward (I’ll See You Again), Duke Ellington (Sophisticated Lady), Michel Legrand (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg), Stephen Sondheim (Being Alive and Send in the Clowns) and Billy Strayhorn (Lush Life). There’s also an original song by Salvant called Left Over – which is anything but a leftover. It sounds like one of the great ballads from the 40s and 50s and tells the story of an unrequited love.
Darcy James Argue wrote the arrangements for Salvant. Jules Buckley leads the Metropole Orkest.
This is Salvant’s first album with orchestra. One certainly hopes there will be more in her (and our) future. I’ve been following her for quite some time and her unique way of approaching songs is on full display here. Songs you know well seem suddenly new and fresh.
With Every Breath I Take is an album that will be considered one of the great vocalist/orchestra albums of all time. Do yourself a favor and make this the first new album you listen to this weekend. Salvant’s With Every Breath I Take will leave you breathless.
Here are the other fine new recordings that are New in Music This Week: June 26th:
CLASSICAL: MOZART: REQUIEM & MASS IN C MINOR – Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Ying Fang / Emily D’Angelo / Stanislas de Barbeyrac / Michael Volle / Chamber Orchestra of Europe / RIAS Kammerchor – Deutsche Grammophon
Conductor Séguin clearly has a passion for the music of Mozart. This record, from the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden last summer, is a fine recording of two of the composer’s most ambitious works.
The album opens with the Requiem – admittedly one of my favorite works. The power of this music comes through with fine performances by the orchestra and the soloists. This is a brisk performance of the Requiem running approximately 50 minutes. While some emotion might be lost, the power of other movements come through clearly.
The Great Mass in C Minor is also slightly faster than commonly performed, but again, the power of the music comes through.
Fans of these pieces are likely to very much enjoy this recording.
GENRE DEFYING: THE WILD HEART – Dylan Mattingly / Contemporaneous / David Bloom / Iarla Ó Lionáird – Nonesuch Records
Rather than attempt to explain the six-hour History of Life that is the source of the 76 minutes of dizzyingly glorious music on The Wild Heart, let’s hear from the creators about what History of Life is:
https://historyoflife.net/trailer (I couldn’t embed this trailer, but definitely worth watching before continuing.)
Mattingly has composed some of the most audacious music of our time. This small excerpt from the totality of History of Life only makes me want to see and hear the whole thing.
The music runs the gamut from contemporary classical to folk music and just about everything in between. There’s also spoken word which is where Ó Lionáird comes in.
Give The Wild Heart a spin. I found it rapturous. What do you think?
JAZZ: EXPRESSIONS – CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND ORCHESTRA – Barcelona Arts Orchestra & Miguel Zenón – Miel Music
Imagine, if you will, a concerto in which each of the four movements was composed by a different composer. Yet they all had to come together to explore various aspects of being human.
Part one is Silenci/Xiscle (Silence/Screech – composed by Nestor Giménez); Part two is Canta/Parla (Sing/Talk – composed by Lluc Casares); Part three is Siusiueix/Esglai (Whisper/Fright – composed by Joan Vidal) and the final part is Lament/Crit (Lament/Outcry – composed by Lluís Vidal).
All four of these movements were composed with alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón in mind.
The end result is fascinating, challenging and certainly showcases Zenón brilliantly. And for a work with four chefs, the soup comes together brilliantly.
JAZZ: THE MYTH WE CHOOSE – Nduduzo Makhathini – Blue Note
Pianist/composer Makhathini explores the idea of mythology as it is created and not how it might be perceived in decades to come. In doing so, he has created an emotionally complex and contemplative album that triggers the heart as much as it does the ears.
This is a truly spiritual album that I loved. Kudos to Makhathini and his son, Thingo, for producing such a fine record.
Over the course of 64 minutes, Makhathini is joined by bassist Dalisu Ndlazi and drummer Lukmil Perez. Ayanda Sikade plays drums on a handful of tracks. The special guests include Kennan Ahrends on guitar; DJ Black Coffee; Robin Fassie on trumpet; multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings and Muneyi, Omagugugu and Thando Zide on vocals.
JAZZ: WHO’S AROUND? – Tal Mashiach – Anzic Records
Guitarist/bassist Tal Mashiach is best-known as one-third of the GTO Trio. The other two are pianist Gadi Lehavi and drummer Ofri Nehemya.
The three musicians form the foundation of this album that plays music with influences from around the world with musicians who are from many of those same countries.
The result is an album that feels like a trip to fascinating parts of the world with music that stands alone but also functions as the best possible soundtrack for your journey.
Joining Mashiach at various stops along the way are vocalist Panagiotis Andreou; cellist Maya Belsitzman; trumpeter Itamar Borochov; clarinetist Anat Cohen; vocalist Dana Herz; doli musicians Elibo Imerlishvili; saxophonist/vocalist Khondzi; flutist Itai Kriss; percussionist Victor Pablo; trombonist Yonathan Peled; Greek bouzouki artist and Konstantínos Révelas.
JAZZ: BOOMTOWN – Miles Okazaki – Pi Recordings
As soon as I listened to this album, the second in a planned trilogy by composer/guitarist Okazaki, I immediately went back and listened to the first record Miniature America.
The album was inspired during a drive he took through Wyoming. Having done the same thing myself, I immediately recognized that landscape through this inventive and clever recording.
Since Devil’s Tower was one of my favorite places along the drive to get to, I couldn’t wait to get to that track on Boomtown. The journey was, as they say, much more satisfying than simply the destination. Though the track is great, what took place between Magic Hour that opens the album and Ghost Town Girl that closes it, was inspired and inspiring.
Joining Okazaki on this album are Caroline Davis on alto saxophone; Jacob Garchik on trombone; Jon Irabagon on tenor and soprano saxophone; Hannah Marks on bass; Matt Mitchell on piano; Chris Tordini on bass; Kalia Vandever on trombone; Anna Webber on tenor sax and flute and Dan Weiss on drum.
OPERA: WHAT BELONGS TO YOU – David T. Little / Karim Sulayman / Alan Pierson / Alarm Will Sound – Bright Shiny Things
After listening to composer Little’s opera, it is no wonder it was the recipient of the 2025 Music Critics Association of North America award for Best New Opera. It is an utterly fascinating work for one singer with orchestra.
Tenor Karim Sulayman tells the story of an American English teacher’s ill-fated affair with a young man, Mitko who is a hustler. The unnamed teacher, while exploring the joys (and later the troubles) of this relationship, is haunted by memories of his father’s rampant homophobia. He battles his lust with the demons instilled by his father and the community where he grew up.
The relationship itself is also challenging due to Mitko’s penchant for violence. There’s no way for this to end well and it doesn’t.
But the music is compelling from the very first moment. Little was inspired by Garth Greenwell’s 2016 novel of the same name. Every moment of What Belongs to You is rapturously musical. The libretto and the music so perfectly complement one another. It’s almost as if they’ve always been paired.
Alan Pierson conducts Alarm Will Sound. This is a live recording from the Modin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond where What Belongs To You had its world premiere on September 26, 2024.
VINYL REISSUES:
MUSICALS: THE BOOK OF MORMON – Original Broadway Cast Recording – Ghostlight Records
This musical by Robert Lopez, Trey Parker and Matt Stone is pulling out all the stops to celebrate its 15th anniversary. This 2 LP vinyl and CD 15th Anniversary Edition is part of that celebration.
There is a booklet with all the lyrics and commentary from the creators. And since it’s a two-disc set, you can claim you got this one two by two.
Note that this vinyl is only available via theaters where the musical is playing and/or at the Book of Mormon Broadway website.
OPERA: TURANDOT – Joan Sutherland / Montserrat Caballé / Luciano Pavarotti / Zubin Mehta / London Philharmonic Orchestra – Decca Classics
Joan Sutherland as Princess Turandot. Luciano Pavarotti is Prince Calaf. Montserrat Caballé as Liù. This 1972 recording (released one year later) has long been considered one of the best-ever recordings of Puccini’s Turandot. It is also considered one of the finest of any opera.
This is a new half-speed mastered 3 LP set from the original master tapes.
That’s all for New in Music This Week: June 26th. Enjoy your weekend and please enjoy this wonderful music!
Main Photo: Part of the album art for With Every Breath I Take album cover (Courtesy Nonesuch Records)