New in Music This Week: August 28th features two operas, two musicals, work by lesser-known composers of the past and present, exciting new jazz releases and explorations of grief.
My top pick is:
Opera: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE – Anthony Davis / Richard Wesley / Long Beach Opera – Platoon
This opera by composer Davis and librettist Wesley was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2020. As the title suggest, it depicts the story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise who were wrongly convicted of having raped and assaulted a female jogger in New York’s Central Park.
The loudest voice proclaiming their guilt before trial and calling for their execution was Donald Trump (who is depicted in this opera).
The problem with Trump’s advocacy and their conviction is that they were innocent. DNA evidence led, in part, to the reversal of all the charges against them.
What better art form to tell this story than opera? This is a truly epic story of prejudice, racism and a criminal justice system that doesn’t work equally for all.
What better company to record it than Long Beach Opera who first presented the opera. This is the full orchestral version that was later commissioned by Detroit Opera.
The cast includes Lindsay Patterson Abdou, Lacey Jo Benter, Cedric Berry, Corey Estelle, Ashley Faatoalia, Bernard Holcomb, Joelle Lamarre, José Luis Maldonado, William Powell III, Justin Ryan, Todd Strange and Orson Van Gay II. Anthony Parnther conducts.
This is a truly powerful work that should be heard both on this fine recording and on stages around the world.
Here are the other fine recordings that are New in Music This Week: August 28th:
CLASSICAL: THE COMPLETE CELLO WORKS ARTHUR FOOTE – Julian Schwarz – Delos Records
I knew so little of composer Arthur Foote that the inclusion of the world premiere recording of his Cello Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33 seemed like the entire album to me. It is all new to me – world premiere or not.
Which makes the exploration through Foote’s cello works one of this week’s greatest pleasures.
Foote was an American classical composer whose work has been roundly acclaimed but rarely performed.
Cellist Julian Schwarz is joined by pianist Marika Bournaki for several works: 3 Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op. 1; Aubaude, Op. 77; Scherzo, Op. 22 and Cello Sonata in E Minor, Op. 78.
The Buffalo Philharmonic, led by his father, Gerard Schwarz, accompanies for the Cello Concerto in G Minor.
This is an album well-worth exploring, particularly for fans of cello music. I’m now going to explore more of Foote’s music.
CLASSICAL: HOMAGE TO HEIFETZ – Maria Dueñas / Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela / Gustavo Dudamel– Deutsch Grammophon
I have vague memories of my mother playing violinist Jasha Heifetz’s recording of Korngold’s Violin Concert in D. The album came out in 1953 – well before I was born – but it was part of my parents’ collection. I’ve had a fondness for it since I first heard it.
23-year-old violinist Dueñas replicates Heifetz’s pairing of Korngold’s concert with Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole from his recording. But that’s where the comparisons end.
She reverses the order. She includes the Intermezzo from Lalo’s piece – something Heifetz omitted.
Most importantly, she brings her own style and approach to these two works that offers both wonderful technique and a lyrical approach to all the works on this fine album.
There are also three works by Claude Debussy and one by Manuel Ponce that Dueñas performs with pianist Itamar Golan on a 1731 Stradivarius owned by Heifetz.
Dudamel and the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra play as beautifully as you would expect.
Dueñas will be 24 later this year. What will she be like in another ten years? That’s something to look forward to for sure!
JAZZ: LEAVE THAT IN THERE – Sullivan Fortner – Artwork Records
Fresh off his Grammy win for Southern Nights, pianist/composer Fortner refuses to rest on his laurels. Nor does he play it safe on Leave That In There.
The opening track, Sugarcane, with its array of instruments, allows Fortner to introduce his main theme which is one’s relationship to the city he grew up in (New Orleans), its history and the history of its people. The themes from Sugarcane find their way through Leave That In There and serve as the connective tissue for this album of almost exclusively originals.
A Poignant Time might surprise listeners with Fortner’s use of the Hammond B3 organ. He also uses synthesizers on this album. As are heard in Aerobatics Pt. 1 and Pt. 2.
I really like this album and have listened to it many times already. The standout tracks for me are Que Diablos, Sorcerer’s Stick, Swirl and A Hymn for Linda. The lone cover is Lawrence Willians’ Number 3.
Performing with Fortner are Tyrone Allen II on bass and Kayvon Gordon on drums.
JAZZ: EAT YOUR GREENS – Kelly Green – Green Soul/LA RESERVE
Shame on me for not knowing about Kelly Green before this album. I love this album.
From the opening track, Nobody Else But Me, through to the final track, By The Way (one of the original songs she wrote and an instrumental), Green had me listening joyously for all 41 minutes. I couldn’t wait to share this one with you.
She has the wisdom and the skills to perform songs we’ve heard many times before and make them completely original.
Take Jerome Kern’s Nobody Else But Me. Ray Noble’s The Very Thought Of You. Or Duke Ellington’s Solitude. She finds a way into each of those songs. Throughout Green impresses with both her piano playing and her singing.
Don’t think of me as one of your parents telling you to eat your greens. Just eat this album by Kelly Green. It’s all the musical nutrition you need to get through the day.
JAZZ: LEGACY DANCES – Stefon Harris + Blackout – Motéma Music
This is a week for acknowledging grief and celebrating legacy. This album from vibraphonist and composer Harris celebrates the 20th anniversary of the ensemble. They were preparing to honor that milestone in 2024 when Casey Benjamin, a founding member of Blackout, passed away suddenly after a surgery.
Benjamin, who played saxophone, vocoder and sang can be heard throughout this album.
The other performers on Legacy Dances are Dezron Douglass on bass; original member Terreon Gully on drums and Christian Sands on piano. (Trivia note: Sullivan Fortner replaced original member Marc Cary on piano.)
Harris wrote six of the tracks on Legacy Dances.
You don’t need to know about Blackout or its legacy to embrace this album. Nor do you need to know about Benjamin. But now that you do, you’re likely to enjoy Legacy Dances even more profoundly.
JAZZ: EL ARTE DEL BOLERO VOL. 3 – Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo – Miel Music
Of the now three records of El Arte del Bolero, this latest recording might just be my favorite.
Each volume puts the music of Latin American songwriters and composers front and center. I assure you after listening to this album just once, you’ll want to know more about those composers.
They include Carlos Brito Benavides, Orlando Brito, Carlos Gardel, Marcelino Guerra, Augustín Lara, José Antonio Méndez, Pablo Milanés and Consuelo Velázquez. The latter was the composer of Bésame Mucho.
Saxophonist Zenón and pianist Perdomo have put together a truly beautiful record. The music and their playing is so evocative throughout. I almost wished I was listening to this on a beautiful fall evening instead of a sunny summer day. But there’s time for that. I assure you I will be listening to El Arte del Bolero Vol. 3 for a very long time.
MUSICALS: BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL – New York City Center Cast Recording – Yellow Sound Label
In 2001 I saw the off-Broadway production of Laurence O’Keefe, Keythe Farley and Brian Lemming’s musical Bat Boy. I was immediately smitten with it and hoped someday it would get acknowledged for the truly great musical it is.
Mind you, I took friends to see a production in Los Angeles and learned a very big lesson: this is not an easy musical to do well, but a very easy one to do poorly.
The premise is taken right from stories found in The Weekly World News about the discovery of someone who was half boy and half bat. I’m not making this up. In 1992 there were such stories published.
With terrific songs, the creative team brilliantly skewer tabloid mentality that has, frankly, only gotten worse. Mainstream news outlets have certainly taken a page from that playbook.
All of which makes Bat Boy: The Musical even more satirical and more entertaining.
The cast is terrific: Kerry Butler, Gabi Carrubba, Andrew Durand, Mary Faber, Alan H. Green, Evan Harrington, John-Michael Lyles, Tom McGowan, Jacob Ming-Trent, Alex Newell, Olivia Puckett, Marissa Rosen, Christopher Sieber, Colin Trudell, Rema Webb and Marissa Jaret Winokur.
In the title role is Taylor Trensch. On record he’s as good as the originator of the role, and the person I saw, Deven May.
Oh how I wish I had seen this production.
MUSICALS: EVITA: THE FULL ALBUM – London Revival Cast Recording – The Other Songs Records
Eva Perón is coming to New York early next year with Rachel Zegler as Eva in the production directed by Jamie Lloyd. Diego Andres Rodriguez is Che. James Olivas is Juan Perón. Aaron Lee Lambert is Agustín Magaldi. Bella Brown is The Mistress.
You can hear the complete cast album from that production with this release.
I’ve only seen the original production with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin and the dreadful film with Madonna. This production includes You Must Love Me from that film.
Zegler is good as Eva and Rodriguez is compelling as Che. This recording makes me want to see this new production.
MUSICALS ADJACENT: GOOD GRIEF – Sara Bareilles – Epic Records
This is an outstandingly powerful and personal album from Bareilles. Grief is all of horror, wonder and necessity combined and they are explored in what is truly a song cycle. Bareilles will be going on tour to support Good Grief next week. I hope she performs the album from start-to-finish on the tour.
This is a revealing and raw exploration of grief in ways I haven’t’ heard since Sufjan Stefvens’ Carrie & Lowell.
Bareilles could only write an album like this by having experienced grief in significant ways. Home was inspired by an episode of Anderson Cooper’s podcast, All There Is, when Stephen Colbert was the guest. Just a Kid takes its inspiration from the death of her friend and former manager, Chad Joseph. Forever was written about Gavin Creel who was one of her best friends and a collaborator.
Anyone who saw her performance on the Tony Awards last year saw in the final seconds the role of grief in her life. Creel was the last person in that year’s In Memoriam section. If you look closely, you can see Cynthia Erivo hold her hand and reassure her in that moment. They also shared a hug a few seconds letter.
My own experience with grief is far more profound than I would have hoped at this point in my life. Nonetheless, it is part of life’s journey. I could never put that grief so beautifully to words (let alone music) as Bareilles has done here.
I know this doesn’t fully fit into what New In Music covers. But song cycles have been part of music for centuries. Good Grief fits perfectly and comfortably with those works. Please listen to it.
OPERA: COMPLICATIONS IN SUE – Opera Philadelphia / Michael R. Jackson / Justin Vivian Bond / Caren Levine – BCM+D Records
I meant to include this wonderful new work last week.
Bond collaborated with Jackson on the story for Complications In Sue. Jackson went to work writing the libretto. They went out to a variety of composers to write the music.
Those composers are Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Nathalie Joachim, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Rene Orth, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kamala Sankaram, Dan Schlosberg and Errollyn Wallen.
The story revolves around the life of Sue (sung by Bond) that follows her from birth to death. Along the way she encounters Santa Claus, endures life in college, finds her life being reported on, becomes a neighbor’s confidant, lives out her final days in a nursing home and ultimate encounters death.
It would make sense to worry, or at least wonder, how a work can feel cohesive when so many artists involved in its creation. One listen made it clear to me that concern is totally unfounded.
Even though each composer takes a different approach to their music, Complications in Sue is devised structurally as a kaleidoscopic view of Sue’s life. Since no one is the same throughout their life, there is no need for the music to be all of one style. I felt like I really understood Sue by the time the opera was over. What a fascinating life!
Everyone is in top form throughout: singers, orchestra and even the audience who seems to be having a great time.
This live recording of Complications in Sue makes me hope they also taped it for later distribution. I’d love to see this fascinating opera.
QUICK HITS:
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: LIMINA – Donnacha Dennehy / Eliza McCarthy / Stephen Waarts / National Symphony Orchestra Ireland / Ryan McAdams – Nonesuch Records
You won’t find two concertos paired so brilliantly as Dennehy’s Limina Piano Concerto (performed by McCarthy) and his Violin Concerto (performed by Waarts.)
They share a similar sensibility while being wholly unique works. Dennehy knows his way around rhythms. Just as you think a given work is going in one direction, he throws you a curve ball that suddenly makes complete sense. The way his mind works is fascinating.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: of this land / Richmond Symphony / Valentine Peleggi – American Resonance
This album features works by four American composers: Mason Bates, Damien Geter, Joe Jaxson and Zachary Wadsworth. Their works are Bound Away, Suite from Loving v. Virginia, Born in the Iron Grip and Letter to the City.
All four are strong works played strongly by the Richmond Symphony. These are live recordings from 2025 and 2026 to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: CONTRAPASSOS – Robert Sirota / Telegraph Quartet / Abigail Fischer – Azica
This album proves once again what a fine composer Sirota is. Telegraph Quartet gives two world premiere recordings here. String Quartet No. 3: Wave Upon Wave and String Quartet No. 4: Contrapassos for Soprano and String Quartet.
JAZZ: WORLD TOUR BOX SET – Oscar Peterson – Mack Avenue Music Group & Two Lions Records
There was no way to listen to all four hours of music on this collection of live performances by pianist Peterson. The earliest recordings are from 1969 and the latest are from 1980.
There are 43 tracks here. All of them live from concerts and from a TV special recording. He didn’t pass away until 2007. This was a great era for his performing.
That’s all for New in Music This Week: August 28th.
Enjoy your weekend!
Enjoy the music!
Main Photo: Part of the album art for Evita: The Full Album