Our Top Pick of New In Music This Week: October 6^th is:

CLASSICAL VOCALS:  BEYOND – Jakub Józef Orliński – Warner Classics/Erato

Having seen countertenor Orliński in concert, I can attest that the publicity materials that refer to this recording as more like a concert as opposed to a collection of recorded songs is not hyperbole.

Orliński sings works from Italian composers of the first part of the baroque era. Some of them you’ll recognize: Cavalli, Frescobaldi and Monteverdi. Others will be unknown to you, but I think you’ll find the same joy of discovery I did when listening to Beyond. There are 34 tracks on this album with nine of them being world premiere recordings.

This is a stunning recording that I can only imagine would sound even better on vinyl. 

Here are our other top choices of what’s New In Music This Week: October 6^th

CLASSICAL: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS – Víkingur Ólafsson – Deutsche Grammophon (very close runner-up for Top Pick…)

Since pianist Ólafsson made his Debut (also the name of his first album) in 2009, fans and critics have been long awaiting the day when he would finally record Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

That day is finally here and as a famous film villain once said, “All good things to those who wait.” Why he called me Clarice, I don’t know, but I digress.

Ólafsson is often celebrated for his minimalist approach to music. But this masterwork by Bach doesn’t require anything fancy to be impactful. Ólafsson understands this. His recording is not anywhere near as fast as Glenn Gould’s, but it isn’t overly slow either. His Goldberg Variations run 74 minutes which seems perfect in this absolutely stunning recording.

CLASSICAL VOCALS:  We have tomorrow – Eric Ferring – Delos

Tenor Ferring may not be a household name, but if he continues to release work like We have tomorrow, he soon will be.

This recording of art songs is simple, beautiful and moving. Joined by string quartet Quatuor Agate and pianist Madeline Slettedahl, songs by Samuel Barber, Amy Beach, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, Florence Price and Arthur Shepherd come to full emotional life.

I’m a particular fan of the five Mélodies passagères by Barber that open the recording. They are settings of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke (one of my favorite poets).

JAZZ:  HUMANOID – Rachel Eckroth – Sam First Records

If you know pianist/composer Eckroth, you probably expect her albums to be an exploration of music vis-à-vis electronics and digital instruments. Get ready for the acoustic Eckroth on this wonderful new album recorded live at Sam First in Los Angeles.

My favorite track on the album is Fleurette Africaine by Duke Ellington.

Half of the eight tracks on this album were composed by Eckroth. She is joined by Billy Mohler on bass, Tina Raymond on drums and Andrew Renfroe on guitars.

JAZZ: DIVINATIONS – Tina Raymond – Imani Records

It’s a busy week for drummer/composer Tina Raymond who, in addition to being on Humanoid, releases her latest album as well. She composed all six songs on the album.

She’s joined by guitarist Andrew Renfroe (also on Humanoid) and bassist Karl McComas-Reichl on this album that as a bit of funk, definitely grooves a bit and still maintains its feet firmly in the jazz world.

Great to see Los Angeles jazz musicians tearing it up!

JAZZ: CHRISTMAS STORIES – Christian Sands – Mack Avenue Records

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas music. It stems from playing the piano and being asked around the holidays to play the same songs year after year after year.

Sands, who is one of my favorite jazz pianists, opens the album with Jingle Bells. But from the opening seconds of Christmas Stories, you know this isn’t going to be a traditional interpretation of, well, those same songs I played (and nowhere near as well.)

It helps immensely that Sands has composed (or co-composed) five new holiday songs for the album. That immediately makes this a refreshing approach to Christmas music.

Joining Sands are Yasushi Nakamura on bass; his brother, Ryan Sands on drums and Marvin Sewell on guitar. Guests joining are Jimmy Greene on saxophone; Stefon Harris on vibes; Max Light on guitar and Keita Ogawa on percussion.

MUSICALS/OPERA (adjacent): BONE MACHINE and THE BLACK RIDER – Tom Waits – ISLAND/Ume

I wrote about the vinyl re-releases and digital releases of other Waits recordings just a couple weeks ago. This is a reminder that the final two of these releases come out today. The Black Rider was a fascinating musical fable that I saw in Los Angeles. Bone Machine is Waits at his growling, guttural best.

For most of the world, this is the first time either of these recordings has been released on viny.

OPERA: AFTERWORD: AN OPERA IN TWO ACTS – International Contemporary Ensemble – New Focus Recordings/TUNDRA

International Contemporary Ensemble has arguably been the greatest advocates of recording new operas. They continue that work with this recording of composer George Lewis’ 2015 Afterword, an opera.

This work had its premiere in October of 2015 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It is inspired by Lewis’ book A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music published in 2008. The AACM is the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

The final chapter of that book is a collection of quotes from the many AACM members that Lewis interviewed and covers a wide range of issues and time periods in American history. As the press release states, “The opera presents the ACCM not as a set of fixed characters and plot lines, but as an avatar for experimental Blackness itself.”

That’s my list of the best of what’s New In Music This Week: October 6^th

Enjoy the music.

Enjoy your weekend.

Main Photo: Part of the album art for Beyond (Courtesy Warner Classics/Erato)

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