Our top choice falls under the category of Broadway (adjacent) and it is:

ALBUM – Joe Iconis – Ghostlight Records

Composer/songwriter Joe Iconis is best known for the musical Be More Chill. He has a new musical, The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical that begins previews at the La Jolla Playhouse next week. He’s also beloved by fans of musical theatre and the artists who perform in them.

This 5-lp vinyl box set contains 45 songs written by Iconis and they are performed by such artists as Danny Burstein, Kerry Butler, Annie Golden, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Rannells, Krysta Rodriguez, Will Roland, George Salazar, Aaron Tveit and 61 others.

The music had previously been released digitally. This vinyl box set includes an new track, “The Whiskey Song.” You’ll want to listen to this entire project but remember, an album is not forever. Even this one.

Here are the rest of my choices for New In Music This Week: August 18^th.

BROADWAY (adjacent): DRAMA QUEEN – Idina Menzel – BMG Records

Broadway star Menzel does the inevitable pop album. The star of Wicked, Rent and the voice of Elsa in Frozen, has created an album that is going to be very popular in clubs and on dance floors around the world.

Menzel shares writing credits for all 10 tracks on the album. Amongst her collaborators are Nile Rodgers and Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters) who will soon be seen taking on the role of the Emcee in the London production of Cabaret.

If you want to hear power ballads, this isn’t the album for you. But if you want to shake your groove thing, give this drama queen a listen.

BROADWAY (adjacent): STOP MAKING SENSE – Talking Heads – Rhino Records

Last week I included the original album of Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. This week another project of Byrne’s is getting a deluxe edition vinyl and digital release. It is for the Jonathan Demme film Stop Making Sense which was filmed at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

While Byrne has recently played Broadway with American Utopia (available to watch on MAX), his passion for a theatrical experience is perfectly captured in this film and the accompanying album.

All the songs performed in the film are included on the album as are two songs that hadn’t previously been released.

This is one of the greatest concert films of all time. You’ll have a chance to see the film later this year when it gets a limited re-release.

CLASSICAL: 40@40 – Laura Strickling with Daniel Schlosberg – Bright Shiny Things

Two years before her 40^th birthday, soprano Strickling decided to commission new works for soprano and voice that were to run between 2-5 minutes. The end result yielded over 40 songs.

This album with pianist Schlosberg focuses on 20 of those newly-composed songs by composers H. Leslie Adams, Juhi Bansal, Eugenia Cheng, Tom Cipullo, Andrea Clearfield, Nell Shaw Cohen, Evan Fein, Jodi Goble, Daron Hagen, Juliana Hall, Felix Jarrar, Joseph Jones, Lori Laitman, Bess McCrary, Reinaldo Moya, James Primosch, Myron Silberstein, Dennis Tobenski, Scott Wheeler and Ed Windels.

I was unfamiliar with the composers and with Strickling. Now I can’t wait to hear the other 20 songs.

JAZZ: VOICES – Danny Jonokuchi Big Band – Outside in Music

When Ella Fitzgerald first started her meteoric rise to superstardom it was as a member of Chick Webb’s band. All to say that there’s a long tradition of vocalists performing with big bands.

This is the concept of big bandleader Danny Jonokuchi whose big band features 21 musicians. Joining those musicians for this album are vocalists Alexa Barchini, Tahira Clayton, Martina DaSilva, Hannah Gill, Shenel Johns, Alita Moses, Sirintip, Brianna Thomas, Charles Turner, Lucy Yeghiazaryan and Nicole Zuraitis.

Jonokuchi has written some great arrangements. Fans of big band music (with or without vocalists) will want to check out this album.

JAZZ: ARE YOU SURE YOU THREE GUYS KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING? – Mike Jones – Capri Records

You may or may not know pianist Mike Jones. You should. You probably know his drummer on this album, Jeff Hamilton. And there’s a good chance you know the bass player, Penn Jillette. Yes, the Penn of Penn & Teller.

Jones is the music director for Penn & Teller’s show. He first asked the illusionist to join him for a duo album. The Show Before the Show was released in 2018. Now they are back with a trio album with Hamilton.

You’ll hear their versions of such classic songs as The Girl From Ipanema, On Green Dolphin Street and What a Difference a Day Makes.

JAZZ: SWING OF THE PENDULUM – John Wojciechowski – AFAR Music

Saxophonist Wojciechowski may not be the best-known musician outside of Chicago, but he’s definitely one to get to know. 

On this album he is joined by pianist Xavier Davis, drummer Dana Hall and bassist Clark Sommers. Most of the songs were composed by Wojciechowski, but Sommers has also contributed a few of the 8 tracks.

This is his third album and one that absolutely reflects the music he’s been listening to his whole life. If you’re looking for something out there, this isn’t it. Swing of the Pendulum firmly falls into a more traditional quartet album and it’s a good one.

That’s New In Music This Week: August 18^th.

Enjoy the music. Enjoy your weekend.

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My top choice:

JAZZ:  COLTRANE’S SOUND – John Coltrane (Rhino High Fidelity)

Rhino launches a new vinyl series today with the release of this John Coltrane album from 1964. The six tracks on this record were recorded during the same sessions for My Favorite Things. Those tracks are The Night Has a Thousand Eyes; Central Park West; Liberia; Body and Soul; Equinox and Satellite.

Joining Coltrane for this record were Steve Davis on bass, Elvin Jones on drums and McCoy Tyner on piano.

I attended a listening party for this record earlier this week and can tell you that it sounds like you are in the recording studio with these musicians. There were only 5,000 copies pressed for this release and they are only available through Rhino’s website.

What else is New In Music This Week: May 19^th? Here’s my list:

BROADWAY: KIMBERLY AKIMBO OBCR (Ghostlight Records)

This highly acclaimed Broadway musical from Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire received eight nominations for Tony Awards including Best Musical, Leading Actress in a Musical (Victoria Clark), Featured Actress (Bonnie Milligan), Featured Actor (Justin Cooley) and nominations for Best Book for Lindsay-Abaire and Best Score for Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire.

The musical tells the story of Kim (Clark) who is a teenager from New Jersey. She does her best to fit in with the other kids at school, but the fact that she looks 72 doesn’t make things easy for her. That’s just the beginning of challenges she faces.

Clark won a Tony Award for her performance in The Light in the Piazza. Lindsay-Abaire won the Pulitzer Prize for his play Rabbit Hole. Tesori won the Tony Award for Fun Home and also collaborated with Lindsay-Abaire on Shrek: The Musical. (My favorite show of hers is Caroline, Or Change).

CABARET: THE JESUS YEAR: a letter from my dad – Matthew Scott (PS Classics)

Broadway star Scott lost his father at a young age. When the younger Scott was 13, his family found a series of letters his father had written to his four sons. They essentially served as life lessons his father had written because he was certain he wouldn’t live a long life. This show’s title, The Jesus Year, comes from the belief that a sense of rebirth that happens in your 33^rd year.

In the show Scott performs songs by Harry Chapin, William Finn, Ben Folds, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Yusef/Cat Stevens and an incredibly moving version of Children Will Listen by Stephen Sondheim.

Scott will perform the show at 54 Below on May 23^rd.

CLASSICAL: MAX BRUCH & FLORENCE PRICE VIOLIN CONCERTOS – Randall Goosby, Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Decca Classics)

Fast-rising violinist Randall Goosby performs Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor; Florence B. Price’sAdoration and her Violin Concerto No. 1 in D and Violin Concerto No. 2 on this, his second album.

Goosby has gotten a lot of attention in his brief career and this album is certain to widen the appreciation for his playing. 

Nézet-Séguin, who also leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, is a deeply passionate conductor. I saw him lead the Philadelphia Orchestra in the marathon performance of all four of Rachmaninoff’s concerti plus Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Yuja Wang and was seriously impressed with his conducting and the playing of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Their recording of Price’s Symphonies No. 1 & 3 won the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance in 2022.

CLASSICAL: THE RITE OF SPRING – Spectre d’un songe – Sylvie Courvoisier & Cory Smythe (Pyroclastic Records)

Pianists Courvoisier and Smythe perform the two-piano version by Stravinsky of his The Rite of Spring. Anyone who knows this work – either in the symphonic version or in the two-piano version – knows this is a massively complicated and exhilarating composition. Courvoisier and Smythe perform it as if it was effortless for them (it certainly wasn’t).

Also on the recording is another track named The Rite of Spring which is an improvisatory exploration of Stravinsky’s landmark work composed by Smythe. It makes for a fascinating conclusion to this terrific record.

JAZZ: LIVE AT SMALLS JAZZ CLUB – George Coleman (Cellar Music Group)

Here’s a pairing of two legends in jazz. The first is saxophonist George Coleman who was a member of Miles Davis’ Second Quintet. He also recorded five albums as a member of the Chet Baker Quintet and six albums with Max Roach. 

The second legend is Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. Not the oldest of clubs in New York, but a significant one that first opened in 1994. They closed for 3-1/2 years in 2003 before reopening the first quarter of 2006. It’s small (giving the club it’s name) with room for only 60 people.

Coleman was 87 when this album was recorded last year with drummer Joe Farnsworth, bassist Peter Washington and pianist Spike Wilner (who also happens to own Smalls Jazz Club.)

There are eight tracks on this album including Four by Miles Davis, the standards At Last, My Funny Valentineand Nearness of You; Jobim’s Meditation and Kander and Ebb’s New York, New York.

This is a terrific record. Don’t miss it.

JAZZ: BIRD IN LA – Charlie Parker  (VERVE/UMe)

28  live recordings from 1945, 1946, 1948 and 1952 by Parker in Los Angeles comprise this box set available as either 4 LPs, 2 CDs or streaming. Amongst the musicians joining Parker in these performances are Chet Baker, Ray Brown, Benny Carter, Nat King Cole, Miles Davis, Slim Gaillard, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Frank Morgan and Buddy Rich.

The songs include Billie’s Bounce, Dizzy Atmosphere, How Hight the Moon, Night in Tunisia, Ornithology, Out of Nowhere and Salt Peanuts. There are fragments of other songs included. This is fascinating series of recordings sure to please any fan of Parker’s.

JAZZ: LEAN IN – Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke (Edition Records)

Vocalist/songwriter Parlato and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Loueke team up for this album of 12 songs – most of them composed by Loueke and Parlato. There are a couple of covers and perhaps the most surprising is Walking After You which was written by Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters. The song appeared on their 1997 album The Colour and the Shape.

These beautiful songs are sung in English, Portuguese and Fon (the indigenous language of Benin.)

Eight of the songs find just Parlato and Loueke together. Joining them for the other four tracks on this recording are drummer Mark Guiliana and bassist Burniss Travis. Marley Guiliana, Parlato and Guiliana’s son, appears on one track. 

JAZZ: WEST SIDE STORY – André Previn and His Pals Shelly Manne & Red Mitchell (Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds)

Though Previn is best known as a composer, he was also a versatile jazz pianist. He’s joined by drummer Manne and bassist Mitchell for eight songs from the Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim musical. 

They perform Something’s Coming, Jet Song, Tonight, I Feel Pretty, Gee Officer Krupke!, Cool, Maria and America. This album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance Solo or Small Group at the 3^rdannual Grammy Awards. (Trivia: both the 3^rd and 4^th annual Grammy Awards were not televised. They held private dinner ceremonies instead)

This re-release marks the first time this album has been released as an LP in over 30 years. (There is also a hi-res digital release).

Let us know what you’re listening to by leaving a comment!

That’s my list of the best of what’s New In Music This Week: May 19th. Have a terrific weekend and enjoy the music!

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Last night we saw Eleri Ward at Joe’s Pub in New York City. It will sound like hyperbole, but a star was indeed born last night. During her 70-minute set she held the audience fully captive in her hands with beautiful performances of songs from this album and also her first-ever performance of Another Hundred People from Company. Plus she was joined by Eden Espinosa and Donna Murphy. So when she returns to Joe’s Pub or anywhere else grab a ticket as soon as you can!

No one is more surprised at the success of her recordings of the songs of Stephen Sondheim than Eleri Ward. Born out of posting online videos, what started out as a lark become a full-fledged album on Ghostlight Records called A Perfect Little Death.

On her record Ward sings songs you might expect like Being Alive (from Company), Losing My Mind (from Follies) and Send in the Clowns (from A Little Night Music). She also chooses some less commonly recorded songs like Loving You (from Passion), Sunday (from Sunday in the Park with George) and Every Day a Little Death (from A Little Night Music.) The last song includes a lyric that gave Ward her album’s title.

The style of Ward’s performances mixes Sondheim’s songs with the alternative-indie style of Sufjan Stevens. The end result has prompted multiple people to comment on how this is just the right music for our troubled times. As Ward told me when we spoke via Zoom last week.

What follows are excerpts from my conversation with Eleri Ward that have been edited for length and clarity.

Does the reaction you’ve received to your recordings of these songs surprise you? And that people say this was the music they didn’t know they needed but are glad they have?

It is surprising because I guess this is just how my brain works and this is just kind of how I have heard things. And so it feels natural to me. I suppose it does make sense because when have we ever heard these songs and in just a way where it’s acoustic guitar and vocal? It’s so crazy to me that that is something that multiple people have said to me. I’m like, that’s awesome, because this is how I want to make them. 

Do you think part of the response you’ve gotten is because of how complicated the last 18 months have been?

Given the past year and a half, it does make sense. It’s like everyone obviously loves Sondheim and like these songs are iconic and amazing, but when you’re in the middle of a pandemic do you really want to hear the Sweeney whistle blowing in your ear like problems?

When you started posted videos online of these songs was the goal to make an album?

I didn’t even really realize that this is what it was until I set out to record the album. But to take these songs that obviously are universal and strip them back and kind of make them raw and even more naked was something that I was like, what is that like? What can these songs say when they are truly just like bare bones? When it comes to the original orchestrations of all of these songs they are quite complicated and full and huge. What can those stories also illuminate when they are simple? And so that’s kind of like what my my take on them has been.

The recordings seem so effortless. Do you believe in the idea of the artist as a vessel? That the work came through you?

Creativity grows in a garden more lushly when there’s a fence around it. If you take that fence away it can just spread out and it is not as dense. And I feel like within this situation, I had a very clear fence around my creativity. It’s like these are not my songs. So I automatically have very little ego about certain parts of it. So it was very selfless in that way. And then when it came to arrangement, it’s like, OK, the melody is the melody, like that’s what I’m sticking with. And now the arrangement can just like flourish off of that confine. And so I feel like having those boundaries around my creative process is what allowed me to be the vessel and not have really any part of me be glued to it. It’s it was a very freeing situation. 

Have you seen Sondheim’s shows?

I have definitely seen Company. I’ve been in Company. I’ve seen Sweeney Todd multiple times. Company and Sweeney Todd are my favorites shows. I’ve been in Merrily We Roll Along. I’ve seen Merrily multiple times. Follies I’ve seen. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about this. I think that might be it. Oh, and I’ve seen Sunday in the Park with George.

The reason for asking is that you’re too young to have seen some of his shows. I’m wondering what your thoughts are about audiences embracing them years after their original run more than they did when they were first produced?

I think his honesty can manifest itself in a very raw, dark human way that prior to him, I don’t know if I can name that many writers or shows that offer that darkness just as it is. It’s dark, but it’s human and like I know you’re thinking it, so why not just accept it? Anyone who is a pioneer in their path is always going to be met with skepticism and distance at first because it’s new. And on top of that his orchestrations are not something that you just turn on and like have a pleasant little cup of tea, too. He’s spot on. He’s totally right. And I feel seen and I feel heard.

What has A Perfect Little Death and its success revealed to you about who you are as an artist and as a person?

It’s emotional to me how much it has kind of enlightened my life. I don’t make folk music or acoustic music and yet now I do. I didn’t know that my sound would be kind of identified by this, like breathy yodel-y thing that I do. And now I think all the things that I’ve done with this album are very true to who I really am, but I have never given the spotlight to or given the chance to fully embrace all of them. I think it’s allowing me to be surprised by myself and allow all of those surprises to be valid and embraced. I don’t have to question any of them or, you know, denounce any of them or distance myself from any of them or try to be humble about any of them. It’s like this is all who I am. I might not have known that all of these things were who I was meant to be X amount of time ago. But they are now and I can’t deny it. And I’m not going to deny myself the things that I’ve surprised myself with. I think that’s the biggest thing is it’s been full of surprises in terms of learning about myself, not only as a person, but as an artist.

Photo: Eleri Ward (Courtesy Ghostlight Records)

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When Friedman passed away due to complications from HIV/AIDS in 2017 his friends and collaborators were shocked. While it didn’t take too much time for the shock to turn to grief, it took considerable time for the grief to turn to moving forward.

Cosson wanted to make sure that the numerous musicals that Friedman had written did not disappear from existence. In conjunction with Kurt Deutsch and Ghostlight Records, Cosson has produced five albums of Friedman’s shows. Three were released last year (This Beautiful City, The Great Immensity and The Abominables) and two more were released late this summer (Paris Commune and (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch). All five have been released under the name The Michael Friedman Collection with four more in the planning stages.

Earlier this month I spoke by phone with Cosson about Friedman, this project and whether this is Cosson’s way of saying goodbye to his collaborator and friend. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Upon Michael’s death, Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted, “Aching with gratitude for the music and joy he gave us. Mourning all the music we’ll never hear.” How quickly after his passing did you realize the music and songs didn’t have to remain unheard?

I would say the idea to raise money to do this recording project came to us several months after his death. I think the first few months we were all dealing with our grief and just trying to function and work and organize a memorial service. Then once we came up for air a bit, I have a memory where it occurred to me that there are so many people that will not be able to know these songs and this music he wrote. I realized that people who were in the audiences and know Michael’s work is a relatively small group of people. We held a benefit in June of 2018 and with that raised the budget to do all the recordings.

Around the time of the world premiere of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, Michael told the Los Angeles Times that “I never wrote a song until I was 25, which is a little embarrassing.” If that is true, that means all of this output happened in 16-17 years. How prolific was Michael?

I would bet that Michael is exaggerating a little bit with the 25 number. Michael was extremely prolific. With the albums we’ve been releasing, in addition to the several albums that were already recorded and releases from other shows before his death, once we’re done we’ll have a majority of his full-length completed musicals [recorded.]

But in addition to the musicals he wrote, he was involved in so many other shows and plays. Shows that had maybe one song in them or some incidental music that he wrote. When we were organizing his memorial service we tried to collect the list of every show he worked on in his career and tried to fit that onto the back page of the program. We had to use an extremely tiny type. He was famously always doing three things at one time.

How far along was he with projects like The King of Kong, a musical of All the President’s Men, American Pop and the sequel to A Chorus Line? Will there be an album in the collection that represents songs for unfinished shows?

That’s always something we’ve considered and I think it’s a great idea. It would require additional resources for that to happen. I’m not familiar with each of them, but I know the score for Kong was fairly well developed. We are going to do one album that is a collection of one-offs; individual songs written for other shows or for his cabaret series we did at Joe’s Pub. We haven’t finalized what’s going to be on that album yet.

At a memorial a week after he died, playwright and actress Eisa Davis asked, “I just wonder if Michael loved himself as much as we loved him.” How would you answer that question?

I think certainly Michael loved himself. I think he definitely knew that he was loved by a lot of people. He was a really exceptional friend. He was one of those rare people who managed to be the best friend to people and then also be a friendly colleague to another 1,000 people which was so evident to all of us after he died. His memorial took up the entire Public Theater building. I don’t know how many people were there, but everyone felt in some way close to Michael. It was pretty extraordinary.

You’ve stated that amongst your influences was The Carol Burnett Show. Part of the lyric of the song that closed each show says, “Seems we just got started and before you know it, Comes the time we have to say ‘so long.'” How has producing The Michael Friedman Collection allowed you to say so long, but also move on from this loss?

I know he’s not here, but I don’t feel like there is going to be a goodbye from my side. A lot of his friends and family feel the same way. We kind of still live with him. There are certain things that happen in life and Michael’s the person I have to tell this to. Obviously I don’t get a response now, but still in my mind he’s the person I share it with.

I think there’s a way in which doing these albums has helped process some of the grief, which I think is mostly a matter of being able to come together with the people who made these show with me and him. It feels like we were able to do something for him. Not that he and his work are the same thing, but his work was such a big part of his life. Being able to give life to his work and to enable it to exist in the world through these records feels like it is in service to his life the right way.

Photo: Michael Friedman (Courtesy of The Civilians)

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Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope – The Soraya Facebook Page – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4PM PDT

Violins of Hope is a program celebrating the recovery and restoration of over 60 stringed instruments from the Holocaust. They were restored by Amnon Weinstein, and his son, Avshalom, in Tel Aviv.

The Soraya had scheduled several events around the Violins of Hope, but those have been postponed due to the pandemic. While they have been rescheduled for early 2021, Niv Ashkenazi will give a concert on one of those violins on Friday.

Ashkenazi is the only musician in North America who has been loaned one of these precious instruments. He recently released an album entitled, appropriately enough, Niv Ashkenazi: The Violins of Hope.

For this live streaming event, Ashkenazi will perform the “Theme from Schindler’s List” by John Williams, “The Chassid” by Julius Chajes, an improvisation on Ernest Bloch’s “Baal Shem, II. Nigun” and George Perlman’s “Dance of the Rebbitzen.”

Prior to the performance, The Soraya’s Executive Director Thor Steingraber will conduct a conversation with Ashkenazi about Violins of Hope and his recording.

Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway – BroadwayWorld – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT

Last November, Disney celebrated a quarter century of musicals on Broadway with a concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. The event was a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

That concert, which featured veteran cast members from Disney’s many shows, is being streamed as an additional fundraiser for BC/EFA, but this time for their Covid-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. There is no charge to watch the show, but they are asking for donations.

As you probably know, Disney has had many a blockbuster musical on Broadway. Their shows include Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, AIDA and Frozen.

Amongst the performers at this concert are Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis and Sherie Renee Scott from The Little Mermaid, Christian Borle and Ashley Brown from Mary Poppins, Kerry Butler and Susan Egan from Beauty and the Beast, Merle Dandrige, Mandy Gonzalez and Adam Pascal from AIDA, James Monroe Iglehart, Adam Jacobs and Michael James Scott from Aladdin plus a reunion of cast members from Newsies.

Additional participants include Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), Whoopi Goldberg (the original film version of The Lion King), Ashley Park (Mean Girls) and more.

Soft Power Listening Party – Public Theater NY YouTube Channel – April 17th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

When Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s musical-within-a-play Soft Power played the Ahmanson Theatre in 2018 it proved to be a wholly unique way of telling a story through both a play and a musical. I loved it.

The show was reworked and opened at The Public Theater in New York and that cast recored the show. Soft Power was just made available on Ghostlight Records in the digital and streaming formats.

To celebrate the release, some of the cast and the creators of the show are holding a listening party on The Public Theater’s YouTube channel. They are also raising funds for both The Public Theater and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The Phantom of the Opera – The Show Must Go On YouTube Page – April 17th – beginning at 2 PM EDT/11 AM PDT for 48 hours

Andrew Lloyd Webber continues to make performances of his musicals available for 48 hours with this version of his blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera.

This production stars Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Cristine Daaé and Hadley Fraser Raoul. Nick Morris and Laurence Connor directed this 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Attaca Quartet performs Caroline Shaw’s Orange – The Greene Space YouTube Page

If you aren’t familiar with composer Caroline Shaw, this is a great opportunity to get introduced to her work. Orange, performed here by the Attaca Quartet, is one of Shaw’s highly-acclaimed works. Their recording of Orange won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Musical/Small Ensemble Performance.

Shaw is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Partita for 8 Voices.

This performance comes from a 2019 performance at WNYC/WQXR’s The Greene Space.

TCM Classic Film Festival: Special Home Edition – Turner Classic Movies – Now – April 20th

The annual TCM Classic Film Festival had to be canceled due to the ongoing crisis. However, they have moved the festival from Hollywood to your living room. For fans of theatre and jazz there are a few options worth checking out (whether you have never seen them or want a chance to revisit them!) Note that some are not showing at convenient times (unless you are an insomniac) so set your DVR.

Grey Gardens – April 18th 1:30 AM EDT/April 17th 10:30 PM PDT

This is the documentary that inspired the Tony Award-winning musical. The Maysles Brothers (Albert and David) made an utterly compelling film about Jackie Kennedy’s aunt, Edith Bouvier Beale (79) and cousin, Edith ‘Little Edie’ Bouvier Beale (56). They live in a completely rundown mansion on Long Island with no running water that is filled with multiple animals including numbers cats and raccoons in the attic.

The Man with the Golden Arm – April 18th 6:00 AM EDT/3:00 AM PDT

This 1955 film by Otto Preminger makes our list because Elmer Bernstein’s score is so driven by jazz. Not the first film to use jazz as the style of a film score, but certainly one of the best.

Frank Sinatra stars as an ex-junkie who returns home after half-a-year in prison. While in prison he not only got clean, but learned to play drums. Upon his return he has to face the real world and whether or not he has fully recovered from his heroin addiction.

Both Sinatra and Bernstein were Oscar-nominated for their work on this film. Another reason to check out the film is Saul Bass’s amazing title sequence.

Mame – April 19th 3:30 PM EDT/12:30 PM PDT

This is the classic Rosalind Russell film from 1958 that is truly essential viewing. Mame tells the same story as Jerry Herman’s musical (and the subsequent disaster of a film of that musical with Lucille Ball), but Russell’s performance here is superb. Fans of the musical will want to check out this film. In our troubled times perhaps we can all take some sage advice from our dear Auntie Mame.

Singin’ in the Rain – April 19th 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

One of Hollywood’s best musicals ever and recently on the list of best films to watch during the pandemic. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds star. Watch this film and you’ll be singing “Good Morning” on Monday.

Victor, Victoria – April 20th 3:30 AM EDT/12:30 AM PDT

Blake Edwards’s 1982 film musical was, of course, the basis for the Broadway musical. Julie Andrews stars as a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, who becomes a singing sensation in Paris. But she has to maintain the disguise just as she falls in love with a gangster played by James Garner.

The film also stars a phenomenal Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras.

The songs were written by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.

The Verdi Chorus: The Force of Destiny – The Verdi Chorus Website and Facebook Page – April 18th – 10:30 PM EDT/ 7:30 PM PDT

Forced to cancel their planned April 18th concert, The Verdi Chorus is going to stream their first online concert: The Force of Destiny. This was their 2018 concert that featured selections from Verdi’s La forza del destino, Nabucco and La Traviata. It also included music from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

Joining the Verdi Chorus are Shana Blake Hill, soprano, Karin Mushegain, mezzo-soprano, Alex Boyer, tenor and baritone Ben Lowe.

Treasure Island – National Theatre Live’s YouTube Page – Now – April 23rd

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel has been given a couple twists for this 2014 stage version. First of all, Jim, is played by actress Patsy Ferran. There is music and songs by Dan Jones with additional songs by John Tams.

But the reviews were extraordinary. Arthur Darvill (of Dr. Who) plays Long John Silver. Polly Findlay directed the play. Tim van Someren directed the film. Treasure Island runs 1 hour 50 minutes.

Buyer and Cellar – Broadway.Com – April 19th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

Actor Michael Urie has performed Jonathan Tolin’s Buyer and Cellar countless times. It’s a perfect role for him as the man who attends to Barbra Streisand’s personal shopping mall in her Malibu home. Of course, this isn’t a true story, but what if it was?

On Sunday Urie will perform the show from his own home as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Covid-19 Emergency Assitance Fund. The performance will stream on Broadway.Com.

This is a thoroughly entertaining show and well worth your time.

***Don’t forget there is also Madama Butterfly on April 17th, Adriana Lecouvreur on April 18th and Der Rosenkavalier on April 19th – each available for 23 hours beginning at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT at the Metropolitan Opera’s website.

Another reminder that WNET is making five different Great Performances available. For details you can go here.

Photo: The company of Treasure Island (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy of National Theatre Live)

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Cole was a true hit-maker. He had over 150 singles that reached the top of various charts. He sold over 50 million records. His recordings of songs such as “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable” and “The Christmas Song” are considered the definitive versions of those songs. Sadly, his career was cut short at the age of 45 due to lung cancer (he had been a heavy smoker.)

Pizzarelli who has recorded nearly 30 albums as a leader, released For Centennial Reasons: 100 Year Salute to Nat King Cole earlier this year on Ghostlight Records. The album finds him and his trio (Mike Karn on double bass and Konrad Paszudzki on piano) performing songs he’s previously recorded, but with new arrangements, and songs he had yet to record for his two previous albums that celebrated Cole (Dear Mr. Cole and P.S. Mister Cole).

Pizzarelli is truly a fan of Cole’s and you should check out the interview we published in March where he clearly defines what makes Cole and his music so important for him.

Sadly we don’t have the opportunity to see Cole in person any longer. But with the John Pizzarelli Trio we can get a sense of the joy, the heartbreak and the pure musicianship that was Nat “King” Cole.

For tickets go here.

On August 19th they will perform at Kuumbwa Jazz in Santa Cruz.

August 20th and 21st they will perform at Yoshi’s in Oakland.

Photo of John Pizzarelli courtesy of the artist’s website.

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Pizzarelli has two local performances. The first, on Friday night at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, features the work of Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. On Saturday he and his trio will be performing at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.

I recently spoke with Pizzarelli by phone about his passion for the singer who made such songs as “Unforgettable,” “Nature Boy” and “Mona Lisa” standards.

You previously recorded two albums dedicated to Cole. How and why does Cole continue to inspire you?

Nat “King” Cole is the reason I do what I do. He inspires me on a daily basis. It just doesn’t stop. What propelled the making of this record is I got back to just working with piano, bass and guitar, which I hadn’t done in years. I was really enjoying that. The centennial was coming and this was a good time to do this. 

When it came time to doing a third album, how did you decide which songs to include and which songs to exclude?

I always try to pick the jazz tunes, quote unquote, and I never pick any of the popular tunes. It’s always about the tempos for me. I’m trying to find three up-tempo things to make an arc of some sort, even though people don’t listen to records like that anymore. We [the trio*] have been playing “Paper Moon,” “Route 66” and “Straighten Up and Fly Right” a lot. This is the group I’m playing with and I wanted to include those.

Do you make new discoveries when you re-record a song like “Paper Moon?”

I love playing that arrangement. It felt effortless from playing it a lot in the last few years. I felt we really had it down so let’s make a record so it sounds as effortless as it feels. It’s like the greatest thing I could play. You know how people feel when they hear the first notes of “In the Mood?” That’s how I feel with “Paper Moon” and Nat “King” Cole.

Beyond wanting people to enjoy your record are you hoping they’ll go back and listen to what Cole did with these songs?

Oh sure. I think that’s the fun part. Where did he find this? I’ve done that with other people’s records and I hope they’ll do it with mine.

In today’s “gone in 60 seconds” culture, what would you tell people is the reason Nat “King” Cole is still relevant today?

Everything about him is flawless. He’s natural and sincere, whatever songs he’s singing. And he’s an amazing jazz musician. Everyone keeps discovering him and it is every generation. But Nat Cole has this other thing that just doesn’t go away. It’s a stunning story and musically, every time I listen to him I think, “I can’t believe what they’re doing and where they’re going.”

You seem deeply passionate about Cole.

I’m promoting myself, but this guy got me here. Nobody had the material he did. He cultivated this group of songwriters who kept throwing these songs at him: “When Sunny Gets Blue,” “Walking My Baby Back Home,” “Red Sails in the Sunset.” No one has this interesting catalog of songs.

Cole once said “I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.” Is that how you see your work?

I guess I’m trying to convey that. I do stay away from a lot of the material that is more story-like. He sings the hell out of “Nature Boy.” I like that  song, but I don’t know if I’m the one to tell that story. There’s a certain storytelling that goes on with singing. The thing I’ve always gone back to is Rosemary Clooney came to see us and she said, “Just keep telling the truth.” That’s the best way to think of it. The second you are phony they’ll always know it. That would be the part I have in mind when I’m approaching the material.

*The musicians who make up Pizzarelli’s trio are Mike Karn on double bass and Konrad Paszudzki on piano.

For tickets at Irvine Barclay go here.  For tickets at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center go here.

Main photo by Brian K. Saunders.

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