If you're like me, Kurt Weill means Mack the Knife, September Song, Speak Low, The Threepenny Opera and little, if anything, else. Fortunately, Sam Braysher is a man with an enquiring mind and he uncovered nine Weill compositions that were completely unknown to me and these were just the tip on an iceberg that encompassed operas, orchestral and chamber music, piano compositions and more.
Here I'll Stay, written by Weill with Alan Jay Lerner is a beautiful tune that is a perfect showcase for Braysher's liquid alto - oh that more more modern alto players could sound so lyrical! A fine solo too from pianist Gayer - a name to remember.
What Good Would the Moon Be? Sara Dowling is already a well-remembered name with me on the strength of a previous album - The Two Sides of Sara - which I raved over a few years back. This one has words by Langston Hughes, words sung very effectively by Sara.
Hughes and Weill also combined on Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed. Another catchy tune which, like the previous one came from the musical Street Scene. More appealing alto and a rhythm section to die for.
Ships Adrift, an original by Braysher, is quite boppy albeit not without the suggestion that Weill maybe offered some spiritual guidance. The piano/alto chase choruses are exhilarating and are rounded off with a tasty drum solo from Brown.
Liebeslied, written with his most frequent collaborator, Bertolt Brecht, for The Threepenny Opera, has a melancholy beauty about it that is enhanced by Braysher's searing solo and Di Lecce's sympathetic bass.
The Right Guy For Me brings Sara back into the picture. Her bluesy, earthy interpretation of one of those 'Good For Nothin' Joe' songs is exactly how Weill and lyricist Sam Coslow surely would have wanted it. Maybe even better as the highflying alto solo certainly didn't do it any harm.
Marterl, a sombre piece from Weill and Brecht's The Berlin Requiem that doesn't last long.
Bilbao Song doesn't last too long either which is a shame as it's quite a chirpy number.
That's Him. Forget Cole Porter, Larry Hart and the other lyricists nobody's ever come up with a better set of words than these by the greatest American poet ever - Ogden Nash: You know the way you feel, When you smell bread baking, The way you feel, When suddenly a tooth stops aching... Sara captures the essence of the lyrics to perfection. Her rich contralto never forgetting that she's a jazz singer at heart.
This is New. Braysher floats nicely over a bossa-nova rhythm in this Weill/Ira Gershwin composition.
An album that is the absolute berries. An alto sax that sounds like an alto sax should sound, swinging piano, bass and drums plus one of the best singers around. Check it out on BANDCAMP. Lance
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