Let's begin with a recording of a compelling concert presenting low profile/high quality songs of Peter Foley. Moving from Peter to Peterson, it was Jon J Peterson who portrayed a Broadway and vaudeville legend two decades ago in the one-man bio-musical George M. Cohan Tonight!, and he's at it again in the film version, resulting in a 31-track soundtrack album. Then, how about a big band recording taking on music composed for–of all things–video games, arranged, conducted and produced by a man with credits on 11 Broadway productions as orchestrator, musician, or conductor (or some combination of those)?

VARIOUS ARTISTS
OUT OF MYSELF: SONGS OF PETER FOLEY
Center Stage Records
Digital

Revealed in the recording of a concert of the work of the late composer Peter Foley (who was sometimes his own lyricist) are many songs of great beauty, with uplifting moments and hope. You might not expect that from samples of musicals about such things as: life after the apocalypse with the seeking of knowledge outlawed; a war veteran with amnesia; and victims of Jack the Ripper. But gorgeous, soaring sounds prevail. In the material, mostly serious, passions are potent, bursting and building in melodies that are strong and stirring. Lyrics are direct, but artful and sometimes aching. Rich singing by skilled theatre and opera performers matches the emotions. Some of this is on the grand, formal side, residing in art song territory (two are settings of poems), with some choral pieces among the selections. The parade of 22 numbers presented by solo vocalists, a 19-member chorus, and an orchestra conducted by Rob Berman makes Out of Myself: Songs of Peter Foley seem like a very full banquet, served with love. To extend the simile, it's a lot to digest at one sitting. But I'm not complaining.

When there's more than one sample from a project, the songs are grouped together, which lets the listener linger in one "world" for a while and perhaps connect the dots to get a feel for each, rather than going back and forth. Captured audience applause can be heard at the end of only some tracks of this live one-night-only performance at Peter Norton Symphony Space.

The proceedings begin with Manoel Felciano, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, and chorus bringing full life to the very accessible "The Hidden Sky" from the musical of the same name (the one that takes place after an apocalypse caused by misuse of technology). There are five picks from this, the only full-length Foley piece to go beyond workshops and mountings at universities to have a fully produced professional production. It featured his own lyrics and a book by Kate Chisholm, to whom he was married and who spearheaded the concert. They had also begun collaborating on a musical for young audiences about Johnny Appleseed; the could-have-been show is represented by the especially charming and spiffy "The Other Me," delightfully interpreted by sunny-voiced Christian Probst.

Just two melodies by Peter Foley previously appeared on commercially released albums in the past (each reviewed in this column at the time); the same artists who'd recorded them reprised them in the tribute. They are Michael Winther (asked to sing "To Sing," as he had done for the cast album of the one-man musical he was in 20 years ago, Songs from an Unmade Bed, lyric by Mark Campbell) and Melissa Errico ("On Vit, On Aime," from her Film Noir CD and cabaret act, lyric by Adam Gopnik). They sound great (again).

Kate Baldwin brings her radiant voice to two solos ("The Happiness" and the setting of a poem called "Broadway") and a group number called "Pinehart" that tells an enchanting story. Eisa Davis warmly croons the lullaby-ish "The Dreams of Little Girls" which seemingly has more beneath the smooth, soothing surface. The Foley feast concludes with some of the score of The Names We Gave Him (lyrics by Ellen McLaughlin) about the amnesiac, leaving us with its touching final representative, the Shereen Ahmed/ Jason Gotay duet, "Yellow Field."

In Out of Myself's cornucopia of contrasting content, there are some things that jump out at first listen as very impactful, while others may take a second or third time (or more plot context) to be fully appreciated. Bloom is described as a madcap musical comedy, but the three samplings of the story about people seeking a rare tulip (lyrics by Matthew Heimer), while diverting, strike me as more lively than LOL or goofy–at least on the surface.

While there is no physical CD or vinyl format at this time, there is a digital booklet with information, all the lyrics, and color photos from the live event. The high quality of both the songwriting and performances should certainly spur more people to explore and expose the existing oeuvre.

GEORGE M. COHAN TONIGHT!
FILM SOUNDTRACK
Bumpty Bump Records
CD | Digital

It's old news that the spirit and spunk of George M. Cohan's uber-catchy songs and his persona live on whenever singer/dancer/actor Jon J Peterson takes on the legend's material, especially when he's actually playing the role of that performer, producer, et al., in one of the stage pieces created and directed by Cohan authority Chip Deffaa. This inhabiting has become a habit. It all began with the one-man bio-musical George M. Cohan Tonight! in 2006 in New York City. Over the years there have been productions around the world and now he returns to the role in this piece, adapted as a movie which he directed and choreographed himself. It's powerful on screen, really artfully and dramatically making the most of the medium, with a changing color palette and varying camera angles and close-ups rather than just being a straightforward filming of a stage performance. As an audio-only souvenir, the soundtrack album retains some intimacy by retaining the biographical spoken material recording, some of which is wistful.

It's always a pleasure to witness the ingratiating, invigorating performance of Jon J Peterson. Some lyrics were revised/expanded by Mr. Deffaa, whose liner notes offer a history of this and related projects.

Much is packed in, with many of the 31 tracks being very brief (in the "short and sweet" sense), clocking in at a little under or over a minute in playing time. They economically make their impact rather than having a simple tune get overblown and overstay its welcome with lots of repetition. The song list is almost the same as on the 2006 cast recording, but now there's more nuance and depth in some of the interpretations–in addition to the requisite pizzazz for the famous robust numbers. There's plenty of verve in the grand old old-school renditions of the jingoistic rousers "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Over There," and two inspired by the old ditty "Yankee Doodle" to embrace patriotism are just dandy. There are five numbers that have the word "Broadway" in their titles, with the classic "Give My Regards to Broadway" making two appearances.

Just as vigorous is the terrifically jaunty "You Won't Do Any Business If You Haven't Got a Band." And, indeed, what a great band there is on this soundtrack recording. The bounce and the ballads benefit from the accompaniment which never resists the temptation to force the frivolity or get super-syrupy with the sentimental songs such as "Ireland, My Land of Dreams" and the lovey-dovey "I Want the World to Know". The instrumentalists are music director/pianist Michael Lavine, bassist Brian Nalepka, drummer Rob Garcia, and violinist Andy Stein.

The legacy is in good hands.

THE 8-BIT BIG BAND
ORCHESTRATOR EMULATOR
Team Chuck Records
CD | Digital

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I have never played a video game and have felt no temptation to do so, nor to explore whatever kind of music might be used in them. That was true until I found out that some of this stuff created for that pastime was being taken on by the creative musician Charlie Rosen, who's been part of the sound of music for 11 Broadway shows, starting with the Jason Robert Brown-scored 13 when he was 18, with his orchestrations for Some Like It Hot winning him his second Tony Award. (And his exciting band treatments of musical theatre melodies performed at 54 Below were dazzling.) In a series of albums as The 8-Bit Big Band's arranger, conductor and producer–as well as an instrumentalist among many–he invested the video games' material with his sensibilities and stylings that incorporate jazz flavors, classic big band swing, and other influences. The latest is titled Orchestrator Emulator and it's a blast–in both senses of the word.

The varying musicians participating among the endeavor's 14 tracks (a grand total of 90 musicians, including Mr. Rosen as one of four guitarists and one of the three bass players). Many of these other folks also have multiple credits as instrumentalists in orchestras for shows on The Great White Way. While a traditional Broadway sound is not blatantly evoked, the assertive, dynamic playing of the retooled, filled-out, embellished material is entertaining, sprinkled with flavors of certain pop influences. Members of the band's huge online fan base have responded favorably to elements of "Got to Get You Into My Life" from The Beatles' oeuvre (within the treatment of "Brinstar" from the Metroid game series) and allusions to the group Earth, Wind and Fire in the handling of Nintendo's "Wii Sports Theme." It returns as a bonus track revamped as festive Brazilian joy. The jazz music lovers among us recognize and appreciate "The Super Mario Athletic Theme" very much evoking the mellow "Li'l Darlin'" from the late 1950s.

These aren't short bits of simple or incidental treatments. Most of the 14 tracks are longer than three minutes and eight of them top four minutes in length. There are a couple of vocals, including the bossa nova "No More What Ifs," which had been featured in Persona 5; it's sung evocatively by Martina DaSilva. On "Tokyo Daylight," Andy Arthur Smith whizzes through a remarkable scat-singing tour de force.

The recording submitted for review is in CD format, in a cardboard sleeve with minimal information. However, full credits and plenty of details can be found on the Bandcamp website where adventurous music explorers can purchase and sample the digital version.

And for those who might enjoy experiencing the music in its original form, let the games begin!