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HELLO AGAIN (Actually we have recorded something
from that show, TOM sung by Susan Egan on her album SO
FAR.) So Far Hello, again. It's been some time since I last wrote and
a lot has happened during the time. As we know, a devastating
tragic event happened that affected everybody on this planet
but being the troopers that we all are, in this business called
show, the show carried on. In spite of the downward trend and depression experienced
by the music industry World wide, in this year 2002, we at
JAY carried on defiantly. We continued to record and maintain
a healthy schedule of new release. However defiant we were
though, we had to exercise prudence by holding back the completion
and release schedules of the big budgeted recordings such
as ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, FIDDLER ON THE
ROOF and other complete recordings in the 2CDs JAY Original
Masterworks Editions. We will resume the release of the titles
in the series once the music industry has stabilised itself and
has returned to some semblance of normality. Simple Song In the meantime, I have been having wonderful times in the
studios with some great guys from Broadway and the West End
of London. Matt
Bogart, has completed his solo album entitled SIMPLE
SONG which is scheduled for release in September 2002.
Take a little peak behind the scenes at
Matts recording and see what normall only I see. Click Matts
picture to the right for further images. You can also view
his album details as they are published here. Ron
Raines and Sean
McDermott are finishing their second solo albums for JAY.
Simon Bowman (who premiered the role of Chris in MISS SAIGON)
has completed his first solo album as has David Shannon (last
seen in the lead role in THE BEAUTIFUL GAME). We hope to start
on Karen Ziemba's solo album very soon and Debbie Gravitte
is due to record an album of Frank Loesser's songs, including
Junk Man. We also started a very exciting series called The
MUSICality of…… To date, we have appreciated
the MUSICalities of Sondheim,
Lloyd Webber,
Berlin, Kern,
Lerner and
Loewe, Novello
and, to celebrate the centenary of Richard Rodgers, Rodgers
and Hammerstein. The series contains mostly of greatest
hits but are often infused with some rare and interesting
items, always performed by a variety of stars from both Broadway
the West End and the Opera world, in each and every release. The potential
for this series is endless as we progress towards the MUSICalities
of Ford and Cryer, Schmidt and Jones, Bacharach, Bart, Herman,
Styne, Schwartz, John, Harnick and Bock, Strouse, Wilson via
Bernstein, Weill, Porter, Gershwin, Loesser, Kander and Ebb,
Rodgers and Hart etc. This year also sees the start of
our association with The York Theatre in New York, one of
the most exciting and innovative theatre companies in New
York, with our recording of the Original Cast album of ROADSIDE,
a new musical by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. This July/August
release is being followed in September by the Original Cast
album of THE IT GIRL by Paul McKibbins and BT McNicholl
starring Jean Louisa Kelly. We will be recording the Original
Cast album of their recent production of the Australian
musical PRODIGAL in the autumn with the Original Cast including
Alison Fraser. Another Original Cast album being
completed for an October release is the wildly funny and
fabulous musical revue called Keith Thompson's KOOKY TUNES.
Vanessa A. Jones, Patrick DeGennaro, Perry Payne, the fabulous
Jay Rogers (of Whoop De Doo and When Pigs Fly fame) and
Keith Thompson gave two standing ovation performances at
Clinton Studios in New York whilst we recorded not only
the performances but every ounce of laughter and applause
of the specially invited audience. This year, 2002 also sees the Centenary
celebrations of Richard Rodgers. To partake in the celebration,
we have released for the first time on JAY, newly remastered
versions of the legendary Original 1983 Broadway Cast album
of ON YOUR TOES
and the All Star Studio Cast album of Richard Rodger's final
musical I
REMEMBER MAMA. One cannot get more starry than a cast
which includes Sally Ann Howes, George Hearn, George S.Irving,
Ann Morrison, Patricia Routledge, Sian Phillips, Elizabeth
Seal and Gay Soper. For the MUSICality of Rodgers and Hammerstein,
we also assembled a starry lineup to record a song from each of the R&H shows. The stars include Ron Raines,
Judy Blazer, Brent Barrett, Kim Criswell, Debbie Gravitte,
Pat Suzuki, Susan Egan and opera stars Thomas Allen, Valerie
Masterson and Sally Burgess. In these troubled times it is a
blessing to be surrounded by music made by such great talents
and friends that in spite of everything, 2002 has been a
really uplifting time for me, as the title of another JAY
Records proclaims, SO FAR. STOP PRESS JAY is recording and releasing the
Original Broadway Cast album of ---- A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE
currently playing at The Lincoln Center. To view the previous IN THE
STUDIO pages, click HERE |
