Rufus Wainwright’s fascination with Kurt Weill’s music goes back for decades — in his early twenties he wore out the vinyl grooves of Teresa Stratas’ famous Weill album. While Weill‘s musical influence can be heard in Wainwright‘s own songs, he has never dedicated an entire evening to singing the German musician’s songs. With the Pacific Jazz Orchestra under the baton of Chris Walden he is expanding the orchestral palette for his approach to Kurt Weill.

The Pacific Jazz Orchestra is a LA’s new resident 40-piece ensemble for jazz and beyond, with different guest artists. Spread out over a select few venues in Los Angeles, the program reaches far beyond the boundaries of jazz, as it features music of a diverse range of styles, genres, and backgrounds. The PJO is the only orchestra of its kind in the country, and with its talent pool of musicians, Los Angeles is the only city where an ensemble like this can be put together, representing jazz, the uniquely American art form. With its specific instrumentation, this orchestra is able to play a variety of musical styles beyond just jazz and accompany guest artists from a wide range of musical styles and ethnic backgrounds. Comprised of LA’s fi nest freelance and studio musicians, the orchestra’s lineup represents a broad spectrum of ages and ethnicities.

Furthermore, the United Theatre on Broadway in Los Angeles now offers a stage that provides the perfect visual setting for the period in which Weill’s songs were written. The theater is a lavishly restored 1920s movie palace with 1,600 seats and a large, three-story lobby. It’s where, in 1927, a group of visionary iconoclasts from Hollywood’s Golden Age erected the home of United Artists, the film studio whose acumen and rebellious ingenuity helped to reshape the American cinematic landscape. The theater was the vision of silent movie starlet Mary Pickford, who — together with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and DW Griffith — dreamt of forming an independent production house outside of the established Hollywood studio system.

Praised by the New York Times for his “authentic originality”, Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great singers, songwriters and composers of his generation. He has collaborated with artists such as Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Robert Wilson, David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys, Heart, Robbie Williams, Jessye Norman, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Sting and producer Mark Ronson, to name but a few. He has written two operas and numerous songs for fi lm and television and is currently working on his first musical. Wainwright is at the height of his powers, with passion, honesty and a newfound fearlessness in the face of artistic maturity. Brock Walsh, additional lyrics

Kurt Weill
September Song
I’m A Stranger Here Myself
Die Muschel von Margate
Was die Herren Matrosen sagen
It Was Never You
Youkali
Fürchte dich nicht
The Saga of Jenny
Je ne t’aime pas
Will You Remember Me?
Zuhälterballade
Surabaya Johnny
Mack The Knife

 

Rufus Wainwright
Pacific Jazz Orchestra
Chris Walden, conductor & arrangements
Glüme, guest appearance