Music News 1/25/23

NEW 

Bob Dylan, FRAGMENTS: TIME OUT OF MIND SESSION (1996 -1997): Bootleg Series Vol. 17 (Sony Legacy, 2 CDs, $30.98) – Time Out of Mind (1997) is one of Dylan’s most memorable albums—strong songs, immersed in the miasmic soundscape of producer Daniel Lanois. It was also a best-seller, and won three Grammys (remember “Soy Bomb” during Dylan’s performance). Now, for the 25^th-anniversary edition, there is a new remix, plus an album of outtakes and alternate versions. Songs like “Love Sick,” “Not Dark Yet,” “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven,” “Cold Irons Bound,” and “Make You Feel My Love” are here, as well as a few that didn’t make it to the album: “Mississippi,” “Red River Shore,” and a version of “The Water is Wide.”  

INTO THE WOODS: 2022 Broadway Cast (Craft, $18.98) – The cast recording of the acclaimed production directed by Lear deBessonet of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical. 

Sara Bareilles heads the cast as the Baker’s Wife, with Brian d'Arcy James as The Baker, Patina Miller as the Witch, Gavin Creel as Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince, Joshua Henry as Rapunzel’s Prince, Phillipa Soo as Cinderella, Julia Lester as Little Red Riding Hood, Cole Thompson as Jack, Annie Golden as Cinderella’s Mother/Grandmother/Giant’s wife. 

NOTE: From February 23 to March 19, this production of Into the Woods is here at the Kennedy Center.  

NEW JAZZ  

Lakecia Benjamin, PHOENIX (Whirlwind, $16.99) – Alto saxophonist and composer Lakecia Benjamin’s second album.  

Produced by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, it features an all-star lineup of special guests: Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and Wayne Shorter. The band comprises trumpeter Josh Evans, Victor Gould on keys, Orange Rodriguez on synths, drummer Enoch (EJ) Strickland, percussionist Nêgah Santos and bassist Ivan Taylor. 

NOTE: There was a good profile of Ms. Benjamin in this week’s New York Times. 

Kurt Rosenwinkel, BERLIN BARITONE (Heartbeat, $15.99) – Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel is a melodic improviser with a gorgeous tone (witness last year’s Chopin Project). Now he takes up the baritone electric guitar in a series of solo meditations. 

(these titles will arrive Mon/Tues) 

SONNY ROLLINS: BIOGRAPHY & CDs 

There is an inspiring and immersive new biography, Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins (Hachette, $35) by Aidan Levy. I highly recommend it. 

As vital companion listening, consider the album the book was titled after, SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS (Prestige, $12.98) from 1957, one of his most iconic albums. 

Or the import box set, THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE, RIVERSIDE, CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION (Enlightenment, 4 CDs, $20.98), comprising eight fantastic albums from 1957-1958, including Sonny Rollins, Vols. 1 and 2, Way Out West, The Sound of Sonny, Newk’s Time, A Night at the Village Vanguard, Freedom Suite, and Sonny Rollins + the Contemporary Leaders.