Many moons ago, I used to frequent a store in London called Dress Circle. For those who didn’t get there whilst it was open (it closed a few years ago now, although still has an online presence) it was our version of the great Footlight store in New York (also, alas online only now). I used to marvel at the new releases (these were the days pre-internet so you never really knew what they would have until you arrived) and with funds as they were at the time, I used to choose my purchases carefully. What I always was drawn to were releases of Broadway and musical theatre songs performed by new voices I hadn’t heard, but with new orchestrations. Varese Sarabande, under the leadership of Bruce Kimmel, did some outstanding releases, as did TER’s John Yap.

So, I was pleased and more than a little excited when I saw Broadway Records had some of these types of recording on their list to release this summer. The first one to drop into my inbox was Broadway Brick By Brick by Michael Longoria. Longoria began his career as a Mariachi singer in his hometown of Los Angeles, before moving on to stage productions. At age fourteen he was accepted to the prestigious Los Angeles County High School of The Arts, and then earned a scholarship to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is best known for his portrayal of Frankie Valli in the acclaimed production of Jersey Boys. Longoria is currently performing in The Midtown Men, the subjects of two PBS specials including Meet The Midtown Men.

For this recording, Longoria partnered with a dream team of musical greats including: Grammy winner John McDaniel (Patti LuPone), who music directed and arranged, Grammy winning producer Jeffrey Lesser (Barbra Streisand, Kristin Chenoweth), and orchestrator Jesse Vargas (Clay Aiken). The songs enrapture Longoria’s soulful voice and incorporate his Latin roots. Each song offered a snapshot of Longoria’s journey, starting with 'Home' from The Wiz, where he started his tale as a child, listening to his mother’s Mariachi music played on an old piano she bought from a priest in the '70s. 'Maria' from West Side Story set the stage for his very first audition in high school. 'The Impossible Dream' reflected his efforts to acknowledge his immigrant father’s wishes but to ultimately follow his own path, to New York and his dream of Broadway.

It’s a great selection of songs too, and more importantly, there is new life injected into the arrangements and orchestrations. The album’s opener ('Home') is a great start, and really sets the pace of the album. The whole album has a wonderfully full sound, with enough quirkiness and creativity to keep you interested throughout, but not so as to become a novelty recording. I also loved 'Music and The Mirror' (though with material of this standard, how can you go wrong?), which is given a more traditional treatment, as is ‘Corner of The Sky’ from Pippin which is also the perfect number for Longoria’s style and delivery.

I can’t not mention the orchestrations on this album. Very much the ‘overlooked’ department in music, they are so skillfully done here by Jesse Vargas, and sound even better for the use of a large orchestra. You really don’t get a better sound than this.

My only criticism of the album is that whilst the song list is crammed full with quality, there’s nothing new on here. Surely there’s been more recent shows than Jersey Boys (itself featuring songs that are 50 years old now) and Sunset Boulevard. I would love to have heard some Jason Robert Brown or other contemporary composers on here - or indeed, on any recording of this genre.

The release is Broadway Records at the top of their game - great sound, great packaging and design, and a very informative booklet. Certainly a must-listen release.

9

Ian Gude