"The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

Pretty self-explanatory
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"The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

Post by Man out of Time »

The Normyn Suites - The 3rd Michael Leonhart album has an official release date- March 25, 2022.
The lead off song is “Shut Him Down” ft. Elvis Costello, Joshua Redman & JSWISS

The album features two new extended compositions: "The Normyn Suites No. 1 & No. 2". These two works are contemplations on love & loss, written during a burst of inspiration & catharsis after the passing of Michael's family dog Normyn in 2018. Little did he know that the themes of "love, loss and catharsis" would become a central theme for all of humanity during the pandemic. Originally set for a 2020 release, the album will come out on Sunnyside Records. The album features guests Elvis Costello, Joshua Redman Donny McCaslin Keyon Harrold Larry Goldings Bill Frisell Nels Cline JSWISS and more...

https://fb.watch/ahENenufQE/
Michael Leonhart Orchestra - Elvis Costello vocals
Michael Leonhart Orchestra - Elvis Costello vocals
Michael Leonhart Orchestra.jpg (44.56 KiB) Viewed 12799 times
Michael Leonhart shared part of a Zoom call with Elvis that took place during lockdown. You can see the short clip here:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=159207786112598

Does anyone know if the full conversation is available online?

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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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The "Shut Him Down" clip reveals the track has been reworked since its initial release in 2020.
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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https://mainstvinyl.com/UPC/016728166027

Normyn Suite
Artist: Michael Leonhart Orchestra

DISC: 1

1. Shut Him Down
2. The Normyn Suite #1: Denial
3. The Normyn Suite #1: Anger
4. The Normyn Suite #1: Catharsis
5. The Normyn Suite #1: Nostalgia
6. The Normyn Suite #1: Acceptance
7. Radio Is Everything
8. The Normyn Suite #2: May the Young Grow Old Featuring
9. The Normyn Suite #2: Waking from Sedation
10. The Normyn Suite #2: Freedom from the Pain
11. The Normyn Suite #2: Unconditional Love
12. The Normyn Suite #2: La Preghiera
13. The Normyn Suite #2: The Dunes of Cahoon Hollow
14. Shut Him Down (Video Edit)
15. Newspaper Pane
16. Kenny Dorham
17. Wayne Shorter
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2022/01/1201.html

(…)

In addition to the two suites, the album features three songs co-written with Elvis Costello during the quarantine. There are two versions of "Shut Him Down" bookending the suites — one with Joshua Redman, playing his late father Dewey's newly restored tenor saxophone for the first time on record, the other with Chris Potter on bass clarinet. Costello performs spoken word on "Radio is Everything", featuring legendary guitarists Bill Frisell & Nels Cline who also co-wrote the songs with Leonhart and Costello. The final collaboration is the driving "Newspaper Pane".

(…)
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

Post by Hawksmoor »

sweetest punch wrote:http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2022/01/1201.html

(…)

In addition to the two suites, the album features three songs co-written with Elvis Costello during the quarantine. There are two versions of "Shut Him Down" bookending the suites — one with Joshua Redman, playing his late father Dewey's newly restored tenor saxophone for the first time on record, the other with Chris Potter on bass clarinet. Costello performs spoken word on "Radio is Everything", featuring legendary guitarists Bill Frisell & Nels Cline who also co-wrote the songs with Leonhart and Costello. The final collaboration is the driving "Newspaper Pane".

(…)
Ah now. So...the versions of 'Newspaper Pane' and 'Radio Is Everything' are the ones which appeared on Hey Clockface, and the first version of 'Shut Him Down' is the version we already have? So the only one we now need to chase up is 'Shut Him Down (remix)' or 'Shut Him Down (version 2)' or whatever it is?
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Hawksmoor wrote:Ah now. So...the versions of 'Newspaper Pane' and 'Radio Is Everything' are the ones which appeared on Hey Clockface, and the first version of 'Shut Him Down' is the version we already have? So the only one we now need to chase up is 'Shut Him Down (remix)' or 'Shut Him Down (version 2)' or whatever it is?
I have no idea if it's still the plan, but Michael Leonhart said on the Soundcheck podcast that he was thinking of putting different mixes of the Hey Clockface songs on his album.
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Second version of Shut Him Down at 2:54:00 (although I don’t hear much difference)
https://youtu.be/7EDvRsLdBdU
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Press release dated January 12, 2022:

"The Michael Leonhart Orchestra presents The Normyn Suites, a new masterwork to be released on March 25, 2022 via Sunnyside Records

Featuring appearances by Elvis Costello, Bill Frisell, Joshua Redman, JSWISS, Larry Goldings, Nels Cline, Donny McCaslin and more

Release show at Rizzoli Bookstore on April 10, 2022

‘The Normyn Suites’ is an elegy; to listen is to spend time in that space of loss, reckoning, questioning, and mourning. At the same time, though, with each note, each phrase, we are propelled back into life. – Alexandra Horowitz, author Our Dogs, Ourselves: The Story of a Singular Bond

Threads the needle between pop and experimental music seamlessly… gorgeous. – Forbes

Sunnyside Records is proud to announce the March 25, 2022 release of The Normyn Suites by the Michael Leonhart Orchestra. The Normyn Suites is both a requiem and celebration, inspired by the life and death of the bandleader’s 15-year-old dog, a female mini dachshund named Normyn. The third album by the Michael Leonhart Orchestra features a pair of suites – the first of which is an exploration of the stages of grieving, while the second is a reflection on love and loss. In keeping with the MLO’s eclectic musical palette, the album features several collaborations with Elvis Costello, with contributions by Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, and JSWISS as well as two bonus offerings with Donny McCaslin. The release of The Normyn Suites will be celebrated at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City on April 10.

“The Normyn Suites is an elegy; to listen is to spend time in that space of loss, reckoning, questioning, and mourning. At the same time, though, with each note, each phrase, we are propelled back into life,” reflects author Alexandra Horowitz in the stirring liner notes. The first part is titled “The Normyn Suite #1: (Soundtrack to the Five Stages of Grieving)”, and was inspired by “The Kübler-Ross Grief Cycle”, a model introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. “The Five Stages of Grief” is a critically acclaimed study on how humans handle loss.

For this suite in five parts, Leonhart expands the MLO’s live performance palette of brass, woodwinds and strings to include choir and found percussion over gritty breakbeat drums.

Leonhart shares, “I wanted “Denial” and “Anger” to have an emotional tension and raw quality, almost a whiplash effect, before the contemplative soloing of Bill Frisell over the peaceful “Catharsis”.” The fourth composition, “Nostalgia” opens with a nod to the main melody of “The Dunes Of Cahoon Hollow” (from “Suite #2), orchestrated for choir and monophonic synths before Jim Pugh (trombone) and Walt Weiskopf (tenor sax) take turns as instrumental narrators. Leonhart’s years with Pugh and Weiskopf as part of the Steely Dan horn section inspired him to choose them specifically for their expressiveness and personal experiences with loss. The final movement of the suite,“Acceptance” starts with Leonhart’s mother Donna singing a wordless melody over chamber strings. Leonhart utilizes gospel harmonies and a written soli over a soulful 6/8 groove to represent the peace and empowerment that come with the true recognition of personal heartbreaking loss.

“The Normyn Suite #2: (Love & Loss)” is a collection of six pieces Leonhart began composing in the final weeks of Normyn’s life, when she was physically too weak to walk and began to lose her appetite. Leonhart would bring her to the studio where she would rest in her favorite bag on top of the grand piano while he played and composed. The six pieces “May The Young Grow Old” (featuring Larry Goldings), “Waking From Sedation” (featuring Bill Frisell), “Freedom From The Pain”, “Unconditional Love”, “La Preghiera”, and “The Dunes Of Cahoon Hollow” take listeners on an dazzling sonic journey.

In addition to the two suites, the album features three songs co-written with Elvis Costello during the quarantine. There are two versions of “Shut Him Down” bookending the suites — one with Joshua Redman, playing his late father Dewey’s newly restored tenor saxophone for the first time on record, the other with Chris Potter on bass clarinet. Costello performs spoken word on “Radio is Everything”, featuring legendary guitarists Bill Frisell & Nels Cline who also co-wrote the songs with Leonhart and Costello. The final collaboration is the driving “Newspaper Pane”.

Two bonus tracks, “Kenny Dorham” and “Wayne Shorter”, present the debut recording of Leonhart’s organ quartet featuring Donny McCaslin. These two songs were initially composed as a birthday tribute to each of these jazz legends, two of Leonhart’s favorite small group composers.

The Michael Leonhart Orchestra developed its singular sound over the course of its monthly residencies at Jazz Standard, one of New York’s most prestigious jazz rooms. Pre-pandemic, Leonhart was steadily honing his vision there, with unconventional instrumentation and a shapeshifting community of sought-after players from a variety of cutting-edge scenes and disciplines. Leonhart’s approach to the MLO is informed by his many other activities and wide-ranging credits: he’s a top-level jazz trumpeter and longtime member of Steely Dan; a gifted and distinctive pianist; a singer, songwriter and film composer; a session player with credits including the Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson megahit “Uptown Funk“; an accomplished orchestrator (Nels Cline’s Lovers) and producer (Donald Fagen’s Sunken Condos, Sachal Vasandani’s Slow Motion Miracles). The polyglot musical worldview Leonhart has developed as a result stamps the MLO’s work at every moment. And the joy he gets from it is infectious.

Hailed as “a blazing hot mess of awesome” by The New York City Jazz Record, the Michael Leonhart Orchestra (MLO) traverses a huge swath of musical terrain, guided by the highly developed ears, ceaselessly omnivorous tastes and playful yet meticulous artistry of its leader, Michael Leonhart.

The Michael Leonhart Orchestra features a who’s-who of today’s contemporary musical talent including Keyon Harrold, Catherine Russell, E.J. Strickland, Freddie Hendrix, Eric Friedlander, Ryan Keberle, and more."

Anyone fancy going to the release show on April 10th?

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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

Post by Hawksmoor »

OK, so we've got...'Newspaper Pane' and 'Radio Is Everything' - non-essential in as far as they're the identical versions that we already have? Then two versions of 'Shut Him Down', one of which is new? Which is the version we already have - Joshua Redman or Chris Potter?
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Joshua Redman is on the new version, which can be heard here:
https://michaelleonhart.bandcamp.com/al ... myn-suites
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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And No Coffee Table wrote:Joshua Redman is on the new version, which can be heard here:
https://michaelleonhart.bandcamp.com/al ... myn-suites
Excellent, thank-you. So as far as my ears can tell me, Elvis' vocal is identical on both versions, and the only difference is the solo from around 2:45 onwards. They're both still great, and still both worth having, but from an Elvis completist's perspective, I don't think you're getting anything new on version 2. Both are already available on iTunes (or whatever iTunes calls itself these days - Apple...Google...Play...something...whatever) for 99p a throw.

'Newspaper Pane' and 'Radio Is Everything' sound - to me - like identical versions to Clockface, but it's possible that, undetectable to my ears, some remixing may have gone on.
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Review by Jim Hynes published in Glide Magazine on 24 March 2022:

" The Michael Leonhart Orchestra w/ Elvis Costello, Bill Frisell, Nels Cline & More Convene On ‘The Normyn Suites’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

If you’ve ever lost a dog, you can relate to the poignant stages of grief and reflection. Composer and bandleader Michael Leonhart does exactly that with his The Normyn Suites, inspired by the life and death of his 15-year-old dog, a female mini dachshund named Normyn. This requiem and celebration may seem relatively tame at first glance but offers an amazing 71 musicians and singers in the credits including collaborations with Elvis Costello, and contributions from Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, and JSWISS as well as two bonus offerings with Donny McCaslin. As one courses through this expansive list, we see such familiar names as Keyon Harrold, Chris Potter, Catherine Russell, E.J. Strickland, Freddie Hendrix, Eric Friedlander, Ryan Keberle, Larry Goldings, Cochemea, and many more.

Quickly, if you’re not familiar with the multi-talented Leonhart here is just a short glimpse of his many endeavors. He’s an elite jazz trumpeter and longtime member of Steely Dan; a gifted pianist; a singer, songwriter and film composer; a session player with credits including the Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson megahit “Uptown Funk“; an accomplished orchestrator (Nels Cline’s Lovers) and producer (Donald Fagen’s Sunken Condos, Sachal Vasandani’s Slow Motion Miracles). Leonhart’s multi-dimensional worldview shapes the unpredictable, versatile work of the Michael Leonhart Orchestra (MLO), with this, their third album.

Primarily the two suites read as an elegy, interspersed with other tracks which we will describe later. The first part is titled “The Normyn Suite #1: (Soundtrack to the Five Stages of Grieving)”, inspired by “The Kübler-Ross Grief Cycle”, a model introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. We must all be familiar with the sequence – Denial, Anger, Catharsis, Nostalgia, and Acceptance. For this five-part suite, Leonhart expands the MLO’s live performance configuration of brass, woodwinds and strings to include choir and percussion over gritty breakbeat drums. Leonhart creates emotional tension that he describes as “almost a whiplash” effect with the jagged horn parts, careening strings, and driving percussion in the first two stages before welcoming the calming notes of Bill Frisell soloing over lush, teeming strings in “Catharsis.”

The fourth composition, “Nostalgia” opens with a nod to the main melody of “The Dunes Of Cahoon Hollow” (from “Suite #2), orchestrated for choir and synths before Leonhart’s Steely Dan bandmates Jim Pugh (trombone) and Walt Weiskopf (tenor sax) deliver expressive statements, conjuring loss. The final movement of the suite, “Acceptance” starts with Leonhart’s mother Donna singing a wordless melody over chamber strings. Leonhart employs gospel harmonies from a ten-person choir and a floating theme over a soulful groove to evoke the peace that finally arrives at the final stage of loss.

“The Normyn Suite #2: (Love & Loss)” collects six pieces Leonhart began composing in the final weeks of Normyn’s life, when she was physically too weak to walk and began to lose her appetite. Leonhart would bring her to the studio where she would rest in her favorite bag on top of the grand piano while he played and composed. The six pieces “May The Young Grow Old” (featuring organist Larry Goldings), “Waking From Sedation” (featuring Bill Frisell), the choral “Freedom From The Pain”, soothing symphonic “Unconditional Love”, the dissonant piano-driven “La Preghiera”, and the echoing, spacious horns and choir in “The Dunes Of Cahoon Hollow” create a sonic journey that will evoke endless visual imagery and will leave listeners lost in dreamlike thoughts.

Now to the other compositions – the album features three songs co-written with Elvis Costello during the quarantine. There are two versions of the funky, percolating “Shut Him Down,” with Costello’s vocal prominent, bookending the suites — one with Joshua Redman, playing his late father Dewey’s newly restored tenor saxophone for the first time on record, the other with Chris Potter on bass clarinet with JSWISS rapping. Costello performs spoken word on “Radio is Everything”, which pairs guitarists Bill Frisell & Nels Cline, both co-writers with Leonhart and Costello. The final collaboration is the atmospheric, driving “Newspaper Pane,” listed as a bonus track, with both Costello and Frisell. Two more bonus tracks, “Kenny Dorham” and “Wayne Shorter,” serve as debut recordings of Leonhart’s organ quartet featuring tenorist Donny McCaslin aside Leonhart’s trumpet while the leader is also credited with organ, drums, and bass.

The Michael Leonhart Orchestra thrives on unconventional instrumentation, relatable themes, and highly sought-after players coming at this work from different perspectives to deliver a purposely uneven album. The Costello co-writes and the quartet features on one level don’t fit but add intrigue and contrasting tonality that amplify the emotional impact of the two cohesive suites."

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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/arts ... olsen.html

(…)

Michael Leonhart Orchestra featuring Elvis Costello, Joshua Redman and JSWISS, ‘Shut Him Down’

The Grammy-winning Michael Leonhart Orchestra converts itself into a crack studio band on “Shut Him Down,” the guest star-fueled opener to its newest album, playing a groove infused with the bubbling patter of Nigerian juju music. Elvis Costello takes center stage, rattling off a few shifty-eyed verses from the point of view of a man fighting a charge. Then the rapper JSWISS drops his own bars, toying with wordplay and internal rhyme, before the tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman carries things to a close. Always an effusive improviser, he threatens to blow the lid off this medium-boiling track, but ultimately plays along with the chill, jammy vibe. GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO

(…)
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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The record release show for The Normyn Suites is this Sunday, April 10, 2022 in New York City.
The Normyn Suites launch event April 10, 2022
The Normyn Suites launch event April 10, 2022
2022-04-10 MLOPoster_0_0.jpg (128.49 KiB) Viewed 11085 times
The show at Rizzoli Music Aperitivo will feature E.J. Strickland (drums); Joe Martin (bass); Robbie Mangano (guitar); Elizabeth Pupo-Walker (percussion); Freddie Hendrix, Jordan McLean and Carter Yasutake (trumpets); Adam Dotson (trombone); John Altieri (tuba); Donny McCaslin and Jason Marshall (saxophones); and Ludovica Burtone (violin).

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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Short video clip from the Launch event in New York on April 10, posted to Facebook by Julian Caldwell.

Should work for anyone with a FaceBook account:

"Shut Him Down".


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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Michael Leonhart posted this 28 second video clip to his own Instagram account:

Instagram

He wrote:

"We’re baaaaaaack!!

The #mlo took over the @rizzolibookstore in #NYC with a lil’ help from surprise guest @elviscostello

Having not been able to be on a New York stage with all these musicians for more than two years, It hit me yesterday how much I care for all the players in the orchestra, who get up there on stage for minimal $ and few (if any) rehearsals and follow me with fearlessness and passion into the “creative fire”.

Thanks to all of the fans who came out to the SOLD OUT record release show.
Many many more shows to come."

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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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Man out of Time wrote:Short video clip from the Launch event in New York on April 10, posted to Facebook by Julian Caldwell.

Should work for anyone with a FaceBook account:

"Shut Him Down".


MOOT
Shut Him Down (Live): https://youtu.be/gre-LFlMe4Q
Shut Him Down (studio version): https://youtu.be/RHUIiBfYus8
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Re: "The Normyn Suites" - Michael Leonhart - release date March 25, 2022

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https://www.hhv.de/shop/en/item/michael ... iss-973421

Michael Leonhart Orchestra
Shut Him Down Feat. Elvis Costello & Jswiss
17,99 €
Vinyl 7" | 2023 / EU – Original | New
Preorder shipping from 13.01.2023
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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