Pianist Lara Downes’ Timely New Album This Land Reflects On the Contrasts and Contradictions of American History (Out August 23/Pentatone)

Features Works by Paul Simon, George Gershwin, Arturo O’Farrill, Woody Guthrie (Reimagined by Kian Ravaei), Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. William Benton Overstreet, and Jake Heggie

Downes to Give the NYC Premiere of Rhapsody In Blue Reimagined on July 27 In Brooklyn Bridge Park; Free Concert Presented by St. Ann’s Warehouse and WNYC in Partnership with Headcount.org

Rhapsody for This Land Concert, Curated By Downes, Also Features Rosanne Cash, Christian McBride, Arturo O’Farrill, and Grammy Award-Winning Trio Time for Three

Listen to “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” Here: https://lnk.to/ThisLand 

July 12, 2024 —This Land, a new album from decorated American pianist Lara Downes, will be released on August 23 on Pentatone. Known for her uniquely expansive musical explorations, Downes' latest work is a powerful, soulful and probing reflection, at a critical American moment, on the diversity of stories and journeys that have converged and collided throughout history. In the course of nine tracks that range from traditional folk tunes to newly commissioned works, as well as a personal audio essay, Downes celebrates the beauty of the American experiment while offering an unflinching acknowledgment of its flaws and failings, ultimately embracing the power of hope and humanity as a pathway to common ground and a brighter future.

From Downes’ liner notes:

This land. It’s vast, around 3000 miles from sea to shining sea. A crazy quilt of irregular squares —dense cities, sprawling suburbs, and tiny towns. Mountains and canyons, deserts, forests and prairies, all stitched together along their seams by the rivers, the railroads and highways that move us around this land. It seems that we’re always on the move here in America, restless and roaming, following adventure and opportunity, looking for a place to call home, and seeking the road ahead. And in these travels, our history is here to guide us. Looking backward, we see the path that’s brought us to where we stand now, and then we turn and face forward, and walk on.

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling

And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling

The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting

This land was made for you and me

Today, Downes has released “There’ll Be Some Changes Made,” a beloved standard written in 1921 by the itinerant Black vaudeville musician William Benton Overstreet. Downes interprets this love-gone-wrong song as a commentary on the unpredictability of American life, making a nod to the past by sampling Ethel Waters’ original recording of the song for the Black Swan label. 

Listen to “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” here: https://lnk.to/ThisLand 

Downes to host album launch even at Joe’s Pub on September 26: https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2024/l/lara-downes/

This Land also features "Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined." This radical new centenary arrangement by the young Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón of  Gershwin’s 1924 classic reflects on an American century of immigration and transformation, honoring Gershwin’s vision of the “musical kaleidoscope of America.” Paul Simon's 1964 song “America” serves as a timeless anthem of exploration and soul-searching during various periods of national crisis and unrest. Michael Begay’s “Adéihozhdílzin/Know Who You Are” is influenced by his Navajo heritage, embodying his connection with his roots and his ancestral lands. In 2019, the young Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei wrote “Variations on This Land Is Your Land,” positioning Woody Guthrie’s iconic folk anthem as a reflection on the inequities and injustices of our own American era. The traditional ballad “900 Miles” becomes a personal reflection inspired by Downes’ late father's handwritten note about his own life journey from Harlem to San Francisco. Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.’s “Never Has Been Yet” quotes from Langston Hughes' poem "Let America Be America Again," with a powerful resolve to still realize the unfulfilled promise of our nation. 

Watch the album trailer here: https://youtu.be/sYnUr9aoEds

Downes will perform the New York City premiere of Rhapsody with a full orchestra on July 27 in a free outdoor concert titled Rhapsody For This Land: The American Odyssey In Music in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The concert, curated by Downes, is presented by St. Ann's Warehouse and will be broadcast live by WNYC as part of the station’s 100th anniversary celebrations. The program focuses on democracy and progress through music and features guest appearances by Rosanne Cash, Christian McBride, Arturo O’Farrill, and string trio Time for Three. Last year's St. Ann's concert at this venue, titled Fandango at the Wall, drew an audience of 5,000. Headcount.org will register voters at the event. More information on the concert can be found here: https://stannswarehouse.org/show/rhapsody-for-this-land/

Downes is also the creator and host of NPR video series Amplify with Lara Downes, featuring uniquely revealing artist-to-artist conversations with trailblazing Black musicians and cultural figures - including Jon Batiste, Rhiannon Giddens, Samara Joy, Allison Russell and Christian McBride. Season 4 made its debut in April and has so far featured Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brittney Spencer and John Holiday.

Downes’ Rhapsody In Blue Reimagined has earned praise and in-depth coverage from NPR Morning Edition, the Wall Street Journal, Gramophone Magazine, Apple Music, Grammy.com, WQXR, WNYC Soundcheck, WNYC All Of It, Your Classical MPR, NY1, Amsterdam News, Downbeat (“This is not your daddy’s Rhapsody”), San Francisco Chronicle and SF Classical Voice. Downes’ essay about Rhapsody in Blue reached over 10 million readers in the February issue of Hemispheres Magazine, the in-flight publication for United Airlines, which has featured Rhapsody in Blue as its theme music since 1980. She was also recently appointed the first ever Creative Partner of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, a position that spans artistic planning, performance, community engagement, advocacy, and education. Downes is the creator and host of Classical Americana, a new nationally syndicated radio program from KUSC/Classical California that explores the defining sound of American classical music and its historical roots. She is also a familiar voice on the radio throughout  California as the host of “Evening Music with Lara Downes ” on KDFC and KUSC. 

An iconoclast and trailblazer, Lara Downes’ dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, beloved media presence, producer, curator, arts activist, and advocate positions her as a cultural visionary on the national arts scene, dedicated to uncovering untold stories and celebrating unsung heroes in a total embrace of American music. She has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News, has performed a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR, has been a New York Times crossword puzzle clue, and has topped the Billboard Classical charts with several of her recent releases. 

Pre-order: https://lnk.to/ThisLand