Songwriter, Author, Educator, President of Jazzheads
Black Swan Blues
inspired by the ballet “Swan Lake”
Music by Randy Klein
Book and Lyrics by Joan Ross Sorkin
The concept developed by Joan Ross Sorkin and Randy Klein
New York, NY - Jazzheads, the NYC- based music label, proudly releases the concept album for the new musical Black Swan Blues, composed by Randy Klein, with book and lyrics by Joan Ross Sorkin. This album, with its blues-infused score and memorable songs, promises to captivate audiences with its story of love, racial injustice, and redemption, set in the sultry ambiance of New Orleans, 1963. “Black Swan Blues - The Concept Album” is also a giant step in the development of the musical, one that will energize its listeners to clamor for a full production.
The Story and Selected Songs
Inspired by the story of the iconic ballet “Swan Lake,” Black Swan Blues follows Shep Chandler, an idealistic journalist from privilege who falls in love with Ori Fontaine, a street-wise member of The Swans, a mixed-race singing group at The Black Swan, a blues club on Bourbon Street. When the lovers meet secretly at the levee, Shep (Tony-winner Christian Hoff) and Ori (Tony-nominee Lilli Cooper) sing the very liftable love song “Anything Can Happen” with its heartfelt message of living your dream. Yet sometimes love needs a little New Orleans voodoo magic, and they get that from Papa Legba (the incomparable Jerry Dixon) who sings “That’s The Way It’s Always Been,” with its visceral R&B rhythms, with Richard Baskin, Jr. James Jackson, Jr. and Kwame Michael Remy as a tight, cool-sounding backup trio. Velvet (powerhouse Aurelia Williams), the impresario of The Black Swan, sings two knock ‘em dead numbers: “This Boy” with its haunting reverie, and “Black Makin’ Babies With White” with its pulsating rhythm that communicates the torment and heartbreak of this story about race and white privilege in America.
Shep’s racist mother, OLYMPIA, is portrayed by the eloquent Broadway and cabaret star Karen Mason who sings “If Grayson Were Here,” wishing her deceased husband could be there to guide their son Shep away from the dangerous course he has set for himself. To add a note of levity to the show, “The Kangaroo,” led by Melody Bowers (Broadway’s Jillian Louis) could spawn a new dance craze, if not here, then in Australia!
At the top of Act II, in a split scene, one of The Swans, Jasmyne (the brassy “full-of-attitude” Soara-Joye Ross) leads a fun, blues-grooved club number, “Doin’ It My Way - Do It For Love," and Papa Legba and his Voodoo Trio follow by singing a hypnotic melody to urge Ori to follow her love. Later in the act, after Velvet’s voodoo spell has torn the lovers apart, Velvet has a nightmare, which comes to life in a colorful and powerful musical scene. “Truth Is Gonna Set You Free,” sung by the company, takes the listener from the depths of hell to Mardi Gras to the initiation of Shep into the Ku Klux Klan, and finally to the ghost of Velvet’s beloved husband Jack, who implores her to admit to the voodoo spell she placed on Ori. After a shocking plot turn at the end of the show, the company sings the final inspirational anthem, “Hope.”
The Journey
Recording this album turned out to be a yeoman’s job. The recording was made prior to any public reading of the show, so it is a credit to the star power, energy and sheer talent of the cast, led by Christian Hoff, Lilli Cooper, Aurelia Williams, Karen Mason and Jerry Dixon. All of the vocalists bravely rehearsed and recorded the album in the summer and fall of 2021, smack in the middle of the pandemic. Special precautions were taken to isolate the soloists along with socially distancing the ensemble singers throughout the rehearsal and recording process. Countless hours were devoted to mixing the vocals and mastering the recording to create a fully integrated sound.
TRACK SETUPS
1. My Rock, My Strength, My Hero – The opening number is sung in a New Orleans cemetery by family and friends at the funeral of the well-to-do Grayson Chandler. The voodoo god Papa Legba and his Voodoo Trio appear and there is a struggle for Grayson’s soul.
2. Anything Can Happen – This is a love duet between the show’s main characters, Shep and Ori, on the night they meet.
3. Voodoo On You – Velvet and The Swans entertain on the stage at The Black Swan, a blues club on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.
4. A Better World – Shep longs for a more just world. This song has been cut from the score and replaced by a new song, “I’m Not That Southern Boy.”
5. Black Makin’ Babies With White – Velvet, Ori’s real mother, tells Shep what kind of man his father really was by parodying Grayson Chandler’s hate of Blacks, especially Blacks who marry whites and have children who pass as white.
6. That’s The Way It’s Always Been – Papa Legba and his Voodoo Trio declare that their mission is to promote love.
7. The Kangaroo – “The Kangaroo” is a new dance craze, and Shep’s high school flame leads the dance at his 21st birthday party.
8. This Boy – Velvet sings about how Shep brings up painful memories of the past, and she convinces herself to keep Ori away from Shep.
9. We’re Not The Same – In this duet, the break-up song between Ori and Shep, they realize that they are not on the same wave-length after all. Some lyrics and line assignments have been changed and the song has been moved to the finale of Act I.
10. Doin’ It My Way – Do It For Love – At the opening of Act II Jasmyne and The Swans (without Ori) entertain on the stage of The Black Swan, following Shep’s birthday party. The song segues to Papa Legba and the Voodoo Trio who visit Ori and enter her subconscious to encourage her to follow her love.
11. Livin’ A Lie - Upon learning that Velvet is her real mother and that she is half-Black, Ori is furious that Velvet has kept this secret from her and that she has been passing as white her whole life.
12. Truth Is Gonna Set You Free – Feeling guilty for putting a spell on Ori, Velvet’s nightmare comes alive in a disturbing panorama. In a large musical scene, Velvet wanders through hell and all the people of her life haunt her. Finally, she realizes that only truth will set her free.
13. If Grayson Were Here - Olympia wishes that her dead husband were here to guide their son and steer him away from his liberal leanings. This song has been cut from the show, and a new song has been written for this character.
14. Hope – This final anthem is sung by the company, urging them to continue to fight for justice and equality, despite the uphill battle.
15. Anything Can Happen (Pas de Deux) – This musical number will accompany Shep and Ori’s dance through the streets of New Orleans as their romance blossoms.
Jazzheads - KK7060 – 009819706028 - Total Time – (55:37)
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