For his starring
role in Netflix's groundbreaking first original series, "Lilyhammer,"
actor/musician Steven Van Zandt explored uncharted waters as a New York mobster
who flees to Norway under the witness protection program. In addition to acting
in, co-writing and co-producing the acclaimed show, the Rock and Roll Hall of
Famer also scored the music for most of the three seasons, where just like his
character, the musician best known as Little Steven of Bruce Springsteen's E
Street Band and an accomplished solo artist who helped pioneer the
rock-meets-soul sound, also delved into some terrain foreign to him: the worlds
of New York jazz and Norwegian folk music. For the first time, the music from
the show, which ended in 2014, has been collected together and will be released
as two separate albums – Lilyhammer The Score - Volume 1: Jazz and Volume 2:
Folk, Rock, Rio, Bits And Pieces – on CD, digital and 180-gram black vinyl on
July 12 via Wicked Cool/UMe. Starting today, "My Kind Of Town, Van Zandt's
spin on the Frank Sinatra standard featured on Volume 1, and his Tito
Puente-inspired mambo tune "Mojito" on Volume 2, are available for
streaming and immediate download with the corresponding preorder. A video of
"My Kind Of Town" featuring Van Zandt's performance of the song on
the show mixed with memorable scenes from across the series is available to
watch and share here:
https://UMe.lnk.to/MyKindOfTownVideoPR
The music of "Lilyhammer" was arranged and
produced by Van Zandt and recorded at his Renegade Studios in New York and at
various studios in Norway while in the midst of filming. It was recorded, mixed
and co-produced by Geoff Sanoff and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway
Mastering.
When Van Zandt was tasked with coming up with the music to
soundtrack "Lilyhammer," the veteran musician, songwriter and
producer who had pretty much done it all in the worlds of songwriting,
including dozens of albums, hundreds of songs, tracks for movies, a Broadway
musical, as well as music supervision and musical direction, had never scored a
television show and was up to the challenge. Knowing he wanted to create
something that combined New York jazz to represent his character Frank
"The Fixer" Tagliano with the Norwegian folk music of his exotic new
environs, he turned to friend and fellow E Street Band member Max Weinberg for
some advice on who could help him put a band together that could flawlessly
execute these two disparate genres. On Weinberg's recommendation, he enlisted
GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist, arranger and orchestrator, Lee Musiker, known
for his wealth of experience working with premiere artists in the jazz,
classical, Broadway, and pop genres, such as Mel Tormé, Kristin Chenoweth,
Wynton Marsalis, Buddy Rich and Tony Bennett, to help bring his vision to life.
Together they assembled the Interstellar Jazz Renegades, a loose collective of
some of NYC's finest musicians, led by Musiker and orchestrators Stan Harrison,
Raul Agraz and Adam Hochstatter.
Volume 1: Jazz collects together 13 of the best jazz
compositions from the show and features a mix of jazz standards, instrumental
score and original songs. Van Zandt provides vocals and channels the crooners
of yore on the jazz classics, "All Of Me," "Ring-a-Ding Ding!"
and the aforementioned "My Kind Of Town." Typically, the music
created for TV is short musical cues but Van Zandt took a different approach.
"I figured I've got some of the most talented musicians in New York City
so why waste them on 15 second cues," Van Zandt explains. "We decided
to have some fun. I'd meet Lee about an hour before the session and give him
the top line melodies, basic chord changes and structure and talk about the
overall mood of the piece. I wanted to try something different and get the musicians
creative input and let these guys who were used to always reading their parts
express themselves for a change. We would basically arrange it on the spot. I'd
suggest a harmony, Lee would suggest an idea and the musicians would begin to
orchestrate themselves. It was wild and extremely fruitful. After the success
of the first session I knew we had a legitimate jazz album in addition to an
incredible score."
Opening with the moody, evocative "Lilyhammer Nocturne
(Theme from Lilyhammer)," allowing listeners to hear the full song that
the theme song was developed from, the tunes range from the sensual ("The
Night Before", "I'm A Fool To Want You") and swinging ("My
Kind Of Town," "Rumble Island, "The Thief,") to the
mysterious ("Sorceress") and melancholy ("Gloomy Sunday").
An accomplished set of songs that harkens back to the greats like Henry
Mancini, Stan Getz and Nelson Riddle, the cinematic music transports you to a
dark, smoky jazz club somewhere in 1950's New York or in this case, Norway in
the late 2000s. The strength of the music, expertly performed by these veteran
musicians, both stands on its own as a cohesive jazz album and as a soundtrack
for fans who want to relive the great jazz music of the show.
Volume 2: Folk, Rock, Rio, Bits And Pieces is a wildly
eclectic affair that gathers together 36 tracks from the show, ranging from
short music cues to full songs spanning across a dizzying array of genres.
Opening with the broadcast version of the theme song "Lilyhammer
Nocturne," the song begins as a swinging jazz tune and then deftly segues
into Norwegian folk music illustrating the collision of two cultures. Van Zandt
fully embraced the Nordic country and integrated traditional Norwegian folk
instruments into his musical arsenal to create an authentic sound for the show
which was filmed in Lillehammer, Norway and watched by nearly one fifth of its
population. Highlights of the folk songs include "Revelation,"
"Lillehammer Mourning" and "Baptism." On "Toboggan
Negotiation," Van Zandt, who played guitar on all but one track on the
collection, injects a hard-strummed acoustic guitar into an otherwise
traditional sounding folk song, creating a unique hybrid.
The pieces span the globe and musical history, ranging from
the Ennio Morricone-esque "African Dawn," to the Eastern sounds of
"Tandoori Epiphany" and "Dance of the Persian Serpent," to
the symphonic rock of "Painted Angels," to the bluesy "Espresso
Martini," to the surf rock of "Killer Surf" and the Latin jazz
and mambo of "Stevie Colada and "Mojito." On "Out Of The
Darkness," Van Zandt revisits his 1983 song and transforms it from a
stadium rock anthem into a bittersweet instrumental with a Norwegian flavor
while "Favella" conjures up images of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro. Overall
it showcases both the breadth of the extraordinary and ambitious music that Van
Zandt created for the show and his immense talent as a songwriter, arranger,
musician and musical chameleon.
"I'm really proud of 'Lilyhammer' and the music I
created for it," says Van Zandt. "This was especially rewarding
because it gave me the chance to finally do a score completely. This was a full
commitment, I loved doing it and experimenting with sound and putting it to
pictures and seeing what effect it has. It was a lot of fun, I'd love to do
more of it."
Lilyhammer The Score: Volume 1 and 2 come on the heels of
Little Steven's highly acclaimed just-released new album Summer of Sorcery, his
first album of original material in 20 years. Created with his 14-piece band
the Disciples of Soul, the album's 12 songs capture the energy, excitement and
electricity of summer, and is an exuberant mix of rock n' soul. Hailed by
Rolling Stone as "the most eclectic record he's ever made… it largely
dispenses with protest songs and revels in the rock, soul and R&B of his
Sixties youth," the album was called "a nostalgic New Jersey
starburst of sex and soul," by Uncut while American Songwriter enthused,
"Steven, his musical director Marc Ribler and veteran mixers/masterers Bob
Clearmountain and Bob Ludwig, pull out all the stops to make this sonic
smorgasbord explode out of the speakers with passion and clout. Few artists
have the financial means or artistic vision to pull off a thunderous production
like this which is impressive in its scope and sheer booming audio
audacity."
Having played two rapturous record release shows in Los
Angeles and New Jersey, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul are currently
bringing the songs of Summer of Sorcery to life on tour in the UK and Europe.
The band will kick off the first leg of their North American tour at the end of
June and then head back to Europe in August for more shows. They will return to
the US in September for a tour that will culminate at New York City's Beacon
Theatre on November 6. As always, teachers are welcome to all shows for free.
Each show will be proceeded with a teacher's development workshop demonstrating
how to incorporate Van Zandt's TeachRock music education curriculum into the
classroom. For more information, visit teachrock.org
LILYHAMMER: THE SCORE TRACK LISTINGS
VOLUME 1: JAZZ
1.Lilyhammer Nocturne (Theme from Lilyhammer)
2.My Kind Of Town (vocal)
3.The Night Before
4.Rumble Island
5.Sorceress
6.I'm a Fool to Want You
7.All Of Me (vocal)
8.Blue Midnight
9.The Thief
10.City Lights
11.Gloomy Day
12.Ring-A-Ding Ding! (vocal)
13.The Morning After
VOLUME 2: FOLK, ROCK, RIO, BITS AND PIECES
1.Lilyhammer Nocturne (Theme from Lilyhammer – Broadcast
Version)
2.Revelation
3.African Dawn
4.Lillehammer Mourning
5.Baptism
6.Toboggan Negotiation
7.Curiosity
8.Sunset
9. Sunrise
10.Gregorian Papyperm
11.Elegy for Sally Boy
12.Grampa Lento's Song
13.Tandoori Epiphany
14.Out of the Darkness
15.Wolf Hunt
16.Dance of the Persian Serpent
17.The Minstrel Boy (vocal)
18.Painted Angels
19.Espresso Martini
20.Stevie Colada
21.Mojito
22.Sex Ghost
23.Wired
24.Bliss
25.Jobim Paranoia
26.Out of the Clouds
27.Sylfast is Dead
28.Alex and Johnny
29.Lonely Girl
30.Killer Surf
31.Favella
32.Tommy's Run
33.Bond of Brothers
34.Sigrid Kills
35.Ibsen Interrupted
36.Massage Tattoo
LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL
SUMMER OF SORCERY WORLD TOUR 2019
MAY
24 - London, UK - O2 Forum Kentish Town
26 - Derbyshire, UK - Bearded Theory Festival *
28 - Berlin, Germany - Huxley's
30 - Jelling, Denmark - Jelling Muiskfestival *
JUNE
1 - Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
3 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
5 - Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
7 - Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique (AB)
9 - Emmen, The Netherlands - Hello Festival *
11 - Zurich, Switzerland - Kaufleuten
13 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
15 - Bilbao, Spain - Music Legends Festival *
17 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Apolo
20 - Kragujevac, Serbia - Arsenal Festival *
23 - Paris, France - La Cigalle
SUMMER OF SORCERY TOUR - NORTH AMERICA 2019
JUNE
29 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Blues Fest *
JULY
2 - London, ON - London Music Hall
4 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Bluesfest *
6 - Quebec City, QC - Festival d'été de Québec *
8 – Montreal, QC – L'Olympia
10 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Theatre
12 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
14 - Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
16 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall
18 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
20 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
22 – Middletown, NY – Orange County Fair
24 - Richmond, VA - The National
26 - Easton, PA - State Theatre Center For The Arts
28 - Annapolis, MD - Outlaw Jam *
SUMMER OF SORCERY TOUR - EUROPE 2019
AUGUST
3 - Notodden, Norway - Notodden Blues Festival *
5 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
7 - Warsaw, Poland - Stodola
9 - Erfurt, Germany - Gewerkschaftshaus
11 - Hanau, Germany - Amphitheater
13 - Nuremberg, Germany - Serenadenhof
17 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg
21 - Manchester, UK - O2 Ritz
23 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
25 - Oxford, UK - O2 Academy
27 - Newcastle, UK - O2 Academy
29 - Cardiff, UK - Tramshed
SEPTEMBER
2 - Vienna, Austria - Arena Wien
SUMMER OF SORCERY TOUR - NORTH AMERICA 2019
SEPTEMBER
5-8 - Las Vegas, NV - Big Blues Bender @ Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino *
9 - Ventura, CA - The Majestic Ventura Theater
11 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre
13-14 - San Diego, CA - Kaaboo Del Mar *
15 - Tucson, AZ - The Rialto Theatre
17 - Englewood, CO - The Gothic Theatre
19 – Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads
22 - Louisville, KY - Bourbon & Beyond *
29 – Austin, TX @ Emo's Austin
OCTOBER
1 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
3 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
5 – Memphis, TN –Soundstage at Graceland
7 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage Theater
13 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew's Hall
15 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live
17 – Burnsville, MN – Ames Center
19 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
21 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre for the
Performing Arts
23 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
26 – Cleveland, OH – Masonic Auditorium
28 – Des Moines, IA – Hoyt Sherman Place
30 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
NOVEMBER
2 – Medford, MA – Chevalier Theatre
4 – Warrendale, PA – Jergel's Rhythm Grille
6 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
* FESTIVAL APPEARANCE
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