Mandy Patinkin - Diary: April/May 2018 (2018) [Hi-Res]

The second in a series of musical installments from Tony and Emmy Award–winning singer/actor Mandy Patinkin and pianist/producer Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman)—Diary: April/May 2018—is out today on Nonesuch Records. The digital release's fourteen songs were recorded by the two musicians in Bartlett's New York studio in the spring of this year. Diary: April/May 2018 is available in the Nonesuch Store, iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube, all via mandypatinkindiary.com. A Tom Kalin–directed video for the album track "From the Air" by Laurie Anderson can be seen below.

The fourteen tracks of this second Diary entry include three Randy Newman songs, two by Patinkin himself, and one track each from Laurie Anderson, Keren Ann, Bob Dylan, Patty Griffin, Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Taylor Mac, and Stephen Sondheim. This fall, Patinkin will perform songs from the Diary series with pianist Adam Ben David in New York City, Palo Alto, Honolulu, and Australia; details may be found at nonesuch.com/on-tour. Patinkin and Bartlett plan to reconvene soon to record another collection of songs for a third Diary volume.

Patinkin, who has played CIA agent Saul Berenson on Showtime's Emmy and Golden Globe Award–winning Homeland for the last seven seasons, recently received his fourth Emmy nomination for the role (the awards are this Monday, September 17). The eighth and final season of Homeland begins filming in January 2019. Patinkin has released six previous albums on Nonesuch; the most recent were 2002's Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim and Diary: January 27, 2018, released earlier this year.

As Patinkin explains, "After thirty years my musical collaborator, Paul Ford retired. I wasn't sure if that meant I would have to as well. But my dear friend Bob Hurwitz [of Nonesuch] introduced me to Thomas Bartlett, who introduced me to an entirely new way of making music … in his studio, hours of playing, singing, and recording, never searching for the illusion of perfection." He continues, "We've decided to share our music making journey with you, in the form of a Diary. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for listening."

Mandy Patinkin is well known for his portrayal of Inigo Montoya in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride. He most recently played Irwin in Dan Fogelman's Life Itself, which opens September 21, 2018. Patinkin's other film credits include Yentl (1983), Alien Nation (1988), Dick Tracy (1990), Wish I Was Here (2014), and Wonder (2017), among many others. In addition to his role on Homeland, he has appeared in major roles in television series such as Chicago Hope (Emmy Award), Dead Like Me, and Criminal Minds. Patinkin is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim and is acclaimed for his work in musical theater, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park with George and Che in the original Broadway production of Evita (Tony Award). Additionally, Patinkin has been passionately involved in volunteer work with various NGOs throughout his life, and currently travels the world with the International Rescue Committee, spending time with refugees and raising awareness of their plight.

Thomas Bartlett, also known as Doveman, is an American pianist, singer, and producer. He has worked with many Nonesuch artists—including Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, David Byrne, The Magnetic Fields, Nico Muhly on Peter Pears, Mandy Patinkin, and Chris Thile—as well as Sufjan Stevens, Glen Hansard, The National, St. Vincent, Father John Misty, Rhye, Florence + The Machine, The Gloaming, Martha Wainwright, and others. Born in Vermont, Bartlett studied piano in London with Maria Curcio.