Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, John Morris Russell, Marcus Roberts, Modern Jazz Generation - Harlem Renaissance (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Ellington The Mooche
02. Ellington Harlem
03. Weill Lonely House from Street Scene
04. Johnson Yamekraw
05. Simons El manisero (The Peanut Vendor)
06. Ellington Sophisticated Lady
07. Handy St. Louis Blues
08. Simon Hellfighters' Blues
09. Calloway Are You Hep to the Jive

The Cincinnati Pops has announced the release of its newest recording, led by Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell, Harlem Renaissance, an homage to one of America’s most important artistic movements and the breadth of jazz styles it has nurtured. The album features piano virtuoso Marcus Roberts in his own arrangement of James P. Johnson’s 1927 piano rhapsody, Yamekraw, based on the music and vibrant culture of Savannah, Georgia’s historically Black neighborhood in the roaring 1920s. In the hands of Marcus Roberts, Yamekraw exists as a living dialogue between Johnson’s original composition and the musical styles that have evolved since. Harlem Renaissance features the jazz tone poem, Harlem by Duke Ellington, an evocative soundscape of Manhattan’s legendary neighborhood. The album also includes the first commercial recording of Carlos Simon’s 2024 composition, Hellfighters’ Blues, inspired by World War I bandleader James Reese Europe’s 1919 recording of W.C. Handy’s Memphis Blues.

“Harlem Renaissance honors extraordinary Black composers and their kindred spirits — painters, poets, authors, sculptors, and dancers — who together defined the ethos of 20th century American culture. We present these works not as museum-pieces but part of a continuum of style that continues to evolve a century later,” said John Morris Russell. “The album captures the nuance, power and virtuosity of the Cincinnati Pops, the thrilling and breathtaking improvisations of the Modern Jazz Generation and the sheer brilliance of Marcus Roberts and his trio. It was an absolute joy to perform these concerts live, and a delight to now share it with the world.”

Songs by Kurt Weill and Langston Hughes, Moisés Simons and Cab Calloway round out the album, and feature vocalists Mykal Kilgore and Tatiana Mayfield in orchestral arrangements representing a gamut of jazz styles by Rob Mounsey.

Seven-time Grammy award-winning recording producer and recent inductee into the Resonator Hall of Fame Elaine Martone continues her longstanding relationship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops as producer for Harlem Renaissance. Martone has collaborated with the Orchestra on more than 70 albums (Telarc and Fanfare Cincinnati labels), more than any other orchestra in her oeuvre.

Harlem Renaissance extends the Pops’ prolific recording legacy, which includes more than 100 commercial recordings that have sold millions of copies worldwide. Harlem Renaissance is the eighth Pops album led by Russell and continues a succession of albums that explore and celebrate the essence of American musical style. In 2015, the Pops released American Originals, which received widespread acclaim for its reimagining of 19th-century Americana, followed by the release of American Originals: 1918, a tribute to the birth of the Jazz Age, which received a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Classical Compendium” at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Other Pops albums with Russell include Home for the Holidays (2012), Superheroes! (2013), Carnival of the Animals (2014), Voyage (2019), and Joy! (2023).

Listeners can hear select tracks on the album beginning February 13 with Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady, February 20 with Ellington’s The Mooche, and February 27 with W.C. Handy St. Louis Blues. The entire Harlem Renaissance album will be available on all streaming platforms beginning March 13.

Harlem Renaissance is generously supported by gifts from Kelly Dehan & Rick Staudigel, Kathy Grote, Joan Wilson, Joe & Patricia Baker, and an anonymous donor.

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