Rachael & Vilray: Live Performance and Discussion of 'West of Broadway'

"West of Broadway" Album Inspiration

• 💡 The album "West of Broadway" by Rachael & Vilray features original songs inspired by the American songbook, classic Broadway showtunes, and West Coast jazz.
• 🎶 The duo draws inspiration from composers like Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hart, blending these influences into their unique sound.

The Art of Scatting

• 🎤 Rachel Price explains her lifelong journey with scatting, starting with memorizing Ella Fitzgerald's solos.
• 🧠 She emphasizes that understanding musical vocabulary and improvising over chord changes, as taught by John McNeil, is key to developing scatting skills.
• ✨ Despite years away from scatting, Price finds joy and a sense of childlike wonder when performing it with Vilray.

Blending Broadway and Cool Jazz

• 🎷 Vilray describes Broadway music as versatile, capable of incorporating rock, jazz, or opera influences.
• 🌴 He highlights West Coast cool jazz as a dense, melodic approach, citing Miles Davis's "Birth of the Cool" as a benchmark for its spooky, fluid, and emotional qualities.
• 🎭 Both artists find inspiration in the lyricism, melodicism, and humor found in classic musicals, particularly Stephen Sondheim's work.

Character-Driven Songwriting

• 🎭 Rachael & Vilray's songs are described as character studies, requiring the singer to embody specific personas.
• 🎶 Examples include a woman wooing a man with a quirky charm and someone mistaking a tortoise for a vanished lover.
• 🎙️ The vocal delivery often reflects a late 1950s jazz sound, with Price channeling artists like Sarah Vaughan.

Collaboration and Musical Evolution

• 🤝 The duo's musical partnership evolved after an initial attempt didn't work due to Vilray's rustiness after a break from music.
• 🚇 Vilray's subsequent busking in the subway helped him regain his musical footing, leading to a successful reunion with Price.
• 🌟 Price was drawn to Vilray's performance of obscure jazz tunes, finding a fresh emotional connection to the music she grew up with.

"Off Broadway" and Special Guest

• 🎤 The song "Off Broadway" features a collaboration with Stephen Colbert, born from a conversation at his birthday party.
• 🎭 The song humorously contrasts the perceived negatives of Broadway (tourists, pickpockets, bad theater) with the appeal of "off Broadway" or "going west."
• 🎶 The arrangement, including xylophone by Warren Wolf, adds a playful, cartoony element to the song.