Pianist Yuja Wang and composer/conductor Teddy Abrams were classmates at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and had long wanted to work together. The sympathy shows in this 2023 Deutsche Grammophon release, which perhaps turned out even better than the performers had hoped. Abrams' 11-movement Piano Concerto is a standout among the jazz-flavored works that crowd American concert programs (and increasingly those beyond) every year. The work is neither simply swing jazz transferred to an orchestral medium nor a classical piece that uses jazz as a flavoring.

My Morning Jacket singer Jim James has teamed with conductor/composer Teddy Abrams and his Louisville Orchestra for a new collaborative album, The Order of Nature. The nine-track album features five new songs by James alongside two tracks off James’ sophomore solo LP, Eternally Even, (“Here in Spirit” and “Same Old Lie”) and two Nina Simone classics (“The Human Touch” and “Who Am I?”). James delivered acoustic demos to Abrams, who then turned the relatively minimalist arrangements into sweeping orchestral compositions that reflected the lyrics’ examination of nature and humanity. Speaking in a press release, James said the record reflects “on the fact that nature doesn’t know how to hate.” He continued, “Humans are part of nature, obviously, but why do we have this thing called hatred and how do we get rid of it? We’re fighting nature and thinking we can prevail over nature, but we’re killing each other and killing the planet.”