This third album from London-based alto saxist Sam Braysher pays tribute to Kurt Weill by deftly navigating the composer’s lesser-known works.

From swinging jazz interpretations to contemplative pieces, Braysher showcases Weill’s range, from his earlier European classical influences to his later Broadway successes.

The album opens with ‘Here I’ll Stay’ from Weill’s penultimate stage work, Love Life, often hailed as the first concept musical. Braysher’s imaginative take on this classic ballad sets the tone, his warm playing emphasising Weill’s melodic genius. Featuring the supremely gifted vocalist Sara Dowling, the album includes three songs, beginning with ‘What Good Would the Moon Be?’ featuring lyrics by Harlem Renaissance icon Langston Hughes. This and ‘Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed’ are culled from Weill’s groundbreaking Street Scene, which earned Best Original Score at the inaugural Tony Awards in 1947. Braysher’s original composition, ‘Ships Adrift’, channels a Monkish melodic concept based on the changes of the beloved Weill/Ogden Nash standard, ‘Speak Low’. ‘Liebeslied’ from The Threepenny Opera highlights Weill’s knack for catchy melodies and unconventional harmonies.

Other standouts include the exuberant ‘The Right Guy For Me’, the introspective ‘Marterl’ in duet with pianist Matyas Gayer, and a Braysher/Dario Di Lecce duet on ‘Bilbao-Song’. Dowling shines on ‘That’s Him’, which nods to the great Abbey Lincoln version, while ‘This is New’ rounds out this album, a tune previously tackled by jazz luminaries including Chick Corea and Alan Broadbent.