When Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Conductor John Morris Russell decided to release the orchestra’s first live recording, he couldn’t have chosen a more fitting cast of collaborators. Drawing in artists like Roseanne Cash, Aoife O’Donovan, Over the Rhine, Dom Flemons and more to celebrate the music of Stephen Foster, widely regarded as the father of American music, Russell led the impressive group in a 17-track live recording of selections from the Great American Songbook. The release, entitled American Originals, is due out this week.
“These songs are ‘classic’ in every way,” said Russell in a recent press release. “They have stood the test of time and are still sung in anthems, pop songs and covers across the country and around the world, though often folks have no idea they were created by a man who died unrecognized and penniless at the age of 37.”
Watch Cincinnati Pops Orchestra perform “Camptown Races” along with Cash, O’Donovan and more in the player above. American Originals is set for release on Sept. 11.