New York Festival of Song: My Brother's Keeper
NYFOS Records

Having recently read Steven Blier's From Ear to Ear, the NYFOS Artistic Director's illuminating 2025 memoir, I've gained an enhanced appreciation for not only the remarkable life the indefatigable pianist has led (which includes being a faculty member at The Juilliard School and collaborative pianist for Jessye Norman and Renée Fleming but also being met with a muscular dystrophy diagnosis at the age of thirty-seven and dealing with the profound life challenges it incurred) but also the incredible amount of work that goes into the creation of NYFOS's album projects. Between the moment of conception to eventual staging, recording, and release, years pass as set-lists are finessed and care given to performers, arrangements, and track sequencing. Mirroring the panoramic range of Blier's musical taste, the albums NYFOS has issued on Bridge Records, Koch, New World Records, GPR, and, since 2022, its own NYFOS Records have encompassed remarkable ground. Testifying to that breadth, recent releases include Mi País: Songs of Argentina (2023) and 2025's Grammy-nominated Schubert/Beatles.

The company's latest, My Brother's Keeper, could be regarded as a natural outgrowth of 2023's Black & Blue, which partners Blier with dynamic tenor Joshua Blue. In keeping with the Black Brotherhood theme of the new album, Blue's joined by fellow tenor Chaz'men Williams-Ali; baritones Will Liverman, Joseph Parrish, and Jorell Williams; and bass-baritone Alan Williams on an diverse set extending from Brahms and Margaret Bonds to William Grant Still, Richard Rodgers, and others. The six vocalists deliver solo and ensemble performances with piano support from primarily Blier but also Liverman, Parrish, Williams, and Williams-Ali, in some instances the singer supporting himself on piano. Recorded live in November 2024 at Merkin Hall at NYC's Kaufman Music Center and co-produced by Blier and Justin Austin, the fifty-five-minute release offers a tremendous account of the vocal artistry of these singers and is a terrific addition to the NYFOS Records discography.

There are highlights aplenty in the collection, which comprises twelve songs and Bonds' Three Dream Portraits song cycle. It's consistently strong, though its second half might be stronger for the inclusion of two stunners, Liverman's treatment of “Some Enchanted Evening” and Williams-Ali's equally riveting rendition of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.” To introduce the album, the vocalists gather for a lustrous tribute to a cappella group Take 6 by delivering its arrangement of the traditional “Come Unto Me” and giving heartfelt voice to its message of support and encouragement to those struggling with life's burdens. Composed in 1959, Bonds set Three Dream Portraits to poems by Langston Hughes that explore social justice, resilience, and identity. With Blier accompanying, the three songs are delivered by Liverman (“Minstrel Man”), Parrish (“Dream Variation”), and Williams (“I, Too”), respectively, each baritone distinguishing Bonds' material with emotional expressiveness and invested performances.

The vocalists rest for Williams' “Americana,” which the composer and Blier play as a powerful blues-inflected duet for two pianos and as an affecting reimagining of the African-American spiritual “Go Down, Moses” (Williams was inspired to create the work after George Floyd's tragic death in 2020). The album's stylistic range is reflected in a bold, full ensemble treatment of Steve Lutvak's “Beware the Anger of Soft-Spoken Men” that swings with jazzy vocal flourishes and soulful harmonies. Accompanied by Blier, Blue stars on H. Leslie Adams' “Sence You Went Away,” a song not about romantic separation per se but rather the heartbreak that comes when incarcerated men separate from their families. Set to the poetry of James Weldon Johnson (author of the lyrics to “Lift Every Voice and Sing”), the song's an anguished expression of longing and bitter reflection on precious time lost. Indicative of the rich span covered by the project, My Brother's Keeper finds room for both a playful ensemble recasting of Brahms' Die Schwestern (“The Sisters”) as Die Brüder (“The Brothers”) and a charming treatment of Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter's sultry “Sylvie.”

A rousing rendition of Harry Revel's “Guiding Me Back Home" by Williams-Ali and Parrish is a highlight, as is Williams' performance of Rachel Peters' uproarious crowd-pleaser “Santa Ain't Black.” That sets the stage for Liverman, accompanying himself on piano, and his spellbinding version of Richard Rodgers' “Some Enchanted Evening” and Williams-Ali's towering take on Bobby Scott and Bob Russell's "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.” Famously a 1969 chart-topper for The Hollies, the song was also recorded by Donny Hathaway, whose iconic version arrived two years later. Williams-Ali honours Hathaway's memory with his own show-stopping, gospel-inflected treatment, which in his arrangement augments his stirring tenor (and piano) with the ensemble. As the solo and ensemble performances reveal, the vocal talent featured on the release is top-drawer, but the project's value extends beyond its many musical rewards. As Blue notes, “My Brother's Keeper is a testament to the indomitable spirit of community between Black men in America,” while Liverman describes the opportunity to sing its songs as “both uplifting and profoundly fulfilling.” Certainly the material in this thoughtfully curated presentation honours all involved for its timely celebration of unity and brotherhood.

June 2026