Itzhak Perlman said this is not something he's ever done before: record music from a songbook. It's music that's been meaningful to him throughout his life.
Songs like the first single, "Summertime" from George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," featuring pianist and singer Jon Batiste. It melds classical mastery with the improvisational delight of jazz.
In a release, Perlman said, “Jon Batiste is a lot of fun. He’s terrific." “He’s a wonderful improviser, and playing with someone like that was exciting because every take was a little different. That’s the beauty of making music together; you follow the inspiration wherever it leads.”
Perlman also features singer Josh Groban on "The Way We Were: My American Songbook," which includes music by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, and Jerome Kern among other titans of American song.
Perlman said he approached the performances as a singer would, because several of these songs come right from the Great American Songbook.
The album also features a special duet with the late Ella Fitzgerald on "Someone to Watch Over Me."
The release comes ahead of Perlman's 2026-27 tour, which will take him to three venues in Florida next March.
He's scheduled to appear with pianist Rohan De Silva in Miami on March 4, 2027. In Naples on March 11, 2027, and in West Palm Beach at the Kravis Center on March 16, 2027.
Closer to home, he will be at the heart of the Perlman Music Program Suncoast Winter Residency later this year.
You can find details on that at the PMP's website.
