"Sister Orchid" (Palmetto) is not the first time quirky singer-songwriter Nellie McKay has turned her attention on an album to the songs of others. That distinction belongs to 2009's "Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day." On 2015's "My Weekly Reader," she sauntered through the 1960s. For "Sister Orchid," McKay applies her unconventional interpretive skills to a set of jazz standards, with fragrant results. The subtly bubbling organ on opener "My Romance" gives the song a lighthearted texture. Much of the album has a pleasing, airy Blossom Dearie quality, particular on "Small Day Tomorrow," "The Nearness of You," "Lazybones," "Everything Happens to Me" and "Willow Weep for Me."
Broadway belter Mandy Gonzalez steps out on her own on "Fearless" (East West), her debut EP. Gonzalez wisely chose to bracket the disc with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (the title track, "Breathe" from "In the Heights"). She also performs a bluesy rendition of "Que Sera, Sera" and a respectfully country-tinged cover of "Life Is Sweet," co-written by Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland.
Terrible album cover aside, "Back to my Roots" (Broadway) by Kate Rockwell, now on Broadway in "Mean Girls" as Karen Smith (the Amanda Seyfried role from the movie), is a pretty good record. Rockwell, in possession of a powerful set of pipes, performs a selection of well-known contemporary Broadway show-stoppers including "Unexpected Song" (from "Song & Dance"), "Buenos Aires" (from "Evita") and "What You Don't Know About Women" (from "City of Angels"). The array of songs written by queer composers is noteworthy, including the Sondheim blend "I Know Things Now You Know" (from "Into the Woods" and "Merrily We Roll Along"), Finn's "I'm Breaking Down" and "The Games I Play" (from "Falsettos"), Herman's "Song on the Sand" (from "La Cage Aux Folles") and Ashman's "Somewhere That's Green" (from "Little Shop of Horrors"). The hidden track, about being a dog lover, is an added bonus.
Recorded more than 20 years ago, "Music From Man of La Mancha" (Concord) by renowned jazz pianist Eliane Elias is only now getting an official release. Co-produced by Elias and the late Mitch Leigh, the man who composed the music for the Don Quixote Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha," the album offers listeners a new way to experience familiar songs from the show, including "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)," "Dulcinea," and of course, "The Impossible Dream."
The awkwardly-titled "The Fiddler Expanding Tradition" (Broadway) is another album of instrumental interpretations of songs from a beloved Broadway musical. In this case, it's "Fiddler on the Roof," and the performer is Kelly Hall-Tompkins, the violin soloist from the 2015-16 revival of "Fiddler." The 12-track album features Hall-Tompkins performing favorite songs from the show including "Matchmaker," "Wedding Dance," "Do You Love Me?," "Miracle of Miracles" and "Sunrise, Sunset" (joined by Danny Burstein, who played Tevye in the production).
"If I Were a Rich Man" also makes an appearance on "Prince of Broadway: Original Broadway Cast Recording" (Ghostlight). The revue features songs from 15 Broadway musicals, including "West Side Story," "Damn Yankees," "Follies," "Cabaret," "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Sweeney Todd," "Company," "Evita" and "Fiddler on the Roof," that had the touch of director-producer Hal Prince, who turned 90 in 2018. Performers include Chuck Cooper, Tony Yazbeck, Emily Skinner, Karen Ziemba and Bryonha Marie Parham.