Theme song for the musical Rise! about the life of Abraham Lincoln
My current project - for now and the foreseeable future - is writing a musical. It is about the life of Abraham Lincoln and it is called Rise! Go to the Rise! page for updates. I expect it to be capable of performance by sometime in 2028 - musicals are extremely difficult to develop because there are so many elements. A final date and venue for a staged reading (complete with music - no scenery/no dancing/limited casting) will be set soon and it should occur in the first half of 2027 - I expect to have specifics soon - stay tuned! For those unfamiliar with musical development, a staged reading is a necessary step in the development and gives the input needed for the script, the songs, and the overall pace of the musical prior to moving to a full production (or sometimes, a second staged reading). It is done with minimal instrumentation (probably piano and a few songs with additional backing tracks for Rise!)
The songs on this page are in pretty good shape and worth a listen. Rise! (The Lost Speech) - The theme song for the musical is fully orchestrated. The opening song is a Chicago Blues Shuffle called Billy's Barbershop. Additionally, With Malice Toward None (words from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address inscribed on the Lincoln Memorial) is reasonably well produced (it does not have the ‘chorale’ feel here that I hope to give it during a production). Two other songs to this page that are in pretty good shape are Smart (although the lyrics have changed quite a bit from what I have in this demo) and Brother Abraham (and the lyrics on that song are evolving quite a bit). Go to the Rise! page to hear demos for all of the songs - there are about 25 in total (depending how you count them.)
The opening song for the musical.
Lyrics based on Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech in March 1865
The show finale
A guitar instrumental album - called ‘A Nice Little Guitar Album’ is out Amazon Music, Apple Music, etc. (It is not on Spotify as it was removed - a long story about mistreatment of small artists trying to do legitimate marketing.) It features 8 original compositions plus 2 cover songs (Classical Gas and Solsbury Hill). You can listen to it here for free!
Love Song for You received a Finalist Award in the Instrumental Category in the Song of the Year Songwriting Contest! https://www.songoftheyear.com/winners_2024c.htm
A Nice Little Guitar Album
Andy Jaske
Guitar Instrumental Album
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