Deluxe Version of Latest Album West of Broadway Includes 11 Additional Demos, Alternate Takes & New Music
On January 23, Rachael & Vilray—Rachael Price (also of Lake Street Dive) and guitarist/songwriter Vilray Bolles—are releasing an expanded, deluxe version of their acclaimed 2025 album, West of Broadway (Concord Jazz).
“Five months since its initial release, what a thrill to give West of Broadway the deluxe treatment,” says Vilray. “The original 10 tracks are joined by 11 intimate demos and a never before heard song called "One Wonders Why." I hope these additions offer new perspectives, and deepen the enjoyment of this album.” Listen to the original album here, The deluxe version will be streaming HERE on January 23.
"One Wonders Why" was great fun to bring to life,” adds Vilray. “Inflected with latin rhythms and the playing of guests Ben Rosenblum on accordion and Jason Burger on percussion, it stands a bit apart from the other tracks on the West of Broadway sessions. Riding in a cab to the recording studio, I listened to every song on the Bossa Nova classic Getz/Gilberto to find an arrangement. "Só Danço Samba" with its vocal melody, instrumental solo, modulation up for a second solo, and instrumental recapitulation of the melody in the new key seemed perfect! In many ways it's my favorite Rachael & Vilray recording yet.”
The deluxe version also features a duo version of the single “Love Comes Around (the bridge studio version)." Listen here, and watch the live performance. To help kick off the West of Broadway era, Colbert sat in with the duo on The Late Show for the song “Off Broadway.” Watch it here.
An exquisitely out-of-time vision of their beloved New York City, West of Broadway was inspired by Vilray’s new love of classic musicals—namely Sondheim and Company. “I can even tell you what neighborhoods in New York these characters come from,” says Price. “Their jazzy verse-trading and Five-Borough banter could make Guys & Dolls’ Nicely-Nicely Johnson and Sky Masterson green with envy,” writes JazzTimes.
Since their formation in 2015, Brooklyn-based duo Rachael & Vilray have achieved a certain timeless quality with their singular take on traditional pop. Like all of the duo’s output to date—including their 2019 self-titled debut, hailed by NPR as “Tin Pan Alley meets the Lower East Side in a smoky bar,” and its 2023 follow-up I Love A Love Song!—the album finds Rachael & Vilray working with arranger Jacob Zimmerman and producer Dan Knobler.
Recorded at Sear Sound in New York City, West of Broadway features saxophonist Steve Wilson (Chick Corea’s Origin sextet) and drummer John Riley (Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie). “Instead of attempting to recreate a big band section with a smaller number of musicians, I wanted to get a little wild and slightly weird with the instrumentation and trust that it would make for an interesting record,” says Vilray, who composes all of Rachael & Vilray’s material.
“Going into the studio, there was a bit of a question as to whether we could bring together all these different elements that aren’t really connected, like West Coast jazz and Broadway musicals and all the crazy characters and flavors within the songs,” says Vilray. “But it showed us that even if the themes don’t feel unified at first, they’ll feel unified by the end—just as long as you’ve done your work, and you’ve got a room full of great musicians to knock the whole thing out of the park.”
“There’s so much imagery in the lyrics,” says Price. “I think a fun way to listen to the record would be to go for a walk and let the songs play out like a little movie in your mind.”
West of Broadway debuted at #1 on the Traditional Jazz Chart and #12 on the Billboard 200: Traditional Jazz Chart.
