The second installment of Emmet Cohen's Quarantine Jams series from 2020, featuring trumpeter and vocalist Benny Benack III performing New York, New York by John Kander. Taken at a moderate 121 BPM in E-flat with a swing feel, the tune's 40-bar AABAB' form provides an expanded structure. Benack contributes a partial-chorus trumpet solo, followed by Cohen's piano solo over a portion of the form. The performance has a relaxed, conversational quality suited to the informal streaming format of the Quarantine Jams series. Benack, known for his dual abilities as both a technically accomplished trumpeter and a skilled vocalist, brings his characteristic warmth to this quintessential New York anthem. The tune's association with Frank Sinatra gives it an inherent grandeur, but this trio-with-guest reading scales the arrangement down to an intimate chamber setting. As the second episode, this performance helped establish the Quarantine Jams as a regular series and demonstrated the range of repertoire the format could accommodate.
