Dave Palmer Trio to Release Cy Coleman EP Featuring Gaby Moreno

Notable Music Company announced the November 6 release date for Dave Palmer Trio Plays Cy Coleman (Volume 1), a five song EP celebrating the enduring music of legendary composer, songwriter, and pianist Cy Coleman (1929 - 2004). The announcement arrives with the first single 'Where Am I Going?,' featuring Palmer's acclaimed trio with Joey Waronker and Reggie Hamilton alongside GRAMMY-winning vocalist Gaby Moreno, who brings her distinctive voice to the song originally featured in Coleman's Broadway musical Sweet Charity.

The EP finds Palmer bringing his own musical sensibility to Coleman's richly varied songbook, bridging the worlds of jazz, popular music, and Broadway. Known for melodies that balance sophistication with wit, romance, and emotional depth, Coleman wrote some of the most enduring songs of the American popular songbook, including 'Witchcraft,' 'The Best Is Yet to Come,' 'Big Spender,' and 'Hey, Look Me Over.' Palmer and his collaborators approach these compositions with a fresh perspective, honoring the character of the originals while making room for improvisation, individual expression, and the spontaneity of a jazz trio.

'It was such an honor to be part of this project, especially because Dave Palmer and I have known each other for over 15 years, yet somehow had never had the chance to record together,' says Moreno. 'I've admired his playing for so long, so finally meeting in the studio for this beautiful tribute to Cy Coleman felt truly special. I recorded 'Where Am I Going?' from Sweet Charity, and the timing made it even more meaningful, as I was right in the middle of my Broadway debut performing in the musical Hadestown. I was living and breathing musical theater every night, while getting to explore these wonderful songs through the language of jazz in the studio. Broadway and jazz are two worlds that have moved me deeply since I was a young girl living in Guatemala, and Cy Coleman brought them together so brilliantly. His songs are sophisticated and timeless, but they also leave so much room for interpretation and feeling. Getting to explore them alongside Dave and his incredible trio and bring a little of myself into that musical world was a real treat.'

The release also arrives at a notable moment for Palmer, whose work spans jazz performance, songwriting, production, and film composition. Next month, he will also see the theatrical release of I Play Rocky, director Peter Farrelly's new biographical drama about Sylvester Stallone's determination to write and star in the original Rocky. Palmer composed the film's score, continuing a creative partnership with Farrelly that includes The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Ricky Stanicky, Balls Up, and the television series Loudermilk. The two releases offer a snapshot of Palmer's range as a musician, moving between the intimate interplay of a jazz trio and the storytelling possibilities of a feature-film score.

'It's easy to imagine, in another life, pianist and arranger Dave Palmer and Cy Coleman becoming fast friends--sitting backstage or at a hotel bar talking about life, making music, adventures, ideas, and dreams, says Damon Booth, General Manager of Notable Music Company. 'The late, great jazz musician Coleman collaborated with some of the best lyricists of all time--many of them women--to create timeless standards and iconic Broadway scores. Early on in what would become a six-decade long career, Coleman was often called 'the last Gershwin.''

Booth continues: 'The playful and romantic phrasing of Cy's melodies ranged from 'Witchcraft,' 'The Best Is Yet to Come,' 'Big Spender,' and 'Hey, Look Me Over' to the downright hilarious 'Real Live Girl,' 'The Oldest Profession,' and 'There Is a Sucker Born Every Minute,' to the melancholy 'Why Try to Change Me Now,' 'With Every Breath I Take,' 'I Walk a Little Faster,' and 'Where Am I Going?' Cy's spirit comes alive in Palmer's playing, in his arrangements, and in the musicians and singers he has invited to collaborate with him. We hear a shared sense of fun, serious chops, a touch of mischief--and, in Dave Palmer's case, a certain Texas-born blues that he has brought to this songbook and into our lives for the past twenty years and counting. I believe Cy and Dave are kindred souls, certainly brilliant musicians, and I'm grateful that they have found each other, whether in this lifetime or the next.'

Tracklist

Where Am I Going? (ft. Gaby Moreno)

Seesaw

Wildcat

When In Rome (I Do As The Romans Do) (ft. Hilary Gardner)

A Moment of Madness

About Dave Palmer

Dave Palmer is a pianist, composer, producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, musical director, and arranger whose career bridges jazz, popular music, and film and television. A native of Texas who began playing professionally at 17, Palmer studied at the University of North Texas before building a career that has taken him from the concert stage to the recording studio and screen. His wide-ranging collaborations include work with Fiona Apple, De La Soul, Fleetwood Mac, Chris Isaak, Joe Henry, T Bone Burnett, AIR, and Madeleine Peyroux, among many others. His work on De La Soul's And the Anonymous Nobody… contributed to the album's 2016 GRAMMY nomination.

As a film composer, Palmer co-composed the score for the Academy Award-winning film Beginners and has collaborated extensively with filmmaker Peter Farrelly, scoring projects including The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Ricky Stanicky, Balls Up, and Loudermilk. His latest film score is for I Play Rocky, Farrelly's biographical drama starring Anthony Ippolito as a young Sylvester Stallone. The film follows Stallone's fight to bring Rocky to the screen on his own terms and opens in select theaters November 6, 2026.

About Cy Coleman

Cy Coleman (1929-2004), born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, was a composer, songwriter, and pianist whose work helped define American popular song and Broadway musical theater. A piano prodigy, he performed at Steinway Hall, Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall before the age of 10. After establishing himself as a jazz pianist and songwriter, Coleman became one of Broadway's most celebrated composers, known for pairing sophisticated, memorable melodies with a remarkable range of lyrical voices.

His long list of collaborators included Carolyn Leigh, Dorothy Fields, Michael Stewart, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and David Zippel. Together, they helped create a catalog spanning jazz standards, pop hits, and landmark musical theater scores. His Broadway credits include Wildcat, Little Me, Sweet Charity, Seesaw, On the Twentieth Century, Barnum, City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, and The Life. His compositions include 'Witchcraft,' 'The Best Is Yet to Come,' 'Big Spender,' 'Hey, Look Me Over,' 'I've Got Your Number,' and 'Where Am I Going?'

Over the course of his career, Coleman received three Tony Awards and three GRAMMY Awards, among numerous other honors. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received its Johnny Mercer Award, as well as the Richard Rodgers Award for Lifetime Achievement in American Musical Theater from ASCAP. Shortly before his death in 2004, he returned to his jazz roots by re-forming the Cy Coleman Trio, performing to sold-out audiences around New York City.

Photo Credit: Lisa Schaffer (Download High Res)