Photos: SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT VOL. 3 Album Release Concert at Sony Hall

Jaime Lozano & The Familia are back making joyous music with their new album, Songs By an Immigrant: Volume 3, now available anywhere you stream your music. They celebrated its release with an August 25 concert at Sony Hall. Lozano is an expert at capturing all of the many facets of the immigration experience in 21st century America through song, through nuanced emotions, great big feelings, and plenty of heart. If you’re unfamiliar with Lozano’s work, he’s a Mexican-born musical theater artist described by Lin-Manuel Miranda as the “next big thing” on Broadway. His band, “La Familia,” is composed of a few brilliantly talented musicians who are like a second family to Lozano. Their fluent playing is a testament to that connection.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see Lozano and his band play live several times, and they’re a wonder to behold. This new album captures that spirit of indomitable energy and heart for you to call up and listen to no matter where you are. The album features a range of songs with lyrics written by talented lyricists, working in English and Spanish, and a vocal cast of Broadway stars including Florencia Cuenca (Real Women Have Curves), Mayelah Barrera (Much Ado About Nothing), Didi Romero (Six), Ana Villafañe (On Your Feet!), Robin De Jesús (In The Heights), Krystina Alabado (Mean Girls, Hazbin Hotel), Tamar Greene (Hamilton), Aline Mayagoitia (Real Women Have Curves), Max Mendoza Crumm (The Connector), Joel Perez (Fun Home, Hazbin Hotel), and Mexican Regional singer Xavier Zazueta, among others, and joined by an amazing 18-piece band with some of the best musicians in New York City.

It opens with “Regalos” (lyrics by Georgie Castilla), an ebullient song about everything the speaker would give to his loved one if he could. Lozano writes in the liner notes that he had his wife, Florencia Cuenca, in mind, but it works just as well imagining a parent singing to a child, or really in any situation. Every track on the album is unique, a standout in its own way. Didi Romero sinks her teeth into a poignant, hopeful “Far From Home” (lyrics by Neena Beber). “Libre” is another jubilant song of hope, featuring lyrics in Spanish by Lozano and English by David Davila, with vocals by Linedy Genao. One especially touching track, "Because of You," is a tribute to the musical theater giants who inspired Lozano to write his own music. Lozano co-wrote the melody with Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), one of his own musical heroes. The lyrics are co-written by Lozano and Georgie Castilla. Max Mendoza Crumm's vocals embody the perfect note of awe, gratitude and adoration. Lozano's wife, Florencia Cuenca, a vocal powerhouse, sings a deeply touching song, "Hoy Voy a Cantar," with music by Lozano and lyrics the couple wrote together, from a show called DESAPARECIDAS (The Missing Ones) that "explores the strategic erasure of female voices in the fight to end gender-based violence and the disappearance of women and girls, especially in México."

Throughout the album, Lozano and his lyricist partners successfully make the specific universal, and vice-verse, using their own experiences to create a wide-ranging tableau that anyone can relate to. Even if you’ve never experienced immigration yourself, this album allows you to slip into that world. In a political time that seems defined by a complete lack of empathy, this album is a balm. I think Stephen Mosher said it best: “where Jaime and The Familia go, love leads the way.”

Below, see a set of photos from the August 25 album release concert taken by Rebecca J Michelson, and make sure you stream the album to experience it for yourself. Learn more about Jaime Lozano and his other upcoming projects and shows on his website at www.jaimelozano.net