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My Funny Valentine by Alexander Dubovoy

From the album

Album Title: 恋愛至上主義 / Love Supremacism
Label: Adhyâropa Records
Released: 2025
Duration: 01:06:00

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About the Album

Following his first solo album, Portraits Drawn Without You, Alexander Dubovoy is proud to release his new solo album 恋愛至上主義 / Love Supremacism on Adhyâropa Records. It features innovative reinterpretations of jazz standards recorded by recording engineer (and frequent musical collaborator) Hans Bilger in February 2024 in Berlin.

The starting point for the album is 恋愛至上主義 (renaishijoushugi), a concept which Alexander first encountered in the Japanese television drama 「恋せぬふたり」(“Koisenu Futari”), a show that radically examines consent in relationships. 恋愛至上主義 translates in English to “love supremacism” (which includes perhaps an unintended allusion to John Coltrane). It refers to a pervasive social system in which romantic relationships are valued more highly than other types of human care or experience. Of course, these types of relationships are important for many people, but they may not be for others, and they are not the only valid way to structure one’s life. Though particularly repressive for those who do not fit into its relationship models, love supremacism affects us all. For example, many people who are in romantic relationships may not adequately prioritize their needs for friendship and other support.

Alexander had long noticed the outsize number of jazz standards written from a love-supremacist mindset. Particularly, many earlier standards that were written for musical theater epitomize 20th century US capitalist culture’s exploitation of romance for capital benefit. For this project, Alexander focused on selecting jazz standards, all of them old love songs, that he had had a hard time personally resonating with, often due to their saccharine treatment of love. The first of these “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” took on new meaning for him during the unprecedented monotony of the global COVID-19 epidemic. He continued arranging each piece to celebrate or reflect upon a type of non-romantic human care, ranging from familial love to friendship to metta, a Buddhist concept of loving kindness. The resulting arrangements dissect each piece, bringing out unexpected moments and new life from these old compositions.

The two compositions that perhaps do not fit into this mold are “Pannonica” by Thelonious Monk and “Ida Lupino” by Carla Bley. These composers have, however, influenced Alexander’s approach to ballad playing significantly enough that it felt inauthentic not to provide an homage to both of them.

恋愛至上主義 / Love Supremacism is part of a double release alongside the upcoming Don’t Hate the Potate, a collection of improvised miniatures recorded during the same chilly weekend in February 2024.

Tracks

I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face; My Funny Valentine; My Wild Irish Rose; What Is This Thing Called Love; Someone To Watch Over Me; The Nearness of You; My Foolish Heart ; Pannonica; Darn That DreamStella By Starlight; お湯 (Oyu); My One and Only Love; Polkadots and Moonbeams; Blame It on My Youth; You Don't Know What Love Is; Ida Lupino

Personnel

Alexander Dubovoy

piano

Date featured

April 11, 2025

This song appears by permission of the contributing artist and/or record company. It is for personal use only; no other rights are granted or implied.