The Order Of Nature Jim James, Teddy Abrams & Louisville Orchestra

• Jim James (b. 1978):
• 1 Walking In The Snow 03:47
• Eric D. Johnson (b. 1976) & Jim James:
• 2 Here In Spirit 04:22
• Charles Reuben:
• 3 The Human Touch 02:38
• Jim James:
• 4 In Demand 05:06
• 5 Back To The End Of The World 04:12
• Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990):
• 6 Who Am I 05:19
• Jim James:
• 7 Over And Over 03:52
• 8 Set It To Song 04:08
• 9 Same Old Lie 06:25
• Total Runtime 39:49

Info for The Order Of Nature

The Order of Nature: A Song Cycle is a tour de force that was years in the making and brings together two of the country’s most vibrant and versatile musicians in Jim James and Teddy Abrams.

James is an acclaimed genre-bending solo artist, passionate social activist and leader of legendary rock band My Morning Jacket. Abrams is the music director and conductor of the Louisville Orchestra and his dedication to working with bluegrass, rock and hip-hop musicians while debuting major new orchestral works has galvanized his adopted city.

Neither shies away from a challenge, and with The Order of Nature they’ve crafted a large-scale symphonic suite that has James’ evocative songs as its foundation. Abrams built a grand orchestral house on that foundation, and the result is an explosion of music that boldly synthesizes rock and classical while taking advantage of orchestral music’s inherently cinematic nature.

Lyrically, James takes a deep dive into issues vitally important to him in recent years, including equality and intolerance, human connection and acceptance. They all spin off of the suite’s central theme, which is James’ fascination with the absence of hate in nature. Animals kill each other, but only out of hunger, while humans daily choose hate — we ignore the order of nature and that choice is wreaking havoc.

“The core idea to me is trying to reflect on the fact that nature doesn’t know how to hate,” said James, a Louisville native. “Humans are part of nature, obviously, but why do we have this thing called hatred and how do we get rid of it?

“We’re fighting nature and thinking we can prevail over nature, but we’re killing each other and killing the planet.”

Friends since 2014, Abrams and James committed to this project in early 2017. Within months, James had provided Abrams with unadorned acoustic demos for a new batch of thematically-linked songs. He also picked two songs from his 2016 solo album, “Eternally Even,” and two favorites recorded by Nina Simone, whose deep humanity and spirituality have long been an inspiration. Together, they told his story.Abrams then spent months building a complex symphony in which the songs could breath, writing music that captures both the quiet drama of walking alone through a snowy landscape and the urgency of trying to steer a disrupted society toward kindness.

“What I did, which is highly uncharacteristic of me, is put my full faith in Teddy,” James said. “I was like, ‘I trust you and we’ll do this and have fun with it, and just hope that the spirits are with us.’

“For me it was very inspiring, and it was also inspiring to hear what Teddy wrote,” James added, “and I really enjoyed just giving him this seed of a song and just watching it flower.” Abrams said that James’ songs would, in the classical world, be considered minimalism. His goal was to retain their essence but deliver the opposite of minimalism; he wanted to turn James’ quiet demos into a majestic statement. Abrams used repeating motifs to weave the songs into a seamless whole and leaned on every color in the orchestra’s palette to capture the idea of nature in a way that’s frequently cinematic.

“A lot of the orchestration was trying, I think, in some form to convey that sense of what you might experience in nature,” Abrams said. “I remember thinking about the beginning of ‘Walking in the Snow’ and what would give you … that sense that you can only have when it's just you and the planet, and coming up with the perfect combination of instruments.”

Abrams said that James contributed ideas along the way, showing an instinctive understanding of orchestral techniques. It was also James’ idea to perform “Who Am I?” as a duet with Abrams on piano, making the song more emotionally naked while symbolizing their partnership.

The Order of Nature debuted April 6-7, 2018 as part of the Louisville Orchestra’s annual Festival of American Music, with attendees flying in from a dozen states and several countries. The second night’s performance is what you hear on this album, recorded in one take, no overdubs.

Jim James, vocals
Louisville Orchestra
Teddy Abrams, conductor

Jim James
has spent the better part of almost two decades as the lead singer and songwriter of My Morning Jacket. Through six studio albums, My Morning Jacket has grown into one of the most acclaimed rock and roll bands in the world. Alongside the band’s recording and touring, James has maintained a steady, bordering on voracious, flow of work. In 2009, he released the Tribute to EP, with his versions of six George Harrison songs. He has also lent his voice to albums by the likes of the Decemberists, the Roots, America, Booker T. Jones, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and recorded and toured with the Monsters of Folk—which teamed him up with Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis—and participated in the Woody Guthrie tribute album New Multitudes alongside Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, and Anders Parker. In 2013, James will release his debut solo album, Regions of Light and Sound of God. The album demonstrates James’ soulful songwriting, his captivating voice and showcases his talents as both a producer and engineer.

The Louisville Orchestra
under Music Director Teddy Abrams, performs more than 60 concerts annually throughout the greater Louisville metro. With a primary performance venue of the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts (501 W. Main, downtown Louisville), the LO offers a variety of orchestral concerts including music from the classical tradition, symphony pops, family concerts and a wide range of "cross-over" and non-traditional music of our time.

Founded in 1937, the Louisville Orchestra also serves our community through educational concerts -- both the beloved MakingMUSIC concerts for school children and a variety of ensembles and masterclasses offered in schools. The LO also performs with Kentucky Opera and Louisville Ballet annually.

The musicians of the Louisville Orchestra live and work in our community and many are active as solo and ensemble performers, as well as teachers.

Teddy Abrams
leads the Brown-Forman Signature Classics Series offers a variety of orchestral music from the famous war-horses, to new commissions.

The LO Pops Series is curated by Principal Pops Conductor, Bob Bernhardt and features an array of popular music.

based on the Classics Series, the Hilliard Lyons Coffee Concerts are shorter, Friday matinee performances.

The Harshaw Trane Family series is geared toward kids between 5-12 and their adults.

Republic Bank Music Without Borders Series brings great music into YOUR Neighborhood, in smaller venues like churches and community centers, we can bring the music to the people.

In the Film Series the LO will present popular movies such as Harry Potter and Star Wars on a 40-foot screen while the soundtrack is performed LIVE.

This album contains no booklet.