Includes liner notes by Jim Bessman.

The name Kurt Weill tends to conjure up images of dark, smoky cabarets in equally dark, smoky European cities. The connection is not undeserved. While this classically trained cantor's son embraced a myriad of musical forms throughout his career, it was in popular music and theater that he found his greatest success. Collaborations with contemporary playwrights, notably Bertold Brecht, added a dark perspective to his works, which began to incorporate thinly-veiled, slightly subversive social and political commentary.

Tribute is paid to the man behind "The Threepenny Opera" in the performance film SEPTEMBER SONGS. Modern takes on his compositions, such as PJ Harvey's cold, brooding "Ballad Of The Soldier's Wife" and David Johansen's "Alabama Song" are coupled with those of veteran Weill interpreters Teresa Stratas and Lotte Lenya. Nick Cave's characteristically aggressive "Mack The Knife" contrasts with Brecht's version from 1930. Betty Carter's vocal acrobatics help make "Lonely House" even more heartbreaking, and Elvis Costello's "Lost In The Stars" is an intimate, passionate homage. Closing with William S. Burroughs's "What Keeps A Man Alive?," SEPTEMBER SONG gives new voice to one of this century's most vital and truly modern composers.