Canadian pianist Jackie (Jacqueline) Leung came across the piano music of American composer Alvin Singleton during the pandemic, while she was part of a mentorship program with Toronto’s Continuum Contemporary Music. At the time, she expressed interest in performing music by composers outside the standard canon to broaden her repertoire. She then searched for piano music focusing on composers of colour. As she browsed the Schott publisher catalogue, Singleton’s music immediately grabbed her attention.

“I could only see previews of the scores, but something about them spoke to me,” she says. “The writing looked interesting, rhythmic and challenging, and I felt that it was music I could connect with.”

Jackie Leung (photo by Shayne Gray)

Such curiosity inspired Inside Out, Leung’s debut commercial recording, released by Albany Records this September. The album features Singleton’s solo piano works and two chamber pieces, reflecting years of study, performance, and partnership. Leung hopes it will help new listeners discover his music.

Leung’s experience with Singleton’s music developed over time. When she mentioned her interest during the mentorship, she was later invited to record some of his works for Continuum’s Press Play digital episodes. Some of these performances were the first recordings of those pieces, and Singleton listened to them himself.

“He was very encouraging,” Leung recalls. “Hearing that he enjoyed my interpretations fueled further motivation to keep exploring his music.”

She continued learning more of his piano pieces, including Mutations, which had not been performed often since its premiere decades ago. The more she played, the more she became interested in learning more of his piano music. Eventually Alvin suggested that she record his published piano output.

“When I first encountered the music, I knew very little about him beyond what I could read online and see in his scores,” she says. “Over the years, by studying more of his music, familiarising myself with his solo piano output and many of his other compositions that extend beyond solo piano, along with having had many conversations with him about his music, I feel that I have deepened my understanding of his piano music so much more.”

Through those conversations, Leung learned that Singleton’s background in both jazz and classical music shapes his unique style, which she came to see as one unified musical language.

Alvin Singleton (photo by Jo Eldredge Morrissey)

“You can hear the influence of improvisation everywhere,” she explains. “Even when every note is written down, there is still that sense of freedom. Once I understood that, I began hearing connections between all of his works.”

Even though Leung and Singleton have been working together and corresponding for years, they plan to meet in person for the first time this Fall. Their collaboration has happened through phone calls, emails, recordings, and many conversations about the music. “Although Alvin had already placed his trust in me to record these pieces, I still wanted to play the pieces for him before I went to the studio, as I wanted to ensure that my interpretations were in line with his musical intentions. So I sent him some home recordings before I hit the studio to give him an idea of my interpretations, and he was always happy with what he heard.”

Their collaboration extends beyond performances. Singleton reviewed her program notes and suggested the album’s title, Inside Out. “The title Inside Out,” she said, “was perfect, as he suggested at my request. To me, it reflects the idea of improvisation, where one must understand something inside out to improvise on it. Improvisation is evident in most of his notated music, either explicitly through guided improvised sections or implicitly through the character of his compositions.” He also helped select the cover photo. “Basically, I consulted him whenever I was stuck on an idea, and for both the album title and cover, he provided suggestions I thought were perfect. The cover shows a younger Alvin. Many of the works on the album are from his past, starting when he was a much younger composer, and I felt the photo was ideal, especially since he was sitting at the piano in the photo.”

A special part of their collaboration happened when Singleton asked Leung to edit a new engraved edition of Mutations. Before that, the score only existed as a handwritten manuscript.

“There were some notes/accidentals that needed clarification in the handwritten score. I interpreted what I thought was his intent and confirmed that he was happy with that. Therefore, I made these changes into the digitised score. Otherwise, I was responsible for checking that the engraver had notated his music digitally correctly according to the interpretation/intentions of the handwritten musical score.”

For Leung, this recording means more than just a new album with some contemporary pieces. ” Ultimately, my goal is to bring Alvin’s music to more people,” she says. “I hope this album becomes a place where listeners and performers can begin exploring his piano music.”

Leung has started learning Singleton’s newest piano sonata and plans to keep performing his music in future concerts. Whether she makes another recording or not, she sees Inside Out as simply the beginning of a much longer journey.

“I hope more pianists will play this music,” she says. “If this recording helps people discover Alvin Singleton and inspires someone else to program his works, then I feel I’ve accomplished something worthwhile.”

Inside Out
Composed by Alvin Singleton
Solo works performed by Jackie Leung, piano
Inside Out (for four hands): Jackie Leung (primo), Erica Murase (secondo)
Greed Machine (for Vibraphone and Piano): Jackie Leung (piano), Ryan Scott
Released by Albany Records
Release date: September 4, 2026

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