Tag Archives: CD Review

“House of Many Rooms”: treat for the ears, feast for the soul

22 Wednesday Apr 2015

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Laila Biali - House of Many Rooms cover

From brass fanfare that opens “Shadowlands” to the plaintive closing notes of “Plainclothes Hero,” Laila Biali & the Radiance Project’s new CD, House of Many Rooms is a treat for the ears and a feast for the soul.

Biali, a Vancouver native who now calls New York City home, has played with Sting, Paula Cole and Suzanne Vega. Best known as a jazz pianist, House of Many Rooms is a musical departure for her.

But her fans can thank her husband, and CD co-producer, Ben Wittman for pushing her into recording the CD and sharing these songs with the world.

“He helped me silence the judges in my head,” says Biali in an Arts Connection interview to be broadcast in early May. “Releasing original music like this is sharing something that’s deeply personal and is a higher risk than putting out an album of cover material.”

And deeply personal it is, with songs that explore grief, loss, longing and expectation.

“Sparrow” was written for a friend’s sister whose twins were stillborn, where the pain comes through in the lines “But I can’t feel the kicking inside of me/In the space that my hands overlay.” Biali writes of her own reaction to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in “Shine” a lullaby-style tune which says “There’s shattered glass beneath our feet/The shards they cut like broken dreams.”

A friend’s battle with cancer is the backbone of “Plainclothes Hero,” while “Little Bird” is an ode to her son and “Home” is one of the best descriptions of Christian community I’ve seen: “This is home for all/You will not be rejected/All of perfect beauty reflected/In your face/In this place.”

House of Many Rooms has an indie-pop feel (one person I’ve shared it with says it reminds them of Hark the Herons – an indie duo which includes downhere bassist Glenn Lavender) with a solid cast of musicians, including Wittman, and vocalists, including the Toronto Mass Choir. “You” with its eerie Haken Continuum is reminiscent of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. And “Home” has roots in Biali’s jazz stylings with a steady rhythm section base underpinning the vocal and string arrangements.

Biali first conceived The Radiance Project about six years ago. And two years ago she entered the studio to begin recording House of Many Rooms. The final product has been well worth the wait.

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For more on Laila Biali & The Radiance Project got to http://theradianceproject.com/. And listen to the full interview with her on 94.3 Faith FM on Monday, May 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET (webcast on www.faithfm.org).

“Body & Soul: A Worship Collective” equals a theolgically-rich, musically-relevant music experience

24 Tuesday Mar 2015

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Body & Soul cover

In a blog recently brought to my attention worship leader Dan Cogan writes about his journey away from contemporary music. One of the reasons he cites for the change is that “the content of hymns is almost always vastly more theologically rich…

“Rather, the theology in the hymns is typically more sound or healthy than much of contemporary worship music. As I said earlier, contemporary songs engage our emotions more often, where the hymns engage our hearts by way of the mind.” (http://www.dancogan.com/my-journey-away-from-contemporary-worship-music)

To which I reply: have you listened to the Body & Soul: A Worship Collective CD?

Headed by Jeremy Zeyl, part of the folk roots trio Isabelle Gunn, Body & Soul: A Worship Collective is a theologically-rich, musically-relevant worship experience which engages the heart and soul as well as the mind and emotions. Recorded over two nights late last year at the Talbot Street Church in London, Ontario, the two-CD set features a worship team made up of musicians and singers from churches in London.

Some history is in order. Body & Soul has its roots in Jeremy’s 2013 CD Heidelberg: Songs from the Catechism, released in celebration of the 450th anniversary of the Reformed teaching. And one of the reasons for Heidelberg‘s release was to create a new body of worship material for churches to use.

Body & Soul is the latest step in Jeremy’s journey to bring theologically-driven music to the masses. While Jeremy may be the driving force behind the project, it truly is a team effort. Writing credits also go to Jeremy Jongejan (electric guitar), Janelle Lightbourne (vocals) and Brian Van Arnhem (bass).

While some contemporary worship music displays a theological shallowness, Body & Soul certainly doesn’t. What other contemporary worship songs recognize the imagery of the Old Testament Tabernacle with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (“Jesus Our Tabernacle”)? “The poignant “Lord, Are You There?” echoes the question many of us ask when life is difficult, while acknowledging that God is in the silence. And “Not My Own” is a musical version of the first question and answer in the Heidelberg catechism.

Musically the songs run the gamut from Jeremy’s folk-roots stylings (“They Were Waiting,” “I Am Not My Own”), country (“Nothing in Creation”) and gospel (“Jesus Our Tabernacle,” “Jesus My Red Sea”). The collective works well together, with no single person outshining the other. Highlights include vocalist Janelle Lightbourne’s rich vocals on “Jesus Our Tabernacle” and “Jesus My Red Sea” and lead guitarist Jeremy Jongejan’s work on “Nothing in Creation”.

Body & Soul doesn’t suffer from the production flaws many live CDs have. It’s a clean and crisp with a mix that melds the vocals and instrumentals into a cohesive whole. It’s truly a listening pleasure.

Whether you like songs that make you think while you listen to them or just enjoy excellent worship music, Body & Soul: A Worship Collective is for you.

For more on Body & Sould: A Worship Collective, check out http://www.bodyandsoulcollective.com/#body-and-soul-event

Lost & Found Theatre’s “Kimberly Akimbo” is funny, poignant and deeply moving

20 Friday Mar 2015

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Lost and Found Theatre - Kimberly Akimbo

One of my pleasures is live theatre and the Lost & Found Theatre company’s latest production, Kimberly Akimbo, is one of the reasons for my love of theatre.

The Kitchener, Ontario-based company doesn’t describe itself as a “Christian theatre company” even though most of the company’s core cast are Christians. But the works they choose to produce frequently resonate with Christian values and definitely look at the challenging and redemptive aspects of human relationships.

Kimberly Akimbo does just that. Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire’s play introduces us to a mother (Christy Ziss) about to give birth to her second child and worried about about diseases she’s never been diagnosed with; a rarely sober father (Andy Pogson) who constantly makes promises he never keeps and 15- turning 16-year-old, Kimberly who tries to navigate the turbulent waters of a budding teenage romance, a dysfunctional family (that also includes an aunt with a sketchy past) and her own mortality.

Cast as Kimberly, is Kathleen Sheehy portrays a teen who struggles with a rare condition that causes her body to age faster than it should. Faced with an uncertain future, she also has to cope with her parents avoidance (bordering on denial) of her condition despite her desire to live a normal teenage life. When her aunt Debra (Jennifer Cornish) shows up with a get-rich-quick scheme, Kimberly’s world falls apart as simmering family secrets boil to the surface in heated arguments and accusations.

And when the family secrets no longer remain secret, instead of ending the dysfunction, it serves to drive the wedge between Kimberly and her parents in deeper, forcing her to forge her own path and find her own happiness.

Thrown into the mix is a Jeff (in a stunning professional debut by Alten Wilmot), a geeky wannabe boyfriend who uses anagrams portray his true feelings. Using a school project as a ruse to get a chance to talk to Kimberly, the budding romance survives awkward silences, their own dysfunctional families and Kimberly’s overprotective father.

Kimberly Akimbo is funny, poignant and deeply moving, often in the space of a single line. It’s a must see.

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Kimberly Akimbo runs until March 28 at the Registry Theatre (122 Frederick St., Kitchener). For ticket details go to http://www.lostandfoundtheatre.com. (Warning: Coarse Language, 13+)

And check out Lost & Found Theatre’s Radical Hospitality initiative where a limited number of tickets for the Saturday, March 21 and Tuesday, March 24 will be available at no cost.

Guelph band transforms G.K. Chesterton’s poems into song

03 Tuesday Mar 2015

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Riddles and Creeds cover Those familiar with G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton probably know him for his apologetic works (Orthodoxy or The Everlasting Man) or fiction (Father Brown mysteries or The Man Who Was Thursday). Through the Nicole Ensing Band’s 2014 CD, riddles & creeds, you’ll soon learn about Chesterton the poet. Ensing, the worship ministry coordinator at Guelph’s New Life Christian Reformed Church, and producer Ross McKitrick, have transformed 10 of Chesterton’s poems (two songs on the CD are instrumentals) into outstanding songs. Transforming existing poems into song lyrics isn’t as easy as it sounds (I unsuccessfuly tried to do so with Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Break, Break, Break” after studying it in school). About half the songs were adpated by Ensing and McKitrick, with Ensing soloing on the adaptation on the other half and composing the music for all of the songs but “The Great Minimum,” where she teamed up with McKitrick. “A Child of the Snows,” “The Rolling English Road” and “The Aristocrat” are probably my favourite songs on riddles & creeds, but I don’t think there’s one bad track on the CD. Ensing, sings and plays piano, surrounded herself with a solid band of musicians for this project: Brian Bork (guitar), Sam Fitzpatrick (bass) and Joel Sypkes (drums – and is no longer with the band). The band seems to know when to keep instrumentation to a minimum (“The Great Minimum”) or turned up to 10 (“The Aristocrat”). If I had one quibble with the CD, it’s in the production. There’s often too much “space” between Ensing’s vocals and the rest of the music for my liking, which leads to her vocals getting lost in the mix. riddles & creeds is the perfect introduction to both the Nicole Ensing Band (http://www.nicoleensingband.com/) and the poetry of G.K. Chesterton.

 
 

Guitarist’s musical vision shines forth on new CD

17 Tuesday Feb 2015

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Jay Calder - Vision cover

For me, the test of a CD’s quality is how long I keep it in my van CD player. Jay Calder’s new CD, Vision, has passed that test.

My first experience with Jay was at a Couple’s Night Out event in Kitchener a few years ago. Jay was the “warm-up” act for the evening, which featured Alberta humourist Phil Callaway as the keynote speaker. I was awestruck by Jay’s intricate guitar playing and have been a fan ever since.

It’s a challenge to describe Jay’s music because much of what he does is unique in the musical world. Jay’s a solo artist who uses finger-picking, harmonics, open tuning and percussive strikes to make it sound like there’s more than one person playing. The closest comparator I can think of is Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) pioneer and virtuoso guitarist Phil Keaggy. But even that pales because Jay charts his own waters with his music.

Vision is a compilation of original songs, including the rollicking “Seer’s Jam,” the latin-infused “Sincelejo” and “Norah’s Grace;” and adaptations or arrangements like “Be Thou My Vision,” “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “Breath on Me Breath of God.”

My personal favorites are “The Cupbearer Forgot” based on the story of Joseph’s imprisonment (Genesis 40), “A Longing Fulfilled” and “Silent First Joy Night” a seamless weaving of “Silent Night,” “The First Noel” and “Joy to the World” into one incredible piece.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention veteran producer Roy Salmond’s influence on this CD. Jay describes Roy as “a Canadian treasure…and a monster musically,” assets which shine forth in the quality of the CD’s production.

Instrumentalists often get shortchanged because their music isn’t seen as being radio-friendly for most Christian stations. This is a shame because, as is the case with Vision, the music lifts the listener into the presence of God without lyrics getting in the way.  Get a copy of Vision and let Jay Calder’s music lift, encourage and edify you. You’ll find yourself coming back to it time and time again. I know I do.

Kev Morse’ “In the Blood” CD taps a musical vein to produce a gem

10 Tuesday Feb 2015

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Arts Connection - Kev Morse In the Blood CD cover

So tap into my vein/And strike the mother lode/it’s all in my genetic code/This is the way You’ve made me/It’s in my blood/It’s what I’ve made of. “In the Blood” by Kev Morse (copyright 2014)

The more I listen to this CD, the more I find in it to like. Kev Morse, a singer/songwriter from Milton, Ontario (just west of Toronto) has tapped into a musical vein and produced gems that run the gamut from folk, blues, R & B and rock.

Morse has been part of the central Ontario indie scene since his days with Greytown (whose single “My Life as an Office Clerk” found rotation on Much Music’s Indie Street). When not performing solo, Morse is also part of The Great Wooden Trio.

It’s his work as a singer, songwriter and guitarist that shines through his newest CD, In the Blood right from the up-beat folk-rock opening number “Happy Ever After” to the final number, the sweet duet “Trust of a Child.” Morse is a thoughtful songwriter, tackling subjects like commitment in marriage (“Happy Ever After”), prevailing through trials (“Smile”) and repentance (“Turn it Around”).

If, however, you’re looking for explicit Christian lyrics, In the Blood isn’t the CD for you. If, however, you want songs that look at life from a Christian perspective and convey the Truth thoughtfully and truthfully, then you’ll find yourself turning to this CD time and time again.

In the Blood is a true musical gem that sparkles with originality. Give it a listen.

(To listen to an interview where Kev Morse talks about the CD, check out: http://selawministries.ca/content/arts-connection-monday-february-9-2015-kev-morse-new-cd-blood)