In Review--Snow, Tulips & Harmony

-


The Wailin' Jennys
The Lincoln Theatre
Mount Vernon, Washington
Friday, April 18, 2008

 While tulips bloomed throughout the valley, snow fell from the April sky, and tourists crowded country roads, Winnipeg's The Wailin' Jennys set loose dazzling harmonies. The quartet's debut performance in Skagit Valley drew a capacity (sold-out) enthusiastic audience. The Jennys delivered one immaculate tune after another, with a few hearty side trips tossed in. I doubt anyone left The Jennys' Lincoln Theatre performance disappointed.

 Members of the Jennys', Ruth Mood (soprano vocals, accordion, banjo, guitar), Heather Masse (alto vocals & standup bass), Nicky Mehta (mezzo-soprano vocals, trap drum, harmonica, guitar) and Jeremy Penner (mandolin and fiddle) performed music--not easily categorized. Perhaps we can invent a new genre called human music. The musicians performed new work and traditional songs, as well as, favorites from their recordings, 40 Days and Firecracker. The women sung
a cappella and accompanied pieces with razor sharp intonation and perfectly calibrated harmonies.

 Some highlights include Ruth Moody's tribute to her parents (Heaven When We're Home), who drove down from Victoria for the concert, and Nicky Mehta's poignant Starlight with a narration of the tragic lyrics. Heather Masse showed off her jazz vocals on Lead Belly's Bring Me a Lil' Water Silvy and on Tiptoe Through The Tulips in which the women recalled The Andrew Sisters (and thankfully, not Tiny Tim). Heather also brought out some of her penned tunes, including one about driving a long ways across Upstate New York to visit her boyfriend (who decided to become an organic farmer).

 The encore is also worth mentioning which included the universal spiritual One Voice. A moment of silent anticipation was followed by a synchronized breath that launched the final song, (The Parting Glass), of an unforgettable concert on a memorable evening. The Wailin' Jennys with their charm, humor and vocal harmonies will be a hard act to follow. And of course there will be fans who will start a count down until these women return to the Lincoln Theatre's stage.

 thewailinjennys.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Peyote Songs & The Native American Church

-
Image
Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive from Nat
Read more

21st Century Musical Healer Series--Heather Hannan

-
Image
 Healing with Sound and Reiki Based in Toronto, Canada, Heather Hannan has proven with her own life healing experiences the enormous power of sound frequencies. She acts as a bridge between the mundane world (real estate) to other spiritual dimensions (past life regressions, quantum physics, Reiki, sound frequencies,  and other cutting edge work). I met Heather through my Linked In group Musical Healers and I'm delighted to include her work and insights on this blog. As you know, raising music and sound consciousness takes a world-size village of folks, just like Heather dedicating their lives to working with the healing power of sound.  Whole Music: When did you discover and begin exploring sound healing? Heather Hannan: Ten years ago I was at a crossroads in my life and looking for a group of like-minded people with whom to explore my gifts and talents through meditation. Little did I know that via the meditation group I joined I would be invited to
Read more

Talking about Timbre

-
Image
Wikipedia As I mention in my book Whole Music , when I was a child I fell in love with timbre and the voices of the individual instruments we listened to in music class.  Each instrument conjured a specific emotions or feeling in me.  The French horn caused me to feel majestic and the cello invoked melancholy.  My moods would shift with each instrument that I heard and my moods would shift quickly. Today, I listen to more than timbre, but I have an understanding of how tone, frequencies of the tone and timbre (the color of the tone) affect me on all levels.  And I wonder what listening to an entire symphony does with its many voices, themes, keys, musical passages etc... In the concept of "whole music" I prefer not to separate musical components, but in the case of this post, I will present solo instruments for your listening and feeling pleasure. If you keep a music journal (and I hope that you do by now), write down the emotions that come up with each instrument.  R
Read more