The Whole Music Experience

Iver Kleive Requiem Kirkelig Kulturversted It's not that I want to end the year listening to a requiem and in the past couple of months, I have listened to two of them. Norwegian pianist/organist/composer Iver Kleive composed a Requiem for the death of his son, Alexander, for the victims of the attack on the Twin Towers of September 11, 2001 and also the fallen in Iraqi war. "Based on requiem text in Latin, it is composed for choir, organ, and two soloist." Requiem was recorded in Ljubljana, Slovenia last spring and was released during the fall. Although the work here which includes the illustrious choral voices of the Oslo Bach Choir, Mimas chamber choir, APZ Tone Tomsic, soloist Marianne E. Andersen (mezzo soprano) and Trond Hallstein (baritone) and booming organ, it is not an easy listen. As you would guess the music falls in a minor key with many descending lines and often times the organ takes on a dissonant journey. The music might feel cathartic to so...

Celtic Woman 3 (Ireland) compilation Hearts O' Space/Valley Entertainment Celtic Woman 3 lends itself well to those people who like to unwind themselves once and awhile. Fabulous vocalists including Mary Black, Kate Power, Margaret Brennan, Lucy Champion, Dolores Keane and others, sing ballads strung over an ambient and mystical backdrop. The end result could be used during a massage session or for an afternoon relaxation break. Although enchanting and beautiful this collection of songs does fall on the sleepy side. I was hoping for some jigs or reels--for some kick since I mainly suffer from low energy. I find that this CD works best for relaxation and not for energy-building. I also find that I prefer to listen to this recording in the evening when I am winding down rather than in the morning when I am trying to jumpstart my day. Although it might add tranquility to a peak hour traffic commute. This recording would also make a fine soundtrack for a long journey by train...

Stella Chiweshe (Zimbabwe) Double Check (Two Sides of Zimbabwe's Mbira Queen) Piranha Musik Formerly posted on Cranky Crow Whole Music I am currently reading about the medieval woman mystic Hildegard von Bingen so I find myself drawing comparisons between the German prophetess Hildegard and the contemporary Zimbabwean Queen of Mbira, Stella Chiweshe. These two women share many commonalties including hearing songs or possessing a knowingness during their respective childhood. Both women encountered life-changing experiences around the age of 8 and both women pursued paths forbidden for the women of their time or culture. In the press notes for Stella Chiweshe's 7th recording, Double Check, on the German label, Piranha Musik, Chiweshe wears the label of mystic and the words, "spiritual" or "inspiration" pop off the page when others attempt to describe her. Which only proves you can't keep a good woman down and as history would prove again and again, ...

Aage Kvalbein & Iver Kleive Julemeditasjoner (Christmas Meditations) Kirkelig Kultverksted (KKV) The Norwegian Girls Choir with Kari Bremnes Julens Hjerte (The Heart of Christmas) KKV I received two Nordic holiday recordings, Christmas Meditations and The Heart of Christmas in the mail a few days ago. I wasn't sure that I would have much time to listen to them until I slipped a disc in my neck and had to rest for a couple of days. Fortunately, for me, the repertoire on both recordings lent itself well to relaxing. I have enjoyed the music too even though I normally do not listen to holiday music. This year however is a little different because I moved to a small town which is currently decked for the holidays. We also experienced a bit of snow this morning and well, it kind of gets you in the mood. Cellist Aage Kvalbein pairs up with pianist Iver Kleive (two regulars on the KKV label) to bring us a collection of meditative holiday songs. The collection incl...

R. Carlos Nakai with Udi Bar-David Voyagers Canyon Records Although you don't hear about it in the evening news, alternative or otherwise, musicians play a key role in the peacemaking process across the planet. Navajo-Ute flutist R. Carlos Nakai pairs up with Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David in a cross cultural conversation that includes Middle Eastern modes and scales, classical and jazz music, as well as, Native American flute. In fact, the theme of the recording, Voyagers speaks a Universal language that reminds us that no matter our race, culture or religion, we are essentially all one people. R. Carlos sums it up in the liner notes, "Separate beings, separate voices, one mind, one dream--human. The social issues of race, color, culture, religion, etceteras all become meaningless defiles and encounters when the interpersonal communication is the language of music..." So I ask you, why do we not see or hear about peacemaking musicians in the news? Why do we only he...

Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat   Songs From a Persian Garden   Kirkelig Kulturverksted In 2004 an intriguing CD with the ironic title, Lullabies from the Axis of Evil arrived in my mailbox. Produced by Erik Hillestad for the Norwegian label, Kirkelig Kulturverksted, the recording married the voices of western women with the voices of women from the "Axis of Evil" countries (as dubbed by President Bush in a State of the Union address). The women sang lullabies from their respective countries and while the women such as Lila Downs, Eddi Reader, Sarah Jane Morris, Nina Hagen and Kari Bremnes were the famous names at the time, the vocalists from some of the East countries appear to be gaining international recognition. KKV also released recordings by the Palestine vocalist and composer, Rim Banna to critical acclaim and now two sisters, vocalists from Iran debut in the West. Similar to Banna, Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat sang lullabies on the Axis of Evil CD and in fact, the...

Terence Blanchard A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) Blue Note So many natural disasters have occurred after the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Yet, with each storm, each flood, each drought or other catastrophic event, we have the opportunity to further awaken ourselves. We can ask ourselves what we can do to live in balance with the planet. And we also need to ask ourselves what we are willing to sacrifice or jettison in order to live in balance? One thing we don't want to do is to turn our backs to musicians with messages about what went wrong and what could go wrong. Musically, New Orleans presents us with so many musical legends. The birth of jazz in the hands of Jelly Roll Morton happened in New Orleans. A variety of musical styles hail from New Orleans and when people visit the city, music is one of the main attractions that grabs their attention. But, now the Crescent City has become the focus of dialogues about racism, earth climate changes, poverty, in...

Freedom of Expression: A Conversation with Axiom of Choice vocalist, Mamak Khadem (This interview was originally published on Cranky Crow Whole Music in 2002. It is one of the articles that led me on the path to exploring the consciousness of music). For many years I have harbored a growing interest in the healing qualities of music. I had read many articles about the healing properties of Mozart and Beethoven and I had read about music from the celestial spheres, but reading expert opinions is one thing and experiencing the healing effects of music even for something as simple as a cold is another story.   I sat in a crowded theatre at Meany Hall at the University of Washington campus fighting off chills and certainly not wanting to deal with a crowd, music enthusiasts or not. However, when the members of Axiom of Choice, a group that blends Persian classical music with Western influences hit the stage, I felt my fever abating somewhat as I absorbed the music that emana...

Miles Davis Kind of Blue Columbia (1959) It is now over 20 years ago that I hosted my first community radio show in Bellingham, Washington. My first live show featured jazz, during time when alternative rock was the only music to hit the spot with me. Needless to say, I didn't know anything about jazz other than the music my mother played around my childhood homes. Yet, it did not take me too long before I discovered the wealth of talent associated with American jazz. Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and Bitches' Brew were staples for my show, and the rest of the show sadly was made up of me giving blind faith to whatever jazz records I could pull out of the bins before my show. And I had not listened to those artists previously nor did I know anything about the artists. That would come much later, but jazz was indeed shouting at me. Today I am rediscovering Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and the end result causes me to walk around my apartment snapping my fingers ...

Will Clipman Pathfinder Canyon Records If you have listened to R. Carlos Nakai or any number of Canyon Records artists, you have heard Will Clipman's work on percussion and drums. On Pathfinder , the master percussionist Clipman performs on all of the global percussive instruments himself. The pieces feature polyphonic drums and global percussive melodies--that's right, Clipman plays melodic percussion. The music ranges from whimsical to dance-inducing-hip-swaying and many moods in between. The rhythmic music lifts our spirits and begs us to dance along with it. Sometimes we find ourselves on the African continent, or we find ourselves snaking our way across an American Southwest desert. The drumming comes from ancestors and it hails from the spirit of the present. Clipman who calls himself, Saamokee (a marriage between Saami and Cherokee), finds his shamanic roots while igniting his passion for drumming on Pathfinder . With such titles as, Bodhisattva , Thirteenth Moo...

John Coltrane A Love Supreme MCA Records, (1964) Jazz saxophonist-composer John Coltrane discovered God in the late 1950s which led the be bop performer to eventually record, A Love Supreme . According to Coltrane, "During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At the time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music." A Love Supreme with its hard edges and dissonant staccato saxophone passages, would not be my first place to seek happiness. But having been through an ordeal of relocating and completely altering my life circumstances recently, A Love Supreme seems like the right medicine for me. And anyone experiencing a dip on their life path, might also find this music to act as a healing balm. It's not for everyone, and Coltrane caused a lot of controversy among the jazz world with his hard edges and experimen...

A few weeks ago I received a powerful recording in the mail by sound healer and musician Marjorie de Muynck. In The Key Of Earth features overtones of several acoustic instruments, revolving around the earth tone, Ohm. I have been playing this CD on a daily basis and I have noticed a difference in my physical and emotional being. I am calmer and more centered than usual. I am feeling more present in the moment and more connected to the earth in which I walk upon. Not only that, I have noticed more birds and non-human creatures showing up for the duration of the recording. Most important, Marjorie's atmospheric earth sounds reminds me of the vast musical experience we encounter on a daily basis. It reflects on the nature of sounds that we normally take for granted and also the earth which we als o take for granted. In an era of global warming and the loss of a great number of species, we must become more aware of our carbon and I would add, sound footprint on the planet. We m...

Kiran Ahluwalia (Canada/India) Wanderlust Time Square Records On her previous debut recording, Canadian-Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia introduced the world to the sensuality of traditional ghazals. Wanderlust reveals the vocalists expanding upon the traditional form, with an eye for globetrotting. She marries the heartfelt fados of Portugal, to soulful ghazals of South Asia, while adding flourishes of African percussion. On the track, Teray Darsan Kiran's lush vocals are backed by light blues guitar and exotic beats. Kiran and her producer Rez Abbasi add more elements than on the previous recording, without harming the rich tableau of stories, or the South Asian atmosphere. The djembe, talking drum, Portuguese guitar, accordion, Portuguese bass and electric guitar, all seem to make a nice home for themselves here, embellishing stories about wisdom gained through love won and love lost.   However, it is Kiran's strength as a vocalist that take center stage...

Feeding the Fire with Music Conversation with Mary Youngblood Native American all-around musician Mary Youngblood's third CD, Beneath the Raven Moon arrived on my doorstep on a warm September evening of 2002. The timing couldn't have been more perfect since I had just performed my music on stage in between sets of a musical group I greatly admire. And I hadn't performed music for anyone in 6 years. No one until now, will know how long and hard I worked to get my chops up to par and how difficult it was to sing my songs in Spanish instead of the usual English. Yet, I believe as a musicians we must stretch our talent and give our best to others who care to hear our songs. When I read the press notes for Mary Youngblood's recording, especially about how she was developing confidence as a performer by including her poetry and singing on one of her albums for the first time, I could relate. I stayed up late that night listening to Mary play her flute and sin...