The Whole Music Experience

Joel Frederiksen Ensemble Phoenix Munich Rose of Sharon (100 Years of American Music 1770-1870) Harmonia Mundi I often wonder what early American music would sound like, especially since I’ve done my share of listening to early European music.   I expected the fife and rat-a-tat snare drum which you hear on Joel Frederiksen’s The Rose of Sharon .   And of course you would expect renaissance polyphony and baroque influences to play a role which you can hear in the "Father of American Choral Music" section.   The musicians provided extensive liner notes which come in handy and they divided the selections into 6 sections including, "The Battle for Freedom" (which feature religious text) but are related to the American Revolutionary War, "The Father of American Choral Music", William Billings, "Shape Notes and Singing Schools," "Shaker Spirituals", "Music from the Civil War" and "Revival Meetings and Spiritu...

Maeve Gilchrist Song of Delight Adventure Music Harpist-vocalist-composer Maeve Gilchrist brings diverse musical experiences and training to Song of Delight .   Her Scottish background coupled with her studies at the Berkeley School of Music (Boston) act as an intriguing combination. But this of course proves challenging for music reviewers in search of musical references. Certainly I can hear shades of Joni Mitchell who blended the American folk tradition with jazz. I can also hear shades of Catalan harpist-vocalist Arianna Savall.   Gilchrist possesses a sharp gift for melody and coupled with her sensitive and innovative harp playing.   Here Aidan O’Donnell’s string bass pairs up with the high and medium tones of the Celtic harp.   Guest musicians include Mike Block on cello, Darol Anger (also produced the recording), on violin, Joe Walsh on mandolin and Hannah Read on violin which together create a jazz chamber sound. Falling somewhere betwee...

Andrè Vasconcellos 2 Adventure Music Even though the press notes for Brazilian bassist-composer Andrè Vasconcellos’ US debut 2 mentions hip-hop and chill influences, the album sounds like lyrical American and Brazilian jazz to my ears.   I’m thankful that I didn’t hear hip-hop influences since that’s not my cup of tea.   I did hear strains of John Coltrane, especially the saxophonist’s Arab phase on the second track, Rome with its snaky chromatic piano. But then it’s not unusual to hear Coltrane influences on jazz albums, especially if saxophone takes the lead, which it does on this album. I found Balance of Relations too noisy for my taste, but I enjoyed the romantic The Old City Ballad. Bullfight (odd title for this track) offers a respite from the world too with David Feldman’s piano and Joshua Lopez’s tenor sax passing a motif back and forth.   On Puerto Madero the musicians delve into a bossa nova that sounds warm and enjoyable with Renato F...