Gospel From Berklee

I love packages in the mail, especially when they are CD's. These came for me today in the mail:

Bela Fleck; Tales From the Acoustic Planet

Wayfaring Strangers; This Train

Caedmon's Call; Chronicles 1992-2004

I would like to say that the Wayfaring Strangers are the coolest band ever to happen. I serendipitously saw them play last spring at Merlefest, over in Wilkesboro, NC. This was lucky because they only play 5 or 6 gigs a year due to each member's success outside of the Strangers.

While founder and Berklee professor Matt Glaser rightly advertises the band as "all styles, all the time," the photo inside the jewel case is probably the best description anyone could give: A herd of elephants stampeding across a set of railroad tracks. The band revitalizes gospel and bluegrass/old-time standards, bringing not a little jazz, world music, and general spunk to the table. Standing out in the lineup are vocalists Tracy Bonham, Ruth Ungar, and Aofie O'Donovan, whose glorious, oft in harmony vocals invoke both the "broke 'n lonely" grit of blues and the visceral chill of Irish melody. Tony Trischka(musical mentor to Bela Fleck) also shines with his constantly innovating banjo. Don't let me stop there though, there's also drums, trombone, piano, cello, clarinet, bass, guitars, fiddles galore, and a....bansuri flute? Oh, and incidentally, this band single-handedly made me decide to buy an octave mandolin.

If you are not a stick-in-the-mud purist about your trad music, or if you don't mind your jazz music periodically wandering off into the mountains, or if you just like old gospel and folk standards, then I can't recommend this CD highly enough. I'd lend you mine but it will be in my CD player for a long time.