Songs of Hope for Haiti is a project to help relief efforts in Haiti.
Please consider making a donation to Partners In Health. Go to their website and learn about the good work that they do around the world, especially in Haiti. PIH needs our support now more than ever during this enormous crisis.
The artists performing on this album are friends of The Nave Gallery, Somerville, MA, USA. Many of them have performend at The Nave in the past. All of them responded quickly and generously with their participation in this project. Please visit their websites for more information.
The album features new songs by:
The Accident That Led Me To The World
Bill Barclay
Yael Bat-Shimon
Allysen Callery
Allison Crowe
Ken Field
Peter Thörn and Jim Goodin
Allyssa Jones
Dennis Moser
Celia Slattery
Michael Winograd Klezmer Ensemble
Zefiro
I hope that you enjoy this album and please give generously to help support Partners In Health.
Thank you,
Randy Winchester
Nave Gallery
Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
January 31, 2010
Image credit: Photos of Haiti, Digital Library of the Caribbean, University of Florida Digital Library Center, cc by-nc-sa 2006. Remixed by V. Van Sant, cc by-nc-sa 2010. Link to original photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufdc/2573016007/
I just finished up editing the recording of The Metal & Glass Ensemble’s CD release concert at The Nave on November 14, 2009. This was a great night, a great audience, and a lot of fun! The church’s big stained glass window, 80 years old, finally got it’s due and was restored to better than original condition. What does this mean for the music? Is it audible? Yes! Certainly! You see, there were large gaps where the leading had buckled, the glass bowed out, and all the rude sounds from outside could be heard inside, and if you can hear them, they’re on the recording. It’s now a lot quieter (and warmer!) in the church sanctuary where the performances are staged.
I’m really happy with the way this show and recording turned out!
28 August 2009, 7:30pm:Â Jason Anderson + Friends at The Nave
FREE!!! (donations accepted to support The Nave)
An intimate evening of music, community and friendship.
The first set will be a collaborative, in-the-round, song share featuring some of the nicest, most talented folks in the northeast seacoast area, including Nave favorite Gregg Porter, Guy Capecelatro III, Djim Reynolds and Juliet Nelson. After a short break, Jason will play the second set: a group sing along for everyone in attendance. Come ready to smile, to sing, to make some new friends, and to remember just how special–and intimate–live folk music can be.
This is an opportunity to see the Metal & Glass ensemble perform a short piece (30 minutes is a brief performance for Metal & Glass. Extremely brief!) at the three day long Weirdstock Experimental Music and Art Festival at the Cambridge, MA YMCA Theater, 820 Massachusetts Avenue. Metal & Glass’s show is at 4pm on Sunday, August 16 at 4pm. Details about Weirdstock can be found on the Whitehaus Family Record website.
The last several weeks have been very busy for me as I edit and release material that I’ve had in the can for a few months. I recently got the set list from singer / songwriter Dave Lamb for a performance of his group Brown Bird when they performed at The Nave in November 2008. If you like a mix of country and folk with a little beat, this is for you. The carefully crafted tunes can stick in your head for quite awhile. Much of this is pretty upbeat happy sounding music, but some of it has a rather dramatic dark side too. Brown Bird has a lot of fans in the Boston area who turned out to hear them that night, and now that they’re on Jamendo, everyone who couldn’t make it to the show can have a chance to hear them too. Enjoy!
We had three bands in the lineup for our 2009 Valentine’s Day show, and two recorded albums for us to put on Jamendo. Here’s some music from some new upcoming and very talented performers. Tim Showalter and Audrey Ryan are writing singing some of the most memorable new songs.
Strand of Oaks is Timothy Showalter, an Indiana Mennonite turned Pennsylvania Hebrew Dayschool teacher who even drives the school bus for extra cash (and has sing-alongs with the pupils as they ease on down the road). Taking cues from such luminaries as Neil Young (On the Beach era) and a burgeoning Springsteen, Showalter extends his musical gesture and searches to find modesty in the midst of confusion, addressing insecurities and settling existential debt with a simple and beautiful delivery. The personification of a Midwestern Grandfather’s advice, his songs smack with hard truth and poignant severity, from child-like naivete to heart worn wisdom… sparse guitar, hammond, rhodes and wooden instruments support an atmosphere that is tender and raw, at times uncomfortable, shockingly candid, and unforgettable.
Maine native Audrey Ryan performs solo shows with instruments that include an electric Japanese axe, a vintage Gibson acoustic, a retro 80’s era Casio keyboard, and of course, an accordion. Surrounded by a cacophony of musical influences from an early age, this talented musician was inspired to begin playing guitar at the ten and experimented with different genres throughout college. After graduating, Ryan started a band and has been performing and touring ever since.
“Ryan is an intriguing new singer….She is a jazz-pop artist whose influences would appear to range from Joni Mitchell to Edie Brickell. And she has a high-pitched voice with original phrasing and backup that includes her own impressively syncopated work on electric, acoustic, and classical guitars, as well as her standout violin lines, which lift a song when you least expect it… Ryan has a literary sensibility, writing about the isolation of the computer age, overbearing friends, and the nostalgia of childhood.” -Boston Globe (Steve Morse)
It should be noted that Audrey performs all instruments and sings all tracks live with the help of some electronics.
Wow! Who wouldda thunk it? Of all places for an Interglactic dance party. It’s under an urban highway! This is ARTSomerville’s annual outdoor dance party with lots of art, music, video and lighting action! If you live anywhere within 100 parsecs of Somerville, MA, set your heading for McGrath Highway and Washington St., and warp speed yourself over this way! You don’t want to miss this epic event!
It has been a busy couple of weeks as I go though my backlog and ready some of the recordings I still have in the can. At the same time, I’m working my way backwards from some of the recent ones. Here are a couple of the highlights, in no particular order, that show off the wide variety of performances that we have at The Nave.
Zefiro is a Boston- and Providence-based ensemble of eight singers devoted to performing sacred a capella vocal music of the 14th - 17th centuries. This is a great performance of some little heard vocal music. It has already received three 5 star reviews in the very short time it has been on Jamendo.
What the heck is Grizzler anyway? Good question! Grizzler is an improvisation group with a rotating membership. The music is about as freewheeling as you can possibly get. What is interesting about seeing Grizzler live for the first time is how well organized and disciplined they are and how well they play together. Yes, the “noiseconsortium soundbomb” tags on this album are most fitting. I can reasonably guarantee that it is unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
Just thought this was worth posting in this blog! Somerville is a city that supports the arts, and as a result is a very creative, busy and entertaining place to live and work. I have lived in a lot of towns, but Somerville is by far my favorite!
