New Orleans Delightfeaturing
Marilyn Keller and Derek Winters
Tunes:
1. Do Lord
2. In The Garden
3. Sweet Fields
4. He Touched Me
5. Higher Ground
6. Amazing Grace
7. Closer Walk
8. St. Judes Hymn
9. What A Friend We Have In Jesus
10. Sanctus
11. Lily Of The Valley
12. How Great Thou Art
13. Fly Away
14. His Eyes Is On The Sparrow
Recorded: June 21, 2005 at Jakobskirke, Roskilde, Denmark by Jørgen Vad.
Jørgen Vad uses Audio-Technica microphones
Mixed by Erling Lindhardt, Kjeld Brandt and Jørgen Vad
Mastering: Jørgen Vad · Executive producer: Henning Schädler
Liner notes: Bert Thompson
Coverphoto: Barbara Jakobsen
Other photos: Göran Magnusson
Layout and dtp: Kjeld Brandt
Music Mecca CD 5012-2
To Be A Bridge
When New Orleans Delight manager, Kjeld Brandt asked guest musician, Chris Tyle for a recommendation for a gospel singer to come and sing with the band, he replied - "I think you should call Marilyn Keller". God Bless Chris and Kjeld and the band members for making a career-long dream come true! Everyone I told about that first trip to Denmark in 2004 told me that it was about time I made a trip to Europe and let the people there hear my voice, but, I had to promise to come back home. I have prayed for an opportunity to travel, work and ultimately record overseas and this CD is tangible evidence of answered prayer. My musical family has grown to include this band and their families and friends and I am so proud of our accomplishments together. I wish to Thank and invoke Peace, Prosperity and Love into the lives of everyone who made my life so rich during the time I spent in Denmark & Sweden: Kjeld, Barbara, Sabine, Derek, Lyn, Erling, Claus, Ann-Lis, Hans, Stefan, Kim, Bengt, Göran, Junne, Jan, Margaretha, Jørgen, and many unnamed here but not forgotten. I only wish to be a bridge between my homeland, my heritage and the homeland and heritage of the people I am so fortunate to sing for. I also wish to Thank my Family and Friends in Portland. May the Light of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ shine through me and draw others into its Grace and Love.
Marilyn Keller
Portland
USA
April 2006
Marilyn Keller with The New Orleans Delight
Marilyn Keller is a Gospel singer who lives in Portland Oregon USA. This is no Jazz singer that sometimes sings Gospel but a real Gospel singer first and foremost.
The Danish "New Orleans Delight" band invited Marilyn for a tour of Churches and Cathedrals during the summer weeks of 2005 and as a regular guest with the Band I was so pleased to be asked to play on the tour. To work with Marilyn was an uplifting experience for all of us in the band. Her real faith and understanding of the lyrics she sings shines through like a light. Her belief in the words is almost visible and her presence radiates a warmth that was unmistakable to the audiences.
On some hymns her whispering voice and heart felt words moved people in the audience (and some of us in the band) to tears. This could then be followed by a rousing evangelical hymn, hot, loud and joyful telling us we are all going to heaven! What an experience. All the concerts were virtually a sell out and those wonderful Danish audiences had an evening of hand clapping and smiles with some quiet, thoughtful interludes. To me the tour was one of those events that I wished all my friends could have experienced with me.
Marilyn is returning to Scandinavia during 2006 and if you could find yourself in that part of the world, then check
www.new-orleans-delight.dk for the dates. On the last night of the 2005 tour that amiable recording man, Jørgen Vad captured the live concert and I understand that a CD of the event will be out for sale later in the year. If you can't get to one of her concerts, then Marilyn on CD is the next best thing.
Derek Winters
Cornwall
England
February 2006
Founded in 1996 as a six-piece New Orleans-style group with a two-man front line of clarinet and trombone, the reed playing lead, New Orleans Delight has frequently had guests playing trumpet or cornet for tours, festivals, and other special events. Derek Winters from the U.K., who plays trumpet on this CD, is one who has appeared often with the band on previous tours and at festivals and really needs no introduction. He can be heard with New Orleans Delight on two of the compilation CD's containing tracks by the band, and he is featured on one of the band's CD's, Go to New Orleans. Since the beginning the band has been fortunate in the stability of its personnel. Leader and clarinettist Kjeld Brandt and banjoist Erling Lindhardt, founding members (1996), along with drummer Claus Lindhardt (1997) and bassist Stephan Kärfve (2000) have all been with the band long enough to establish a solid rhythm section. Pianist Hans Pedersen, who subbed for several years with the band before joining full time (2004), can drive it with his stride style, and trombonist Kim Menzer (2005), the "new kid on the block," plays a lusty trombone. Pedersen has appeared with the band on the two previous CD's, and this is Menzer's first recording with them, other than the one track on the Bude 2005 Festival compilation CD issued recently.
In 2004 the band invited Lee Gunness, the singer from Australia, to join them on a very successful summer tour with Norbert Susemihl on trumpet, and from that came a CD recorded live at the Femø Jazz Festival. Later that year, on the recommendation of Chris Tyle from the U.S.A., they decided to invite vocalist Marilyn Keller from the U.S.A. for a short tour with them, and the next year, 2005, she was invited back again. Like the tours with both vocalists in 2004, the tour of 2005 with Ms. Keller was a resounding success, and this CD is taken from one concert recorded during that year’s tour. The band invited her back to tour again with them this year, 2006, and she accepted.
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., Ms. Keller is very well known in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. Although she sings with the Black Swan Jazz Band, a New Orleans-style band out of Portland, which she joined in 1997, she does not limit herself to traditional jazz but is very much a "crossover" artist, being equally at home singing R & B, standards, modern jazz, gospels, spirituals, and hymns. She sings at the Augustan Lutheran Church in Portland each Sunday, and appears in restaurants, at jazz festivals, in clubs, and at private functions. She guests with many musical groups and aggregations, and appears frequently with a quintet consisting of keyboards, drums, guitar, bass, and herself vocals, named True Friends. In 2002 she issued her first album, titled At Last, to showcase her talents, and it has received excellent reviews.
These are impressive credentials, but then she is an impressive performer! Among the terms critics have used to describe her voice are "beautiful ... powerful ... sweet ... like a crystal ... amazing," and they speak of her "charming presence" and "flawless vocal stylings," her "sparkle" and "grace," her "understanding of lyrics and [their] emotional nuances." That all adds up to quite some billing, but as this CD will attest, one Ms. Keller lives up to with no problem. Her email ID of "DaPipes" is, as you will hear, well-chosen. These are, indeed, some "pipes."
All of the selections on this CD find her wearing her "church hat," and there can be no doubt at all as to the sincerity of her renditions. She is not merely "singing" these gospels and hymns, but experiencing them. Speaking of performing with her, Derek Winters says, "Her real faith and understanding of the lyrics she sings shines through like a light. Her belief in the words is almost visible ...." These qualities come through on the CD; even when one is not actually witnessing her perform, one can sense the conviction as she sings.
From earliest times, it seems, hymns, gospels, and spirituals have been an important ingredient of the African-American culture. With its promise of a better life in the hereafter, religion undoubtedly helped many blacks in the South endure the hardships of slavery. Through the spirituals, it also provided a means of communicating subversive, or "coded,” messages, such as that a slave was about to become a "runaway” (or had already fled), as in "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" or “This Train." And from the time of Emancipation to the era of the Civil Rights movement, it helped the race endure the rigors of discrimination.
Along with marches, the famous brass bands of New Orleans had a full repertoire of religious music for the funerals they played, and as they also played for dances and balls as well as parades, undoubtedly they played many of the same tunes at tempos and in a style suited to dancing. Thus from early jazz times individual hymns, spirituals, etc., were absorbed by and became part of the jazz repertoire, and they have been recorded, if infrequently, by traditional jazz artists ever since. For example, in 1927 Sam Morgan's band recorded "Sing On," "Down by the Riverside," and "Over in the Gloryland" as part of the "famous eight"; and what was to become a jazz anthem, "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1938.
Less numerous, of course, are entire albums of religious music by traditional jazz artists. Some of the marching bands alluded to above recorded, and we find complete albums of hymns, spirituals, etc., such as that by the Eureka Brass Band issued as early as 1951 on the Pax label and others in 1955 and 1956. In addition, jazz bands and groups have, on occasion, issued albums consisting entirely of church music, for instance George Lewis' Jazz at Vespers album (1954) and another on the Milneburg label (1964), the Dukes of Dixieland with the Clara Ward Singers (1963), Kid Howard at Zion Hill Church (1964 and 1965), and Barry Martyn's band (1970), to mention some. So this CD is continuing something of a tradition. Interestingly enough, although some of the tunes on it were composed in the late 19th century – and one as early as the 18th – none of them seems to have been recorded by a jazz band before 1942, as one discovers when leafing through Brian Rust's two-volume Jazz Records 1897-1942. Nowadays they are often to be found in the tune lists of traditional jazz CD's.
The first tune on the disc, DO LORD, opens with a street beat from drums, but rather than its being that of a march, the rhythm changes as the piano comes in with syncopated, swinging chording that is complemented by the drums and Ms. Keller's tambourine on the offbeat. Then the ensemble joins in to back the vocal, and by this point the piece is rocking. After the first vocal choruses, Menzer begins his two choruses on trombone, which he leads in with a glissando. Following him, Pedersen takes two choruses on piano with broken rhythms keeping the piece moving and swinging. Then Ms. Keller comes back for more vocal choruses to take the piece to its conclusion – a fitting start to the CD. The music is traditional, but the words are by Julia Ward Howe, the 19th century poet and writer best known, perhaps, for her words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The melody is quite common, really, being found, with some minor variations, in songs such as "Oh Didn't He Ramble," "Down by the Riverside," "Gotta Travel On," etc. The earliest recording by a traditional jazz artist I found was that by Emanuel "Manny" Sayles' Silver Leaf Ragtimers, recorded in 1962.
Contrasting in mood and tempo with the previous selection is IN THE GARDEN, written (words first, music a little later) by C. Austin Miles in 1912 after a Dream Vision he had about Mary's meeting Jesus after the Resurrection in the garden where His tomb was located and which has never been found. The piece is taken in the original 3/4 time by Ms. Keller, who is accompanied with some very tasty bowing from Kärfve on bass and thoughtful accompaniment by Pedersen. Winters' muted trumpet is also effective, as is Brandt's alto clarinet on his solos and the gentle chording of Erling Lindhardt on tenor guitar. This hymn gained some exposure from being sung in the 1984 movie "Places in the Heart," which won two Academy Awards.
SWEET FIELDS is the only number on this CD without a vocal. Probably there are lyrics for it, but I have never heard them or run across them – the earliest recording I have heard, by Ken Colyer's Jazzmen in 1959, is instrumental. The composer is not known either, so like many other tunes this one goes in the "traditional" file. It has always been one of my favorites and is given a righteous rendition here by the band with many ensemble choruses, the rest providing backing in true New Orleans style when any one solos.
The words and music of HE TOUCHED ME were written by William "Bill" J. Gaither. It was first recorded by Doug Oldham, a singer of religious songs in concerts, in Christian television productions, and in "crusades" such as those led by Billy Graham. It also has been recorded by the vocal group The Imperials, as well as by Elvis Presley and by the composer and his trio. It opens with a piano introduction; then Ms. Keller sings the first two verses and choruses, accompanied only by the rhythm section minus the banjo, again with some nice arco work on the bass. They are joined by clarinet on the second chorus, which then takes a solo, the rest of the group joining on Brandt's chorus. Finally Ms. Keller takes it out, again accompanied as at the start by members of the rhythm section and then the rest of the band. This kind of sympathetic backing allows her voice to project with no strain and much power, allowing that conviction mentioned earlier to come across clearly.
Dating to 1892, HIGHER GROUND was composed by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel and in 1898 was given words by Johnson Oatman, Jr. With its up-tempo providing again some contrast to that of the previous number, this tune swings from the very outset. After the vocal, the clarinet takes the lead, followed by the piano; the tambourine as well as Claus Lindhardt's drumming helps propel the musicians. Ms. Keller takes it out, accompanied by the whole band, in a rousing finish.
Of all the tunes on this CD, perhaps AMAZING GRACE will be the best known. Certainly it is the oldest, a poem dating to 1779 John Newton, ironically a former slave trader. A little over a half century later, 1831, it was set to music by James P. Carrell and David S. Clayton. A TV documentary by Bill Moyers a year or two ago traced its orgin and development, further enhancing its familiarity. The simplicity of the 3/4 time signature is retained throughout, and as with some of the other selections, the opening vocal is backed by members of the rhythm section, again with notable bowing of the bass by Kärfve. Following the vocal, Brandt's clarinet assumes the lead, accompanied by the rest of the front line harmonizing, and Ms. Keller resumes the vocal with finely controlled vibrato here as elsewhere, finally taking it out with full band accompaniment and uttering a coda of her own with a quietly spoken "Thank you, Jesus" as the audience applauds.
CLOSER WALK, or JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE to give it its full title, is a traditional folk song whose composer's and author's names have been lost in the mists of time. The earliest recording of it I am aware of is one by George Lewis and His New Orleans Stompers in 1943, followed by one by Bunk Johnson's New Orleans Band in 1945. I have heard this tune taken at a very brisk tempo, and I have heard it played almost as a dirge. The rendition here strikes a middle ground. Accompanied by the full complement of musicians, Ms. Keller gently swings the whole piece, right up to its rousing finale.
The ST. JUDE HYMN is not in many bands' repertoires, I guess. The first time I heard it was at the Bude Festival in 2005, sung there, as here, by Winters. I had no success in finding anything about it. On a CD Midnight at St. Jude's, a Mrs. Herb Quaid is given credit, which I would assume means she wrote the lyrics, but no mention of whether she wrote the music is made, and an internet hunt came up empty. So not much can be said about this piece here, other than that it is a pleasant tune that provides a nice change of pace. St. Jude, as some will know, is the patron saint of all who feel their cause is desperate or impossible and of hospitals and hospital workers.
After AMAZING GRACE, probably WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS will be the next best-known. It was originally a poem written by Joseph M. Scriven in 1855, to comfort his mother, who was across the sea in Ireland and undoubtedly missing him terribly. Some dozen or so years later, in 1868, it was set to music by Charles C. Converse. As far as an early jazz band recording of it goes, George Lewis' Ragtime Jazz Band recorded it in 1953. The tempo selected here by New Orleans Delight is a fitting one, I believe, being neither a crawl nor a gallop but allowing the tune to achieve an easy swing. Brandt's solo, in which he never loses sight of the melody, nicely illustrates his command of his instrument and control of vibrato, and Pedersen introduces just a slight comedic touch in his solo to keep the proceedings light.
Meaning "holy" in Latin, SANCTUS refers to both the acclamation that immediately follows the Preface of the Mass ("Holy, Holy, Holy Lord") and its musical setting, the one here based on that by Schubert. I have never heard it done before by a jazz band, with or without a vocal. It supplies a pleasing variety to the tune list. By its nature, the tune seems well suited to the clarinet, and Brandt does it justice in his solo between the vocals.
Anatole Frieland, who also wrote the secular "Waitin' for Robt. E. Lee," "Down Yonder," and "Mama Inez," composed LILY OF THE VALLEY in 1917. I am unaware of a jazz recording of this number earlier than that by Paul Barbarin and His New Orleans Band in 1951. On this CD, Winters leads in on vocal, followed by verse and chorus with trombone lead and clarinet counterpoint, then by ensemble with trumpet lead. Pedersen then takes the same on piano, followed by Erling Lindhardt, who does not solo often, on banjo with some sympathetic backing from the rhythm section, Claus Lindhardt playing on the rims with his sticks. There is no return to the vocal – the ensemble takes it out.
A poem by Carl G. Boberg, a Swedish pastor, HOW GREAT THOU ART was written in 1886 and several years later was wedded to the tune of an old Swedish folk song. It has a rather varied history. Translated into English and German and Russian, the version sung here is a translation of a Russian version back into Engish by the missionary Stuart K. Hine. It was popularized by George Beverly Shea during the Billy Graham Crusade in London in 1954. Ms. Keller opens with a vocal, and then Brandt solos, creating a nice contrastive effect by taking the verse in the lower register, then the chorus in the upper register. Ms. Keller then sings it to a close.
One might well think the up-tempo spiritual I'LL FLY AWAY could be one of those coded messages about slaves about to run away mentioned above; however, it dates only from 1932, Alfred E. Brumley composing both words and music. After the opening vocals come solos by trumpet, trombone, and piano, respectively, all of which keep the number moving to its being taken out by Ms. Keller.
The previous piece would have been a fitting closer for the CD, but as something of an encore – or lagniappe, if you like – we have HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW from 1905, music by Charles H. Gabriel, lyrics by Civilla D. Martin. This tune is often associated with Ethel Waters, who recorded it and used it for the title for her autobiography. The opening consists of the verse, taken at a sedate tempo by Ms. Keller and accompanied by a reflective Pedersen. Following this introduction, the tempo is accelerated to a medium one as they enter the chorus, the rest of the band joining in. It comes to a rousing conclusion with a well-executed break at the end.
This CD, then, is a worthy testament to Marilyn Keller's abilities as a traditional jazz vocalist and one of which I am certain she will be proud. After hearing it, I'm sure the listener will need no further incentive to getting out to hear her perform in a concert setting.
With its impressive total of eleven CD's (not counting this one) by the band, tracks on six compilation albums, and an extensive list of appearances on the Continent and in the U.K., New Orleans Delight should now be ranked as one of Denmark's national treasures as well as being one of the foremost New Orleans-style bands in Europe. It was both a pleasure and a compliment to be asked by Kjeld Brandt to write these liner notes.
Bert Thompson
Orinda, California
April 2006
Reviews:
Jazz Podium, Februar 2007
On A Sunday Morn In New Orleans
Jazz Crusade Records JCCD-3102
New Orleans Delight Featuring Marilyn Keller And Derek Winters
Music Mecca CD 5012-2
Es sind erstaunlicherweise häufig Europäer, die den New Orleans Jazz pflegen und diesen auf hohem Niveau spielen. Einer von Ihnen ist der dänische Klarinettist Kjeld Brandt, der jetzt zwei neue CDs vorgelegt hat, bei denen ausschließlich traditionelle Hymnen und Spirituals auf dem Programm stehen. Bei „On a Sunday Morn in New Orleans“ handelt es sich um Liveaufnahmen aus dem Jahr 2004. Kjeld Brandt tritt hier zusammen mit dem kongenialen australischen Klarinettisten Jack McLaughlin auf; beide spielen übrigens auf einer Metallklarinette. Das Matineeprogramm, im bekannten Fritzel´s Club vor einem gebannt lauschenden Publikum aufgenommen, gleicht oft einem musikalischen Gebet. Bei Titeln wie „Where he leads me“, „In the upper garden“ oder “Nearer my God to Thee” finden beide Klarinettisten zu einem intensiven, intimen Zwiegespräch, das dezent von der australischen Pianistin Rachel Goeldner, ihrem Eheman Craig am Bass sowie dem Banjospieler John van Buuren unterstützt wird.
Auf der zweiten CD ist Kjeld Brandt mit seiner eigenen Band New Orleans Delight zu hören. Als Gäste sind der englische Trompeter Derek Winters und die vielseitige amerikanische Jazz- und Gospelsängerin Marilyn Keller mit von der Partie. Mit ihrer voluminösen, ausdrucksstarken Stimme gibt sie Titeln wie „Amazing Grace“ oder „His Eye is on the sparrow“ eine ergreifende Spiritualität, und es ist nicht verwunderlich, dass einigen ihrer Musikerkollegen bei den Aufnahmen in der Jakobskirke in Roskilde im Juni 2005 die Tränen der Rührung in den Augen standen. Die New Orleans Delight Band begleitet ohne zu kopieren sehr homogen im Stile der George Lewis Bands, allerdings technisch weitaus versierter als die Vorbilder.
Insgesamt zwei sehr ansprechende Alben, die zeigen, welche Kraft in der ursprünglichen Musik aus New Orleans steckt, wenn sie von solchen Könnern wie Kjeld Brandt gespielt wird.
- Andreas Geyer
Read this review in English - eller på dansk
JazzReview.com:
New Orleans Delight is no stranger to fans of Crescent City jazz nor of this website. This CD is the eighth to be covered in these pages since 2001. The Danish band is led by clarinetist Kjeld Brandt who usually brings in a guest trumpeter and a vocalist for tours and recordings. British trumpeter, Derek Winters, appears on record with New Orleans Delight for the second time. Like several previous releases, this album of hymns and spirituals was appropriately recorded in a church.
The American vocalist, Marilyn Keller, made her first appearance with the Danish jazz band for a 2005 summer tour of Scandinavia. Keller is a native of Portland, Oregon and when she is home, she sings with the city’s Black Swan Jazz Band. Sunday morning finds her gracing the choir loft at Portland’s Augustan Lutheran Church.
Miss Keller kicks off the set with an up-tempo rendition of “Do Lord,” a traditional piece that received accolades when recorded by Jane Russell, Della Russell, Beryl Davis and Connie Haines in 1954. She follows up with a stirring, emotional reading of “In The Garden,” a favorite among New Orleans bands for decades.
While this album contains a number of everyone’s gospel favorites including “He Touched Me,” “Amazing Grace.” and “His Eye Is On The Sparrow,” a few tunes are new to my ears. Derek Winters delivers the vocal on “Saint Jude’s Hymn” and Keller returns with Schubert’s “Sanctus.” “Sweet Fields” is afforded a special arrangement by the band.
The band’s rendition of “How Great Thou Art” display’s Marilyn Keller’s powerful voice and the instrumentalists’ fine command of the New Orleans style. It ranks as a favorite by this writer, followed closely by the singer’s rocking version of “Closer Walk.”
New Orleans Delight’s newest CD does not disappoint. Derek Winters is an asset to any traditional jazz outfit and applies his own twists to the style set down by Bunk Johnson and Kid Thomas in years gone by.
- Richard Bourcier
New Orleans Delight are one of the world’s finest New Orleans style jazz bands and here with the addition of the superbly educated trumpet of Derek Winters and the gospel church-inspired voice of Marilyn Keller they create great exciting music that is guaranteed to stir both the heart, soul and feet. I’m not going to write hundreds of words here or pick out individuals - just accept please that when listening to this CD you are fortunate to be in the presence of jazz greatness. These people are giving new life to the language of New Orleans music. It is inspiring, frequently original and always exhilarating. Bravo.
- Brian Harvey
I don’t believe in many things, but I do believe in the Danish/Swedish band New Orleans Delight. For several years Kjeld and his band have been producing CDs that belong to the best New Orleans style jazz today. No wonder they got rave reviews from all over the world.
The band has no regular trumpet player, but they often have one as a guest artist, people like Gregg Stafford, the late Kid Bastien, Norbert Susemihl, Chris Tyle and Derek Winters, and always the chemistry works. This is the second CD they recorded with a gospel singer in the foreground. After the much acclaimed CD with the Australian singer Lee Gunness, this one features Marilyn Keller.
Marilyn comes from Portland, Oregon where she sings with the Black Swan Jazz Band, a New Orleans style band from Portland. She’s also at home singing rhythm & blues and modern jazz. In her home town she sings every Sunday at the Augustan Lutheran Church. In 2002 she issued her first album called “At last”.
Derek Winters, from England, is the second guest on this CD. In his home country he has been very much associated with Brian Carrick. He is frequently working with New Orleans Delight, so I guess you could call him a honorary member of the band. Derek wrote part of the liner notes and has this to say about Marilyn Keller: “To work with Marilyn was an uplifting experience for all of us in the band. Her real faith and understanding of the lyrics she sings shines through like a light. Her belief in the words is almost visible and her presence radiates a warmth that was unmistakable to the audiences. On some hymns her whispering voice and heartfelt words moved people in the audience (and some of us in the band) to tears. This could then be followed by a rousing evangelical hymn, hot, loud and joyful, telling us we are all going to heaven! What an experience.”
Derek will forgive me to quote so much from his text, but I found his description of Marilyn’s singing so darn right, that I became reluctant to use my own words. He was there, I wasn’t, but everything he says shines through on this recording.
This CD also introduces the band’s new trombone player, Kim Menzer, who plays the first instrumental solo on this CD. As usual the band performs in a marvellous way. Kjeld is one of my favourite clarinet players today and his rhythm section could be envied by every band playing this kind of music. The idea of Erling Lindhardt switching to the tenor guitar on the slower numbers proves to be excellent. In combination with Stefan Karfve bowed bass it creates just the right background for these hymns. Most tracks are introduced by Hans Pedersen’s soulful piano playing. Derek Winters sings engagingly on two tracks and I’m as much a fan of his singing as of his trumpet playing.
In his excellent and very informative liner notes Californian Bert Thompson comments on every song played, giving details about the often difficult to find origins. All together this has again become an international and exemplary production that should find a place in your collection.
- Marcel Joly
Traditional Jazz
CD reviews by Geoff Boxell, New Zealand
As a Christian when things get rough and I’m feeling down, I turn my mind to Heaven and what it will be like. No one really knows, though book after book has been written on the topic. To me it surely is all about praising God and thus it must be full of good music. Obviously, therefore, it has to have jazz bands and gospel singers. Well this CD is a taste of Heaven for here is one of the world’s finest jazz bands with one of the best gospel singers around, Marilyn Keller of Oregon, USA, playing and singing music that is more than inspired, it is Spirit driven.
So the tunes are all very familiar ones, but forget that, for here you have them played and sung as they should be. In addition to Marilyn, the band, which has no permanent trumpet player, has guest Derek Winter on trumpet. I have heard them play with many guests on horn, but I always feel that Englishman Derek is the one that fits in the best and makes the band lift up that last notch from excellent to brilliant.
The recordings were made live during the band’s tour of Danish churches in 2005. I am sure the responsive congregation and the acoustics of the venues helped, but I really should mention the high quality of the recordings and tip my hat to sound engineer Jogen Vad. So often on live recordings there is an imbalance of sound, be it all so small, but on this album it is spot on.
An extra bonus are the full and comprehensive notes giving information on both the origins of the tunes and the way they are presented on the album.
I could be flippant (or some would say blasphemous) and say that if you don’t buy this CD God will strike you down, but I won’t for it would lower the tone of the review (and upset fellow saints); all I will say is that if you buy it and then play it, be you Christian or no, you will be blessed. Although there is no such thing as perfection this side of Glory, this one comes so very, very, close it doesn’t matter.
Just Jazz August 2006
When this CD arrived, my first reaction was ‘not another New Orleans Delight CD’, and topped of with ‘not another spirituals album’, which really have been in abundance just lately. It makes me wonder when a band is going to get back in the grove and records some blues, marches, stomps, and ragtime, and avoid spirituals and some of those totally inane pop songs.
But it is my job to have a listen and give a point of view - well, how my option changed on hearing the first few bars of the opening track, Do Lord; the band is stomping, and the vocalist just gets in there and belts it out in that truly old fashioned gospel way. The momentum is continued throughout the CD, and I hope that some aspiring promotor will make the effort to get the singer, Marilyn Keller, to these shores. She is from Portland, Oregon, USA, and was introduced to the band by another Portland ex-pat, Chris Tyle. She normaly performs at home with the Black Swan Jazz Band, and this was to be her first visit to Denmark, and it is no wonder that she made a load of friends, musically and personally.
To top this all off, the band plays well and is perfectly lead by our very own Derek Winters on trumpet. He also throws in a couple of vocals, not quite up to Marilyn’s standard, but pretty good, to say the least. Derek is lucky enough to be a freelance musician and therefore gets quite a lot of opportunities to play with New Orleans Delight, and this is obvious in the way the band responds to his lead.
This CD is jelly good fun and should have your feet tapping and hands clapping in no time. I’m sure all die-hard New Orleans fans will like this.
- Peter Lay
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