SDC BRTI-AMERICA RADIO

Friday, January 4, 2019

Journey of the Heart by Paul and Friends



Musicians (instrument, affiliation; lead singers in bold):  Des Anthony (pedal steel; Three’s Company, Forte’), Frank Ball (guitar, Absinthe Minded), Therese Benoit (vocals, First United Methodist Church of Houma [FUMC] Voices of Light [VOL]), Troy Breaux (percussion, Univ. Louisiana Lafayette Dept. Music [ULL-M]), Zen Crook (piano, synthesizer, Absolute Brew), Orin Gaskins (vocals, Nicholls State University Dept. Music [NSU-M]), Rogers George (percussion, Jazzmine), Tracy Griffin (trumpet; Allen Toussaint and Friends), Martin Hart (vocals, guitar; Three’s Company, Hart-to-Hart), Jerry Hohensee (vocals, NSU-M), Josh Hollenbeck (sax, NSU-M), Matt Jefferson (trombone, NSU-M, Maniacal Four), Roger Kimball (sax; Harry Connick, Jr; Soul Survivors, NiteLife), Dr. Kenneth Klaus (vocal conducting, NSU-M), Michael Klaus (vocals, Voodoo Bayou), Rachel Billiot Klaus (piano, synthesizer, vocals, NSU-M, FUMC-Praise Band), Rachel Elizabeth Klaus (vocals, NSU-M, FUMC-VOL and Chancel Choir), Erin LeBoeuf (vocals, FUMC-VOL), Laura Lee (FUMC-VOL), Paul David Longstreth (piano, The Harry Connick Orchestra, Lenny Kravitz, Leroy Jones Quintet), Mike Loupe (guitar, Louis Armstrong Society Jazz Band), David Lusco (FUMC-VOL), Joshua Martin (vocals, NSU-M & FUMC Chancel Choir), Larry Martin (piano, synthesizer, Jazzmine), Robert Maxwell (percussion, Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra), Terry McMillan (trumpet, Soul Survivors), Ben Melancon (vocals, Unmerited Favor), John Norwood (mandolin, The Ramblin’ Letters), Lindsay Ogle (vocals, ULL-M), Regina O’Connell (vocals, NSU-M), Clay Parker (guitar), Jason Ricci (harmonica, Johnny Winter), Donna Sammarco (piano; NSU-M, FUMC), Paul W. Sammarco (bass, guitar, vocals; Three's Company, Mixed Company, Paul Summers, Ginger Mick, Little Ripper Band, etc.), Sarah Sullivan (vocals, NSU-M, FUMC Chancel Choir), Kandice Theriot (vocals, NSU-M), Steve Theriot (percussion; The Kevin Koike Blues Band), Lillie Torbert (vocals, FUMC-VOL), Richard Toups (vocals, Jazzmine), Mark Trentecosta (guitar; Benny Grunch, Charles Trenet), and Brittany Weimer (vocals, NSU-M, FUMC Chancel Choir).

This is Paul and Friends’ third CD, requiring 4-5 years to produce.  It features top-notch musicians from New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, as well as from Australia.  This CD is quite up-beat and eclectic, featuring original primarily jazz tunes, sub-categorized as jazz-rock, acoustic rock, blues, pop, easy listening, Brazilian jazz, and Christian.  Quite a potpourri, but it works.  Two gems on the album are Sammarco’s own up-beat, jazz-rock title track – the A-side single - “Journey of the Heart”, featuring Michael Klaus on vocals, and the B-side - “Bad Habits”, featuring Richard Toups.  The latter is the first US release of this high-energy Australian swing hit originally recorded by Billy Field.  Sammarco has attempted to retain the original flavor of the tune, taking William Motzing’s setting and re-arranging it.  “Call Her Mellow” and “Beautiful Day” have easy-going Brazilian musical settings and feature Ben Melancon on lead vocals.  “Lost and Found” is an acoustic CSN-type story song, sung by Michael Klaus.  A cover on the CD is “Laughter in the Rain” – the Neil Sedaka tune in which Sammarco has combined the arrangements of Sedaka and Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson’s touring music director) and added his own spice to the mix.  “Yesterday’s Dream” is a kick-butt blues tune featuring Sarah Sullivan on lead vocal and Jason Ricci (Grammy Award Winner, Johnny Winter Band) on harmonica.  “Find Your Paradise” is a light rock tune featuring Michael Klaus on lead vocal.  It has a bit of a dark theme, but comes out shining in the end.  “Out of the Woods” is a ying and yang instrumental featuring Roger Kimball on sax, Mark Trentecosta on guitar, and Rachel Billiott Klaus on synthesizer.  “Create in Me a Clean Heart” is a beautiful Christian hymn, featuring the enormously talented Donna Sammarco of “On Eagles Wings” fame, on solo piano.  Another Christian tune is “The 23rd Psalm, with a Children’s Prayer”, setting the story of the 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my Shepherd…”) as a child’s dream – sung by two choirs.  A third Christian tune is another Sammarco original, “The Lord, He Knows”, an acoustic tune with heavy vocal harmonies, again featuring Michael Klaus on lead vocals. The Bonus Tracks are short vignettes excised from Paul and Friends’ earlier CD “Smooth Sailing”.  Here the instrumentals have been stripped from the recording to reveal the rich a capella vocal harmonies.  The tunes include “Have You Ever Seen…?”, “Drift Away”, and “Just One More Time”, featuring Martin Hart, Lindsay Melancon Ogle, Ben Melancon, and Paul W. Sammarco.  This thing’s a mix, but we think it came out great.  Enjoy!

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