Music & More
by Mark Maxwell Abushady • New York City

CDs

From Beginning to End
Glen Roethel
Inspireline Records
www.inspireline.com
www.glenroethel.com
Well produced and thoughtful both musically and lyrically, Glen Roethel offers a collection of songs with a ‘spiritual slant.’ Easy listening, but with updated song subjects touching upon reincarnation, the light within us all, diversity, enlightenment, and more. His lyrics (“a pair of hands is nothing special until they touch you” from Enlightened) and the especially beautiful Bedtime Story make for an excellent addition to the growing trend of positive, spiritually uplifting songwriting.

More Africa In Us
eccodek
White Swan Records
www.whiteswanrecords.com
www.eccodek.com
Jazzy, trancelike yet energetic, new age yet with a distinctly African sound all make this offering a welcome addition to the world music scene. More Africa In Us will please both fans of progressive African music and world “dub” jazz fusion. Spearhead Andrew McPherson has an excellent creation here.

Here’s To The Night
Edmond & Carol Nicodemi
Theo Jack Records
www.cdbaby.com/all/nicodemi
Intimate, cocktail lounge music . . . we forget how enjoyable this music can be, but singer Carol Nicodemi and partner, jazz intrumentalist Edmond Paul Nicodemi, remind us! Beyond her warm, well toned vocals Carol surprises with a flexibility in her vocal instrument, notably on the opening cut ‘Nocturne.’ Edmond, who has also released a solo CD of his piano work, provides a beautiful partnering to the vocals with jazz guitar and flute. A number of excellent original compositions comprise half of the recordings on this album, with a couple of standards thrown in for good measure. A musical mood-setter, which should please jazz aficionados and novices alike.

Bridging Textures
Jim Hudak, Featuring Michael Manring & Tracy Silverman
Brainstorm Records
www.jhudak.com
Possessing a Windham Hill feel to it (credited to “guiding force” Will Ackerman of that well know record company), talented Jim Hudak’s piano is clean, crisp, bright, and evocative, and is augmented at times by violin, sax, fretted and fretless bass, and guitar (even ‘Cajun accordion’ on one cut). This album is a delight to listen to. Classical, jazz, pop, and even touches of country/Americana (evidenced in ‘You Taught Me”), make for an album more complex than the type – an album that does indeed “bridge (musical) textures.” Recommended.

Divine Connections – Three Evocative Guided Visualizations
Sharon Anne Klinger
www.starbringerassociates.com
www.sharonklingler.com
International speaker, author and medium Sharon Anne Klinger offers three guided meditations dealing with healing and enlightenment. Processes involving the Archangels Raphael and Uriel, the healing of issues with deceased loved ones, and communication with Eastern prophets are included. Liner notes briefly introduce the Archangels and prophets Confucius, Lao Tsu and Buddha. Sharon’s voice is soothing and encouraging, and the background music, composed by brother Kevin Klingler, is a perfect, non-intrusive accompaniment. Her meditations are quite specific and detailed, yet allow the listener an important amount of freedom in the process, unique among such recordings. Recommended, especially for those wanting to expand their current meditation activities.

Film

The Secret
Prime Time Productions
www.thesecret.tv
Although the information presented in ‘The Secret’ is not new, and includes principles lauded by writers ranging from Jose Silva to Shakti Gwain to Sandra Taylor, it is presented in a very compelling and convincing visual format. After a somewhat melodramatic, “Da Vinci Code-esque” opening, the film quickly gets to the heart of it’s offering. Through testimonials from such inspirational personages as Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, John Assaraf, Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith, Esther Hicks, Bob Doyle and Dr. Joe Vitale, and interspersed with quotes from famous historical figures including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Winston Churchill and Buddha, this film makes a strong case for a universal law. A law that I believe could change the lives of those open to its teachings. It also boasts an effective soundtrack and effects. Highly recommended.

Spiritual Cinema Circle members will receive the “THE SECRET” in their December DVD collection. Please visit: www.spiritualcinemacircle.com/secret for a free trial month, you pay just $4.95 shipping.

Village of Spirits – Lily Dale
Cooper Rock Pictures, Inc.
(available through devans@cooperrock.com)
www.visiontv.ca
www.cooperrock.com
Canadian filmmaker Jackie Dzuba’s trip to Lily Dale, NY – generally considered the oldest Spiritualist community in the world – is documented in this intimate portrait of the upstate, Victorian town. More, it is Ms. Dzuba’s exploration of the religion/lifestyle of Spiritualism, which includes a brief history of both town and religion, augmented with photographs and interviews with several of the indigenous mediums. Arriving an open-minded skeptic, she takes us through the town, sharing her impressions and interviews with others searching for communication with guides and deceased loved-ones. She arranges two readings for herself with mediums John White and Lauren Thibodeau and, finally, makes her own
conclusions based upon all of the above. It is well crafted, and an excellent representation of a town I myself have visited a number of times. Those who are curious but not yet ready to make the trip can see a true-to-life representation in this film. Recommended.

Mark Maxwell Abushady is an actor, singer, designer and photographer based in New York City.