Music & More
by Mark Maxwell Abushady • New York City

CDs

Compassion
Dechen Shak-Dagsay
New Earth Records
www.newearthrecords.com
www.dechen-shak.com
From the moment the first tones of this lovely album sounded, I felt the atmosphere calm, and a suffusion of peace and serenity surrounded me. Beautifully sung and orchestrated with flute, piano, Tibetan bowls, and tamboura all grounded by a restrained use of synthesizer that seems a chant of ‘om’ throughout the whole album. Translations of the chants or mantras are included, but the essences of these are so well captured by music and voice that they are hardly necessary.


Lost Canyons
Scott August
Cedar Mesa Music
www.cedarmesa.com
Lost Canyons is an album atypical of the Native American music genre. Although the flutes (Native American, Anasazi rim-blown flute, clay flute) are all played with great skill, they are driven to more modern modalities, touching at various times upon jazz, pop, or world sound sensibilities. Contributing to this “shaking up” of the typical Native American sound is the incorporation of kalimba, udu, tabla, oud, gamelan kettle gongs and charango. Expecially notable is ‘Thunder on the Mesa,’ which most successfully accomplishes this integration, and the Phillip Glass-like ‘Huukyangw’ (or ‘Wind’).

Leaving Kansas
Holly Long
Longsongs Music/Skim Milk Productions
www.hollylong.com
www.injoimusic.com
Imagine a country crossover sound with a dose of Joni Mitchell thrown in, and you approach the sound and verbal dexterity of Holly Long. I was very, very impressed with her and this collection of story songs. The fire of creativity burns here, both in her words (all songs are original) and her emotionally expressive and free ranging voice. Add a super back-up band and wow . . . Have a good listen to ‘Brokedown’ and ‘Pain and Glory.’ Artists like Holly Long are a rare breed.

I’ll Remember Love: The Larry Gelb Songbook – Volume 1
Larry Gelb
www.imaginmusic.com
Composer and lyricist Larry Gelb is a Jazz pianist who cites Rodgers and Hart, Harold Arlen and Jimmy Van Heusen as his heroes. All of these points come to bear upon his composing, here performed by a fine collection of Broadway vocalists (including Kelly Grant, Amy Justman, David Perlman and Paul Binotto). The selections are taken from various shows composed by Mr. Gelb. Varying from urbane and witty to “torchy” and “bluesy,” the collection certainly rivals other new music on Broadway and off-B’way, and while the focus track (as one press release mentioned) ‘Blood of America’ might seem slightly awkward, the rest of the album’s dreamy, jazzy-bluesy feel, dotted with comic surprises such as ‘It Must Be Love,’ and ‘The Vegetable Song’ create a successful offering.

Films

A Life Among Whales
Written, Produced and Directed by Bill Haney
Narrated by Dr. Roger Payne and “The Kids of The Shady Hill School”
www.bullfrogfilms.com
A Life Among Whales is a delightful celebration of whales as well as a sobering look at the plight they are once again facing with on-going hunting and the newer problem of pollutants. With some spectacular photography and endearing testimonials from the children, the main speaker, Dr. Roger Payne, speaks of his experiences promoting the understanding of and defending these amazing creatures.
We’ve all heard of dangerous levels of mercury, PCBs, and other toxins in fish that humans eat. Imagine, given the amount of fish and other sea creatures a whale consumes, those levels multiplied by 100’s and 1000’s; numbers high enough to classify some whales as toxic dump sites eligible under the superfund law for clean-up. Yet we can’t ‘clean-up’ whales…

Like the film ‘Sharkwater’ reviewed in a previous issue, this film also expounds upon the virtues and heretofore unthought-of benefit members of the whale family (which includes the porpoises) bring to our world and humankind. Although it is a short film (39 mins.), it is extremely well constructed, and includes some fascinating hard facts for the scientific among us, as well as an exploration of whale music and singing (including commentary by Paul Winter). This is a must see film; one that should be shown in our schools as well. NOTE: This film, and the following, are available as a DVD double feature from Earth Cinema Circle.

The True Cost of Food
Produced by Free Range
www.freerangegraphics.com
Animation by Anuerin Wright
Presented by the Sierra Club Sustainable Consumption Committee
www.truecostoffood.org
www.sierraclub.org

A short, 15min. cartoon-format film for the family, this one packs a whalloping amount of information regarding the inherent destructiveness of factory farms – to our environment, our economy, and our bodies – as opposed to local, small family farms. Pitting a farm stand against the “BuyItAllMart,” it’s message is very clearly stated through example after example. Well thought out and highly recommended, it can be downloaded from the Sierra Club website, in addition to being available from the Earth Cinema Circle.


The Secret Things of God
Based on the book by
Dr. Henry Cloud
release date: 3/11/2008
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
www.thesecretthingsofgod.com

The language and imagery of the film ‘The Secret’ is borrowed here to place fundamentalist Christian principles into the currently popular format of that film, and, it seemed at times, to combat what I believe was seen by the writer as the “Godless” teaching of ‘The Secret’ and the law of attraction.
Peppered with bible quotes – indeed, the film felt more like a bible study class, as quotes were put up on the screen and then interpreted by Dr. Cloud – the film, like its predecessors, offers a series of guests, including Dr. Drew Pinsky, V. Rev. John Bakas (who consulted on Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’) and Christine Ferrare, each of whom ‘testify’ on the teachings of the Bible (teachings which in this
paradigm become “the secrets”).

A psychological component is brought into the mix as well, mainly though Dr. Pinsky, though not extensively explored (“I don’t know why, but terror in childhood is converted to attraction”). Other, secular teachings are also included (“What you invest in, grows.” and “Those who don’t ever find their passion often are listening to others rather than their inner core.”). And although there are a few verbal “shots” taken at The Secret (“ . . . some superstitious, supernatural kind of magnet”) the main difference Dr. Cloud wishes to impress is that in his version of ‘The Secret,’ the force that governs the universe is NOT impersonal, but rather, highly personal. I think it safe to say that ‘The Secret’ will continue to spawn responses for years to come.

 

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

 

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