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By David F. Dawes
 | | Teena Ree Gowdy |
IT’S that time of year again, and B.C.’s
indie musicians want you to know it.
Surely one of the more enthused is Teena Ree Gowdy of Kelowna. Her latest
CD, This is Christmas, is simply bursting with seasonal cheer.
Gowdy starts things off right with the title song,
wishing Jesus himself a happy birthday.
‘Do You Hear What I Hear’ has an inventive
arrangement, and ‘Go Where I Send Thee’ utilizes an exuberant
Latin American rhythm; ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ is nicely
jazzy; and ‘What Child is This’ is sung slowly, underlining its
meaning.
The funky ‘Deck the Halls’ is a real
challenge to the traditionalists, as the the venerable
‘fa-la-las’ are replaced with ‘shooba-doos.’ Risky
stuff, but good fun.
My favourite is ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel,’
indubitably the Christmas season’s all-time greatest hit (at least
800 years on the charts, and counting). Gowdy presents it slow and
heartfelt, and includes several verses not often heard.
The instrumentation throughout is imaginative and
tasteful, featuring violin, trumpet and, of all things, sitar. Most
importantly, Gowdy has a fine, strong voice capable of both nuance and
proclamation.
Be sure to check her website at: gowdy.ca/teenaree.
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I must confess instrumental versions of Christmas tunes
seldom work for me. But three CDs I heard recently have challenged my
thinking.
 Abbotsford guitarist Peter
Groenhof offers Christmas
Innocence, consisting primarily of traditional
tunes. His playing is skilled and focused, stopping short of being ornate.
Many of these melodies have become over-familiar, but
his simple style helps one appreciate their beauty afresh. The highlight is
‘O Holy Night,’ which is embellished by Schubert’s
‘Ave Maria.’
You can find out more at: petergroenhof.com.
 Abbotsford’s Mennonite
Jazz Committee sure don’t sound like
Mennonites to me (shows how much I know). On Dawn
of Grace, the quintet tackles a variety of
standards with aplomb.
The tunes which work best are the slow numbers,
frequently featuring muted trumpet. My favourite is ‘Carol of the
Bells,’ which starts and ends with a rustic bell sound.
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You can find a taste of this music online, at: myspace.com/mennonitejazzcommittee.
 Vancouver rocker Kwong made an impact several years ago with The Year of the Dragon, a short but
ambitious concept album which favoured heavy metal and intriguing
symbolism.
Now Kwong wants to honour The
Year of the Lamb – showing his
unexpected soft side by playing tranquil solo piano (who knew?).
The melodies, both traditional and original, are
pretty, but not saccharine. The continuity is imaginative –
especially in the finale, where Andrae Crouch’s ‘Soon and Very
Soon’ precedes ‘Away in a Manger.’
The most effective pieces can best be described as the
sound of snow falling.
Check it out online, at: myspace.com/kwong2008.
* * *
Finally: Maximum Christian
Worship, purporting to offer
‘Canada’s Top 25 Christmas Songs,’ is a bit of a
marketing gimmick. For one thing, many of the artists are American.
However, there’s no doubting the overall
high quality of the music. And B.C. is nicely represented by Christine
Evans, Greg Sczebel and Brian Doerksen.
Merry Christmas!
December 2008
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