Shelley Posen – Ontario Moon

Shelley Posen

Ontario Moon

Well Done Music

borealisrecords.com

(A version of this review was published in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.)

Shelley Posen is well known throughout the folk music world as a member of Finest Kind, a mostly-retired Ottawa vocal trio known for its glorious harmonies, and as a versatile singer and songwriter whose work touches many genres. Ontario Moon is his fifth solo album and while two of his previous CDs were on specifically Jewish themes, the dozen songs here are purely secular in nature.

One of the things that’s really nice about this album is that each track is uniquely arranged with musicians specifically recruited for the song in question. For example, the title track, a jazzy, romantic tune that recalls the Tin Pan Alley songs that songwriters like Irving Berlin were writing in the 1930s, features a swinging quintet that includes Django Reinhardt-influenced guitarists Christian Flores and Andrew Tesolin, bassist Mike Mopasi, clarinetist Martin van de Ven of the klezmer band Beyond the Pale, and violinist Mika Posen, Shelley’s daughter.

One of the songs I relate to most on the album is “Night Nurse,” a blues featuring the bottleneck guitar virtuosity of Michael Jerome Browne. The song is a tribute to the care Shelley received several years ago when he underwent surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. The song mirrors my own experiences with the night nurses when I had my own surgery at the Heart Institute a few years later.

Other favourites include “The Best Song Ever Written,” a fun country song about songwriting; “Back at Bub’s,” a rock ‘n’ roller about a favourite barbecue joint; “Sugar Bush Breakfast,” a very sweet duet with Montreal singer Linda Morrison; “Tea Time,” a clever paean to afternoon tea at the Royal York featuring a classical string quartet; and “Walking in the Rain,” a delightful little piece that sounds like it could have come from a 1940s musical.

While I’ve mentioned about half the songs on the album, all of the others are just as good.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

–Mike Regenstreif

Canadian Spaces – CKCU – Saturday November 25, 2017

CKCU can be heard at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This particular show is now available for on-demand listening. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/129/35097.html

Canadian Spaces on CKCU in Ottawa is Canada’s longest-running folk music radio program. It is heard Saturday mornings from 10:00 am until noon (Eastern time).

It was hosted for more than 33 years by the late Chopper McKinnon and is now hosted by Chris White and a rotating cast of co-hosts.

This week’s show was co-hosted by Mike Regenstreif and Chris White.

Guests: Terry Tufts & Kathryn Briggs (Algonquin Ensemble); Shawna Caspi; Susan McMaster; Campbell Woods.

The Wailin' Jennys- Light of a Clear Blue Morning

Fifteen (True North)

Orit Shimoni- Etz Harimon

Songs for My Father (Orit Shimoni)

Bruce Cockburn- Twelve Gates to the City

Bone On Bone (True North)

Kim Beggs- See That My Grave is Kept Clean

Said Little Sparrow (Out of a Paper Bag Productions)

Chaim Tannenbaum- Mama’s Angel Child

Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)

Tom Russell- These Friends of Mine

Play One More: The Songs of Ian & Sylvia (True North)

Kat Goldman- Baby, I Understand

The Workingman’s Blues (Kat Goldman)

Kevin Head- Digby Lament

Hear Them Callin’ (Kevin Head)

Over the Moon- Alberta Moon

Moondancer (Over the Moon)

Julian Fauth- John Henry

The Weak and the Wicked, the Hard and the Strong (Electro-Fi)

Beyond the Pale- Ruckus in Ralja

Ruckus (Borealis)

Algonquin Ensemble- Overture – Birchwood Board

Sonic Palette (Algonquin Ensemble)

Terry Tufts- Northern River

Live in the studio

Shawna Caspi- Love in a Moving Van

Forest Fire (Shawna Caspi)

Shawna Caspi- Numbers Hame

Live in the studio

Susan McMaster- Diagnosis

Gift to be Simple: Crossing Arcs – Alzheimer’s, my mother, and me (Soundcloud)

Susan McMaster- Freeze

Live in the studio

Campbell Woods- She’s a Keeper

Live in the studio

Shawna Caspi w/Campbell Woods- Tennessee Waltz

Live in the studio

Campbell Woods- Blood is Thicker Than Water

Live in the studio

My next show on CKCU is December 9 when I’ll be hosting the Saturday Morning program from 7 until 10 am.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Beyond the Pale – Ruckus

BEYOND THE PALE

Ruckus
Borealis Records

beyondthepale.net

borealisrecords.com

(A version of this review was published in the September 18, 2017 issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.)

Ruckus – an exciting, all-instrumental set of 13 tunes – is the first CD in eight years from Beyond the Pale, the Toronto-based klezmer band led by mandolinist Eric Stein, artistic director of Ashkenaz, Toronto’s biennial festival of Yiddish and Jewish culture.

In addition to Eric, the band includes violinist Aleksandar Gajic, bassist Brett Higgins, accordionist Milos Popovic and clarinetist Martin Van De Ven.

Mike Regenstreif introducing Beyond the Pale at the Montreal Folk Festival on the Canal (2017)

Almost equally divided between traditional klezmer and Balkan tunes and original compositions by the various members of the band, Beyond the Pale uses traditional styles as a starting point in their compositions and adaptations as they incorporate influences from classical music, jazz and bluegrass into their playing.

For example, the moods in Eric’s “The Whole Thing” shift from a classical feel to a Parisian café mode, while Aleksander’s haunting “Andale” seems like it is rooted in slow Middle Eastern forms.

Among the other highlights are “Mila’s Dance,” a playful tune composed by Martin and “Oltenilor,” a toe-tapping traditional klezmer tune that I don’t think I’d heard before. Actually, in the hands of Beyond the Pale’s virtuoso musicians, every tune is a highlight.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif