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.

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–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.

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--Mike Regenstreif