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Attitudes CD Holy Hands CD Medicine Hat native releases second CD Medicine Hat native releases second
CD Juanita Faas … what can I say? Medicine Hat native releases debut
CD Dr. Dan Reinhardt |
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REVIEW:
Everything is filled with a real life and soul. Juanita Faas is a talented Canadian jazz pianist and 'Attitudes' is her second release. A predominantly instrumental album, it explores a myriad of jazz, and other, styles, from the "conga line" rhythmic arrangement of the opening "Wonderful Words Of Life", through some 12 bar blues in "Standing In The Need Of Prayer" to the blend of smooth piano and almost operatic vocals of the closing track, "The Lord's Prayer". REVIEW:
Fresh, instrumental interpretations of some classic hymns and praise choruses. Combining concert level piano skills with a heart for worship and gift for poignant arrangement, Canadian Juanita Faas presents a series of fresh, instrumental interpretations of some classic hymns and praise choruses in this collection. The genre is a odd one - many purveyors of Christian instrumental music struggle to navigate the line between schmaltzy lift music and moving instrumental pieces inspiring meditation and lifting the "eyes of the heart".
Medicine Hat Native Juanita Faas has just released her second CD. Local pianist Juanita Faas has just released her second CD, on the heals of a national summer tour. Continuing the direction of their first album, Juanita and her trio explore the crossover territory between jazz and gospel music, while adding many of their own unique turns and twists. This late 2004 release features a mixture of original material and arrangements of gospel tunes. Other members of the trio, who collaborate on some of the arrangements as well, are Gavin Sorochan on drums and Dave Graber on bass. The album opens with a “conga line” rhythm that gives a very different look at the traditional, Wonderful Words of Life. Along the way, the trio morphs through a straight ahead swing, a slow bluesy feel and a medium swing, ending with the conga line again. Blessed are We is a Faas original with an expansive sound that was inspired by the beatitudes. Juanita finds herself under the hood of the piano to do some string picking (while producer Craig Learmont has some fun with spiraling the sound between left and right channels), and again, the tune morphs through several more feels. Some nice big drum work here from Gavin and cool processed bass sounds from Dave. In the Garden features Juanita’s gentle, pure singing voice, and Lord I Lift Your Name On High finds us back on the Latin side. JHoly Hands is a re-make of the title track from Juanita’s 2002 release, and When We All Get To Heaven struts a funk beat, with some hip organ. Juanita doesn’t sit long in any groove however, and we are soon into an up-tempo boogie that goes up another notch with the tune Goodbye World Goodbye over a – a country 2-step? Standing in the Need of Prayer shows that it is really a 12 bar blues that just can’t resist romping into a “take it home – boys” kick chorus. What Child is This gets a lilting 6/8 treatment. The most unusual track on the CD is a short cut called Attitudes 1 that features rapper Diversebeats rapping his take on the book of Proverbs. Juanita met Diversebeats in Toronto, introduced him to the book of Proverbs and turned him loose to come up with his own lyrics. Good on ya, Juanita! Meditation(Thy Will Be Done) is another Faas original with some contemplative pads, gentle piano fills and very nice fretless bass lines. This is a strong cut, and could be the centrepiece of a whole album conducive to the meditative side of spiritual music. The CD ends with Juanita’s arrangement of the well-known The Lord’s Prayer. Medicine Hat vocalist Randy Feere sings the traditional melody, with some impressive adaptations to fit Juanita’s arrangement. Soprano sax lines are added throughout by a local saxophonist, whose name I won’t mention! Craig “the wiz” Learmont co-produces with Juanita and did the entire recording at his studio in Three Hills Alberta. I suspect he also plays the various horn, organ and pad additions to the various tracks. Holy Hands is available through Hillcrest Church or you can download the order form on this website. REVIEW:
I have known Juanita for quite some time. Her musical talent has always been obviously outstanding. What set's her apart, however, is her heart and her attitude. Juanita and her trio use our church sanctuary and our instruments From time to time for rehearsal purposes. They have always communicated well with us when scheduling a rehearsal. They have always been sensitive., cooperative and trustworthy with the use of our facility and instruments. They always approach us with great humility. Recently, Juanita and the trio performed a concert at our church. Again, the talent was impressive, but it was the heart and attitude which caught my attention. Juanita exudes joy as she plays. The rest of the trio are not competitive for attention. It was obvious that the music was a vehicle by which to proclaim the good news message of Jesus Christ. The concert was professional. yet homey. The musicians performed exceptionally, yet the Lord and the message was the centre of attention. Following the concert, the members of the trio all made themselves available to meet and visit with the audience. It was a good experience. If your audience / congregation is open to and enjoys all styles of music. I would recommend you invite Juanita Faas and her trio to minister through music. They will have a fun and blessed experience. Rev. Mark Kowalko RECOMMENDATION:
Juanita Faas …. what can I say? She is an extremely talented musician, a bright and happy person, a devoted mother and wife and she is a pleasure to have for a concert. Energy, enthusiastic, upbeat. Juanita has been to our church three times in the past two years and every time she comes to minister to us through her music, we are not left wanting --- except for maybe more of the same! Whether she's alone or with her band, she is fabulous in concert. The love she has for the Lord is so very evident and her spirit is genuine and tender which is seen when she talks of her World Vision child. Music is not her only love. Juanita can take a song that is familiar to all and make it her own put a twist on it that is unique and interesting… a little bit of jazz flavour mixed with the traditional sounds of church music makes for a great sound and a different way of looking at some old familiar songs. Listening to a familiar song will take you back to when you heard it first and the emotions you felt when you first heard the song will surface. When Juanita takes a familiar song and puts her special 'twist' on it, she allows the listener to hear the song in a different way, therefore creating new memories. Her own compositions show the emotional depth she possesses and the talent that just can't wait to explode from her fingers. She truly is a treat to listen to and a joy to watch! Juanita's concerts are upbeat; full of energy and enthusiasm. Every concert just keeps getting better and better! You won't go away disappointed' Penni Foshaug
Medicine Hat Native Juanita Faas has just released her debut CD, and completed a series of release concerts throughout Alberta. This is an interesting recording, melding jazz and Latin, with gospel. Juanita has a strong classical background, and has been pianist at Hillcrest Church for many years. She has been teaching and accompanying, as well as performing, throughout Medicine Hat, and began her exploration of jazz piano three or four years ago. Her trio is rounded out by Dave Graber on bass, and Gavin Sorochan on drums. They work well together, and seem to share a common conception. One of the tunes, the title cut, is a Faas original. The others are all the group's arrangements of familiar gospel songs. Some of these renditions, like How Great Thou Art, are very gospel sounding, with straight forward harmonies and extended arpeggiated sections. Others though show a contemporary jazz influenced side, with modal harmonies, like Awesome God, or time shifting grooves like Be Thou My Vision. Two arrangements stand out for their interest and imaginativeness. The first track is a medley of Latin Praise Doxology, I Love to Praise Him, and Praise Him. The tune evolves from a piano pedal tone and shimmering harmonies into a montuno based Latin groove and then to an uptempo swing. The transitions are well executed and the flow seems effortless and natural. We even get a snippet of Night in Tunisia harmonies that take the tune back to the Latin groove, and eventually return to the opening pedal. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho is another tune that gets an Afro Cuban treatment. In fact, this trio sounds best on its Latin grooves. Again an up-tempo swing section emerges, but this time it quickly fades into beautiful expansive modal section with some very fine bass soloing from Dave, and a hip drum solo section from Gavin. The Latin groove returns to take the head out. I especially like Dave's fretless bass sound on this album. He has found a way to play that is supportive and soloistic at the same time. I would like to hear this trio playing straight jazz and Latin repertoire, because I think they have the chops to come up with some interesting material. However, this album may serve to introduce jazz flavourings to the gospel music crowd. It is exploring territory that few others are, in a unique and refreshing way. This is a new trio on its first outing, and one that should continue to work and grow together. Holy Hands is available through Hillcrest Church or you can download the order form on this website.
To whom it may concern: I would like to recommend Juanita Faas to you for her music ministry. We have enjoyed her ministry for years here at HIllcrest Evangelical Missionary Church in Medicine Hat. God has gifted her with music, and she is using that gift to serve her Lord. When she plays the piano, she plays from the heart, and the Spirit of God ministers. I have been personally ministered to on numerous occasions as she plays Sunday mornings. It's great to stand up to preach with a heart that has just been led in worship. In addition to the "from the heart" aspect of her playing, she also plays with unusual talent. Her arrangements of sacred songs are on par with an professional Christian recording. She does not just play songs well, but she interprets them with sensitivity and creativity. It truly is both a musical and worship experience to listen to her praise her Lord through the piano. Sincerely, Dr Dan Reinhardt |
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© copyright Juanita Faas 2002
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