In review--The Intimate World of Round Dancin'

-


World/Native American 
Wayne Silas, Jr.
Infinite Passion 
Canyon Records

Hey everyone, it’s that time of year for Native American round dances--a merry cycle of socializing, dancing, drumming and singing personal as well as, humorous songs.  A regular performer on the pow-wow trail and round dance circles, Wayne Silas, Jr. (Menominee/Oneida) brings us his newest collection of round dance songs, lullabies, and traditional women’s songs on Infinite Passion.  One minute he’s singing at the top of his lungs, another a moment he sings from the bottom of his heart with songs so sweet, intimate and tender that I feel like I’m eavesdropping on his family.  On the other hand, when his group of talented friends joins Silas, I feel like I dropped into a party.

My favorite songs lean on the slower melodic side such as Tha Mash Up which features polyrhythms, chimes, and vocal harmonies.  Pray, a duet with Veronica Keeswood also hits the spot as far as passionate vocals go and the lullaby that ends the recording (Super Kids) points out one of those tender, sweet and intimate moments I mentioned earlier.  And anyone expecting round dance humor will find that here too with She Texts Me, She Texts Me Not. But for some other woman, Yummy Whisper offers a sexy tribute. Many of the songs come with stories mentioned in the liner notes along with photographs of Silas’ children and of himself at a young age joining an adult drum group.  It’s probably more than you asked for or hoped to know as you venture into the inner world of Wayne Silas, Jr.  Boy, talk about wearing one’s heart on his sleeve!

http://www.canyonrecords.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Peyote Songs & The Native American Church

-
Image
Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive from Nat
Read more

The Practice--Treasure Hunt from the book Whole Music

-
Image
Excerpt from Whole Music The Practice: Musical Treasure Hunt Similar to treasure hunts from our childhood, I’m going to send you on a music treasure hunt in which the pleasures are many.  Pretend that you are a song catcher visiting other cultures where you collect new sounds. While I mentioned sound healers earlier, another important player with music preservation are ethnomusicologists who combine cultural anthropology with music preservation.  Two famous song catchers are the late Alan Lomax, and the world beat drummer Mickey Hart.  I recommend learning more about these song catchers through books, and documentaries. 1) Step One-- Head over to YouTube, and look up the following music traditions: ·          Aboriginal Didgeridoo ·          Finnish Runo-Songs (Traditional singer) ·          Gregorian chants ·          Griot Music of Mali (Acoustic, not pop music) ·          Sanskrit Chants Sung by Hindu Indians in Context (aka Kirtans)
Read more

Talking about Timbre

-
Image
Wikipedia As I mention in my book Whole Music , when I was a child I fell in love with timbre and the voices of the individual instruments we listened to in music class.  Each instrument conjured a specific emotions or feeling in me.  The French horn caused me to feel majestic and the cello invoked melancholy.  My moods would shift with each instrument that I heard and my moods would shift quickly. Today, I listen to more than timbre, but I have an understanding of how tone, frequencies of the tone and timbre (the color of the tone) affect me on all levels.  And I wonder what listening to an entire symphony does with its many voices, themes, keys, musical passages etc... In the concept of "whole music" I prefer not to separate musical components, but in the case of this post, I will present solo instruments for your listening and feeling pleasure. If you keep a music journal (and I hope that you do by now), write down the emotions that come up with each instrument.  R
Read more