1998 recording from Edmonds Community College vocal ensemble Soundsation, directed by Kirk Marcy. A fourteen-voice mixed group, with rhythm combo/piano accompaniment, Soundsation integrates progressive, swing and the occasional arrrangement of a pop chart into a forum for jazz exploration. Whether 'Teach Me Tonight,' with its extended intro, multi-bar piano solo and improvised melody in the verse, or the arcing 'doyts' and charging pace of 'Ticket To Ride,' Soundsation utilizes all of the tools of the trade. Gene Puerling's 'Just In Time' will raise your heart rate with its presto tempo. Ward Swingle's arrangements of 'Blue Rondo a la Turk' and 'Up A Lazy River' are a cappella (as is 'Blame It On My Youth'). The cut-time of the 'Battle Hymn Of The Republic' is dramatically revised, for a truly distinctive closer.

Kirk Marcy is one of the members of the vocal jazz foursome, 'Just For Kicks.' When not touring as a performer, he teaches, and directs the mixed voice jazz group, Souindsation, of which he was a former member himself. Standards, such as Gershwin's 'Love Walked In' and Ellington's 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' are matched by the boppin' scat of 'Lemon Drop' and the contemporary and sensual cool of 'You're Everything,' written by Corea/Potter, and arranged by Michele Weir. The enigmatic Pat Methany composition, 'Minuano,' beginning with long, open vowels, gradually increases intensity by clipping the note values and shifting the vowels forward. Yumiko Matsuoka Young's velvety 'Danny Boy' and the 'William Tell Overture' are a cappella (most of the cuts are accompanied).