Joni Mitchell : Arrangements for Treble Voices

"You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." Joni Mitchell's hit song "Big Yellow Taxi" from 1970 gets a fresh, hip treatment in this cool Greg Gilpin arrangement. "The Circle Game" - Originally created for Vancouver's Elektra, this concert arrangement features a soloist as it weaves the melody through every section in the ensemble. Multiple key changes add to the musicality of this delightful setting of a Joni Mitchell favorite. "Both Sides Now" - Recorded and performed by more than fifty artists in the fifty-plus years since its initial release, this Joni Mitchell song has become an enduring meditation on the shifting perspective that comes with time. The melody passes generously from part to part across a shimmering palette of choral harmonies. John Leavitt provides a piano accompaniment that adds texture and color while fully supporting the voices.

Songlist: Big Yellow Taxi, The Circle Game, Both Sides Now

Mitchell's work is highly respected both by critics and fellow musicians. Rolling Stone magazine called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever," while Allmusic said, "When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century." Here is a collection of the Joni's best works over the years and must be considered a true American treasure whose songs will be sung for generations.

Songlist: A Case Of You, All I Want, Big Yellow Taxi, Both Sides, Now, California, Car On A Hill, Carey, Chelsea Morning, Chinese Cafe, Coyote, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, For Free, He Comes For Conversation, Help Me, I Don't Know Where I Stand, In France They Kiss On Main Street , Jericho, Ladies Of The Canyon, Michael From Mountains, Morning Morgantown, My Old Man, Rainy Night House, Raised On Robbery, River, Solid Love, The Circle Game, Wild Things Run Fast, Willie, Woodstock Song Pop, You Turn Me On I'm A Radio

Shine, Joni Mitchell's seventeenth studio album, is her first album of all-new material since 1998's Taming the Tiger. Joni announced her retirement from the music industry in 2002, making Shine a wonderful surprise and a huge gift to her legions of devoted fans. From Joni's liner notes: "That night the piano beckoned for the first time in ten years. My fingers found these patterns which express what words could not."

Songlist: One Week Last Summer, This Place, If I Had a Heart, Hana, Bad Dreams, Big Yellow Taxi, Night of the Iguana, Strong and Wrong, Shine, If

FWI describes itself as "a refreshingly quirky yet musically substantive eight-person San Francisco-based a cappella ensemble known for its versatility and unpredictability." Founded in 1996, this 4-man, 4-woman ensemble gave a very impressive performance at the 2005 Bay Area Regional, and prides itself in singing something for everyone. These 17 cuts are clear evidence of this: a wonderfully harmonic cover of CSN&Y's "CarryOn/Questions" medley, Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever," Lennon/McCartney's "Can't Buy Me Love" performed as a Renaissance madrigal, and the heart-tugging WWII anthem " I'll Be Seeing You" are part of a musical Whitman's Sampler that continually delights and surprises. k.d. lang's hit "Constant Cravings," Z. Randall Stroope's lovely "Amor de mi Alma," J.S. Bach's hilarious "Traffic Fugue" (with lyrics added, with no disrespect, by C. Seagrave); Randy Weeks' country tune "Can't Let Go," and the silly "Plastic Jesus," Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," and The Arachnid Suite: "The Spider" and " The Spider in the Bath" are favorites. This is fun, entertaining stuff with something to please everyone!

Songlist: Carry On / Questions, Whenever, Wherever, Can't Buy Me Love, I'll Be Seeing You, Hurt, Constant Craving, Amor de mi Alma, Traffic Fugue, Can't Let Go, Go, Lovely Rose, One, Plastic Jesus, Big Yellow Taxi, The Spider, Spider in the Bath, My Immortal, Happy Together

The release of this CD has been eagerly awaited - fans of the group's live performances have been clamoring for it! This mixed quintet, based in Florida, has all kinds of chops, as singers as well as entertainers. They have a contemporary sound, including vocal percussion, but a jazzy influence can be detected, such as on the track "Loving You," (no surprise, as the song was arranged by Yumiko Matsuoka). Indeed, it is this facility that fleshes out the arrangements and gives the finished product substance. "Hooked On A Feeling" chugs along with its "ooga chaka" pulse - an example where humor also works musically. "My Cherie Amour" shows once again the tightness of the "rhythm section," "Big Yellow Taxi," arranged by the group, proves their facility in this area. Several original songs show another facet of the group's talent.

Songlist: A Toxic Tribute To Pat And Debby Boone, Spooky, Can't Win, Loving You, Hooked On A Feeling, Ordinary Life, Take A Chance On Me/ Dancing Queen, My Cherie Amour, Big Yellow Taxi, Outta My Mind, Say Goodbye, The Super-Phat Low-Cal Disney Rap, A Dream Is A Wish

Voce : So Many Ways   

Five music professionals from Edmonton, Alberta are classically trained members of Voce (pronounced Voh-che). They formed in 1993 to be able to share their interpretations of popular music from the tweedeledee of "Rockin' Robin" through a "Rocky Mountain High" which has "Rivers Of Dreams" flowing through it like "Tears In Heaven". Jazz, tight harmonies that take on a close harmony sound, almost, and touches of classical music are all incorporated in the covers found in the midst of three sweet original tunes, the title track "So Many Ways" and two spirit movers "The Light" and "Gift Of Song."

Songlist: So Many Ways, Rockin' Robin, River Of Dreams, Rocky Mountain High, Tears In Heaven, Big Yellow Taxi, Sweet Geargia Brown, Moondance, Fire, The Light, Gift Of Song