Golden Gate Quartet

Starting A Gospel CD Library

I've often been asked by people who are new to Black gospel what recordings I'd recommend. There's no perfect anthology wherein every track is a knockout. I can think of many recordings (and there's a discography in A cappella - Rehearsing For Heaven), but I can't recommend one in particular, because not everyone's taste will be catered for in any one CD. So over the next few months I’ll talk about a few recordings and groups (available on CD) that I consider useful if you want to get deeper into Black gospel.
The Golden Gate Quartet: Travellin' Shoes (Bluebird 07863 - RCA Heritage Series 66063-2).
One of the many compilations. Pick any of the early 'Gates recordings and you can't go wrong (the Complete Recorded Works 1937-1943 are on four CDs on the Document label), but after the '50s, when they add a piano and move to Paris, they become formulaic, on record at least. Sorry.
The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet were one of the most popular and influential groups of the ‘30s and ‘40s, and still perform today, though no longer in this precise style, nor are they based in the USA but in Paris. Before the late ‘30s, the word ‘jubilee’ had previously been used to describe all Black religious singing groups, but it henceforth became synonymous with ‘rhythmic spiritual’, which is how the Gates described their vocal style. This was a style characterised by fast tempos, tight, recitative-like narrative leads, evenly-balanced harmonies, jazz syncopation and a percussive approach to each word.
The members on this CD (which has a cappella cuts from 1937-1939) areWilliam Langford (tenor), Henry Owens (tenor), Willie Johnson (baritone and leader), Orlandus Wilson (bass). The quartet started in the 1930s in a barbershop in Norfolk, Virginia, singing 'rhythmic spirituals' or 'jubilees' - light, joyous 'gospel' songs, which appealed to secular as well as church audiences. Previously the Norfolk Jubilee Quartet and others had paved the way, but the Gates brought in a bit of the Mills Brothers stylings (pseudo-instrumental breaks), Pentecostal rhythm and syncopation and an impeccable blend. Because of the light touch and popular appeal, they've sometimes been dismissed as having 'little distinctively Negroid content, being aimed mainly at the white market' (Godrich and Dixon: Blues and Gospel Records 1902-1942), but they didn't aim to push anyone's praise buttons, but to inform in an entertaining and dignified way.
Leader Johnson wanted every syllable to be percussive and rhythmic, and also used the word 'organophonic' to describe the sound he was aiming for. And he got it - the Gates are tight, and the blend is seamless and rich with light upper voices (Langford had a classic high tenor voice and a beautiful falsetto) and Johnson's mellow baritone which glues the sound together - at times he sounds like a harmonic of the bass voice, so tightly welded is he to Wilson's driving bass part. As Johnson said: “It was vocal percussion, it was just like a drum, but it had notes to it, it had lyrics to it, you see. and you had different beats, you had different accents. You would accent it here, accent it there, but what was done was done together... it was just plain percussion. Like a bunch of guys beating a tom-tom somewhere.” (Interview with Doug Seroff, January 1980. Gospel Arts Day booklet, Nashville, June 1989)
Their first recording 'Golden Gate Gospel Train' (they recorded 14 songs in two hours that day) came after a couple of years of touring, and it rocks - a churning railroad track rhythm, various imitations of trumpet and sound-effects, brief snatches of field-holler - with a kind of groove you can only call funk. (I hear this kind of groove too in the later quartet Heavenly Gospel Singers.) Even on more polite, less syncopated songs like Dorsey's 'Bedside of A Neighbour' (recorded at the same session), they maintain a solid forward hm-hm-boh hm-hm-boh momentum. There's a beautiful interplay too, on that song, in the final 'instrumental'verses, between the the lead ('trumpet') and Johnson's moaned interjections.
The third cut from the first session 'Job' alternates a fast syncopated and tense chorus, with a verse where the backing holds a wall of sound (a remarkably rich sound for three voices) behind Johnson - who sings a funkily rhyming narrative. Johnson has a great sense of phrasing and rhythm, snappy and syncopated, and not too far from rap for some commentators to have pointed to the Gates as rap’s progenitors. 'Noah' follows a similar pattern with an explosive chorus, a relatively meditative tag and narrative verse.
'Dipsy Doodle', 'My Walking Stick' and 'Stormy Weather' are secular items that could be the Mills Brothers, and there are also instances of exaggerated accents and character voices in 'Cheer The Weary Traveller' and 'Ol' Man Mose'. Moses makes another appearance in 'Go Down Moses', here called 'Way Down In Egypt Land', which starts like a university quartet: rubato solo and unison lines, with Wilson's bass prominent, expands into a slow call-and -response verse, then rocks out. 'Let That Liar Alone' contains four-line verses: each line features a different member.
'To The Rock' is actually 'Don't Want To Go There' (see Move On Up, pp 10-11 - quel surprise! I never noticed this before) - and this one has more of the funky syncopation, and a different structure involving a call-and-response verse. Man, this moves.
'I Looked Down The Road And I Wondered' is one of my favourites: it begins with another funky rolling rhythm, with a gently sorrowful lead, then introduces a falsetto parallel harmony to the lead (an unusual device in quartet), while baritone and bass keep rolling on intensely underneath. With the long notes held by the twin leads and the driving background, there's a rare tension and beauty.
The Golden Gate Quartet: Gospel Train (JSPCD 602).
This collection duplicates some of the cuts on Travellin' Shoes, contains one comedy recitation 'I Was Brave' and a couple of pop spirituals: 'Rock My Soul' and 'Saints Go Marching In'. (The latter is married to the old song 'Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad' over a clanka-lanka background.) It's maybe the better collection, though it doesn't contain 'I Looked Down The Road And I Wondered' or 'To The Rock' or 'Bedside of A Neighbour', but makes up for it by having 'This World is In A Bad Condition' (with bass solo verses), 'Behold The Bridegroom Cometh' (with it's fabulous 'jazz-band' break) and a beautifully-moaned 'Remember Me',(those three are in A cappella - Rehearsing For Heaven) and 'When They Ring The Golden Bells' (see Move On Up). 'Lord Am I Born To Die' is another slow and moving prayer, with lovely chordal shifts.
The titles are sometimes confusing: I've mentioned the obscurely-named 'To The Rock', and there's also 'My Lord is Waiting' which is really 'My Lord is Writing', 'Sampson' is actually 'My Soul Is A Witness' though they sing 'I'm another witness'.
There are a few Golden Gate Quartet compilations, but as I said, the ones to look for have the cuts from 1937-1950.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Gate_Quartet

BIG CHANGES

• After 21 years (a third of my life) of being at the helm of the Café of the Gate of Salvation, I’ve decided it’s time for someone else to have a turn. The choir has been so important in my life, the hackneyed term ‘life-changing’ doesn't begin to do justice to the history between us, the music, love and joy we’ve shared. It’s given me inspiration, fun and educated me in the many aspects of working with a choir. It’s been an essential part of my development as a composer and director.
It’s been a hard decision and feels like leaving home, but it also feels like a good time for me to resign and hand on the Avuncular Despot mantle - the choir sounds really strong at the moment, and there are so many members with the requisite skills to keep it rocking I know it will continue to grow. The choir has been doing gigs without me over the last few years when I’ve been unavailable, and they'll be performing at the Bellingen Global Carnival while I’m away, and doing some new material.
My last gig is at the Basement on September 20, – though I will continue to write and arrange songs for the Café. Thanks gang, it’s been an extraordinary and wonderful trip.

• Just about to head off to Paris to run a couple of workshops (merci infiniment à la charmant Liz Strickland et son mari Albert, et aussi aux amis à Sydney qui ont m'aidé avec le français - bien que Albert va servir de l'interprète au stage), then after a week in London, it's off to Memphis and Chicago with 12 members from the Band of Angels, where we'll attend choir rehearsals, church services, quartet programs and perform at concerts in churches in Memphis and at Northwestern University in Chicago – where we'll also catch up with E. Patrick Johnson, who many of you know. Looking forward to that.
Then Marianne and I are going to New Orleans for a few days to scope it out post-Katrina. I'm happy to have just heard from my friend, the wonderful singer and director Pamela Landrum that my favourite church there, Ebenezer MBC, is operating again, and that her son, choir-director and singer Rev. Jermaine Landrum has taken over as pastor. (I'm grateful to them for, among other things, introducing a couple of great songs to me: Glad To Be In The Service, and Lily in the Valley)There are still other friends I haven't been able to locate since the disaster and I hope to find them.
After that, it's a few days in Vancouver running workshops, and enjoying the inestimable hospitality of my good friend Marc Lindy, the host and producer of Gospel Train, the public radio gospel show. (I get to appear on the show, too.)

Singing in Samoa

The accomodation, Saleapaga


Going to church, Saleapaga, July 8


Fresh back from the first Singing in Samoa tour - which seemed to go exceedingly well. For eight days forty-four of us including a film crew, me and Marianne, and the admin team stayed at the wonderfully welcoming resort of FaoFao, in the village of Saleapaga on the south coast of Upolu.
(It’s not Club Med. It’s sleeping open-sided fales on the beach and cold showers, but then again it’s…sleeping in open fales on the beach. Roll out of bed and force yourself to trudge 6 metres to wallow or snorkel in the clear turquoise water, swan into the FaoFao dining room for a breakfast of paw paw, bananas, coconut, rice cooked in cocoa, etc etc. How can you work under these circumstances? It’s really living in a village for a week - as Jen Richardson, our dedicated tour manager says: it’s not a 5-star resort, but it’s a 5-star experience.)
After the traditionally weird flight schedule peculiar to Pacific Islands, (which saw us getting into Apia at 5.30 am,) we drove for another hour and a half to Faofao. After a morning nap and lunch, we were suddenly into it. We had a quick vocal session where we learned This Heart of Mine, which we almost immediately found ourselves obliged to perform at the welcoming ceremony in the afternoon. The ceremony involved the local matai (some very high-ranking chiefs), kava, some singing, some speeches in Samoan and the presentation of a large kava stick to Jen, symbolic of our being under the protection of the matai.
The next day we had a couple of sessions learning a Samoan hymn Fa’afetai O Le Atua from the choir-director at the local Congregational Church, Tapu, and a traditional African-American church song, The Fire Keeps on Burning (which I had arranged on the flight). That night was the fiafia (party/floorshow) where the locals (tiny kids, young hunks, old goddesses all in together) and old turned on a fabulous performance of dancing, singing, slap-dance, fire-dance, slit drums and computer rhythms), culminating in everyobody dancing together.
The next day being Sunday, after the traditional Sunday feast, we dressed in white and sang at the afternoon church service. In spite of the short preparation time, the group acquitted itself well, the congregation was generous in its response and the pastor Reverend Waia effusive in his acknowledgement.
The following day we got into a schedule of early morning yoga (I believe), two or three vocal sessions a day, with other sessions of drumming, basket-weaving, dancing, and yoga nidra in the afternoon. The evenings evolved into different events - a blackboard open-mic session, singing round a fire on the beach, or just drinking and yarning, Choir-director/ barman/drummer Tapu, was an excellent addition to the program, and taught us old Samoan songs every morning, I taught a few old gospel songs, two gorgeous local girls Nai and Sa taught the girls a dance. Everyone moved with exquisite languor.
Midway through the week, we took off to Apia for the day (via some waterfalls and stuff) where we drank coffee and shopped for lavalavas - and appeared on Samoan TV, singing a couple of songs at a welcoming ceremony put on for us by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labour, the Hon Misa Telefoni MP and the Samoan Tourist Department. I’m still not sure what that was all about, though I had the impression Mr Telefoni liked to be in the limelight. But we got free food and a free cultural show, the highlight of which may have been a male dance in which 4 tattooed hunks threw huge axes at each other.
On the final night we had another fiafia, where the palagi showed off all they’d learned during the week to the matai, Rev, Waia and all, the FaoFao community dazzled is with more great singing and dancing, and then we all funked down to an odd assortment of disco hits.
Thanks to Jen, Tapu and the aimiable Koroseta and family, Nai, Sa and all at FaoFao, Thanks all the old chums and new friends for your enthusiasm and good spirits.

one year older and deeper in debt

Rhythm Machine


I John Saw The Holy Number


Holy Day

Here's a pic or two from my 60th birthday party, held jointly with another Gemini honoree Stephanie Dowrick. The exceptional band included Peter Dasent and Mike Gubb (keys) Fane Flaws and Robert Taylor (guitars) Alex Hewetson (bass) and Warren Trout (drums) with Marianne Backhouse and Lisa Smith on vocals.
Thanks to the Heavenly Lights, the Café of the Gate of Salvation, Heather Lee and Kim Cunio for singing on the night, and thanks to the choir for buying me a new Fender P-bass…

Tour Notes 2 - COTGOS in the rest of NZ

I had good intentions to update this rant every couple of days, but couldn’t get to it before now, due to the vagaries of the NZ tour. Which has all gone brilliantly, and we owe a debt of thanks to our team who worked so tirelessly to get 34 people over the ditch and onstage, and to get buns on pews - see below. (I didn’t realise the magnitude of the undertaking until a few days in...)
After a day off in Auckland, we headed south in our hired coach. We received another standing ovation at the slightly formal WEL Arts Centre at Waikato University, Hamilton, and after the show were treated to an impromptu and hilarious performance by male quartet Glory 4 - thanks, Matt, Mike, Peter and Derek - and thanks to Heather Kerr for all her help.
Then a gig-less day on the coach travelling to Napier, via Rotorua where most members hit the cultural performance at Wahakarewarewa, (and did an impromptu ‘How I Got Over’ at the village) then soaked in the Polynesian Spa.
We had great audience and a wonderful performance the following night in Napier; we invited some disadvantaged sectors of the community to attend for free and were even joined on stage by a member of the audience from the Hophepa community for the encores. Thanks to Fane Flaws for the amp, and to Zahira for on-site organsation. The choir did a spot of partying on at WindSock afterwards where the excellent Tropical Downbeat Orchestra were funking down.
Next day back on the coach to Masterton (with a stopover at Norsewood for everyone to stock up on woolies); we squeezed into the foyer of Arrow FM to do a couple of songs live to air, courtesy of my dopplegänger Michael Wilson, followed by a very well-received gig at the St Lukes Union Church.
Last day of the road trip: coach from Masterton to Wellington, where the weather was beautiful. Worth mentioning because some of us know that a miserable day in Wellington pretty much re-defines ‘miserable’, but we were sensationally lucky with the weather the whole trip. A great performance at St Andrews on the Terrace on the Saturday night (thanks to Elizabeth Crayford for biz and Bill Lake for the amp), and another wonderful gig there on the Sunday afternoon.
By now we’re losing a few members: some like Jo, Lisa, Rohan, Ruth, Carol and Stephen Clarke could only make it this far due to other commitments, and sadly, a death in the family meant Frank had to go home at this point. Plus Marianne has lost her voice, and a few others have colds and are nursing their vocal folds. So for Sunday we rejig the repertoire a bit, and it seems to work, though it's not the excuse I thought it would be to fit some gnarly guitar solos into the act. As it is, I have to explain to a sceptical audience that 'a capella' originally meant 'features distorted Fender Strat'.

South Island

Happily Chris and Mike are able to join us for the South Island, so we’re back to 5 basses (though at full strength we have 9). After a day off in Wellington (and an excellent choir dinner at Ernesto’s), we fly to Nelson on Tuesday. After settling in to our downtown motel, we walk to the Victory Primary School, where we’re warmly welcomed by about 100 kids. We sing a few songs to them and teach them ‘The Storm is Passing over’ in two parts, get into two opposing teams and have a sing-off. That evening we have a sensational gig at the Nelson Cathedral, which is packed with chums from the choirs in the area like Mosaic and the Golden Bay choir. Thanks to Janet Matheson and Dana Rose for biz.
Fly to Christchurch on Wednesday. we stay at the YMCA, just over the road from our venue for the last two nights of the tour, the Great Hall in the Arts Centre. Another good gig that night, (though it was difficult to hear each other onstage, and the front-of-house sound wasn’t as good as other gigs - we fixed that the next night), thanks to Lee Lawrence and the Muse, and all the local choirs (like my friends Lisa Tui and Bright On Vibes, and Helen Charlton and the Global Choir) who spread the word. Dynes sings what is usually a duet with Lisa, ‘Save The Planet’ as a solo with the entire alto section standing in for Lisa in the coda.
The final night - no-one bothered saving their voices any longer (though Marianne is sadly still out of action) and all were supremely focussed and energetic. The high point for me has been Willy singing ‘The Heart of Jesus’, but there have been many wonderful moments: the audiences all loved Karen singing ‘Be Grateful’, Lucy on ‘Reign in Jerusalem’ and Lisa on pretty much everything. And thanks to Al Park of Al’s Bar for the loan of the amp.
The post-tour party starts at Dux de Lux with the COTGOSCARS, with Alison as MC - but you don’t need to know who won Best Buns on Tour, Best High Note, etc etc. What happens over the rainbow stays over the rainbow.

THANKS TO:

the choir team: Nicolle and Stephanie K for publicity, Lucy for itinerary book design, Steve and Sue for lighting and staging, Gary and Chris for sound, Marianne, Karen, Stephanie K, Jo, Gary, Sacha, Tracey and Gary for overseeing individual gigs, Peter Hammond for financial advice, banking and printing, Frank and Trish for financial wrangling on the road, Karen and Patrick for repertoire supervision, Alison for yoga and shiatsu, Stephen Clarke and Rob Maxwell Jones for stepping in to sing bass with us at the last minute, and thanks especially to Marianne whose vision and dedication (and sheer number of hours of work over 5 months) as tour manager - though that label doesn’t adequately convey the the number of tasks involved - ensured a smooth and fun trip for everyone.
And as always thanks to the choir for not only your voices and spirit but for your helpfulness and thoughtfulness and for the fresh ideas and input into the performances. I can’t believe it’s over.
And to all the members who couldn’t make it, we missed you: Alice, Sara, Sarah, Holly, Leanne, Tracey Case, Chris Fung, Andy, Arek, Peter Hammond, Peter Mackie, Russell,

Thanks to ground crews: Wendy, Isha, Sharon, Dave and Louise; Heather and Jenny; Zahira, Joel and Eli; Barbara; Elizabeth, Andrew, Penny, Jessica, Kristyn, Norman; Janet and Dana; Lee, the Muse, Helen, Ali, Dorien and Jocinta and to all the NZ choirs that spread the word: Heaven Bent, Jubilation, One Voice, Sister Shout, Bright On Vibes, Global Choir, Mosaic, Jessica’s choir at Golden Bay.

Tour Notes 1 - Cafe of the Gate of Salvation in Auckland

It's a relief, after months of planning, to be on the road with the choir at last. Everyone's in good spirits, glad to have two weeks to think of nothing other than singing and cuisine (cheese-and-onion sandwiches, feijoas) but we do think of the choir members who, for various reasons, are unable to be with us, and thank them for their support.
We started our NZ tour with two highly encouraging gigs in Auckland last weekend. The first was on Saturday night, at the Baptist Tabernacle in upper Queen St, a beautiful columnated edifice with great sound, hospitable staff and an enthusiastic audience which included old chums and collaborators Louise Britzman, Clive Cockburn, Arthur Baysting, Nick Bollinger, Jeni Little, Terry Gardiner and my friends in the Auckland community choir scene: Heaven Bent, Jubilation, One Voice and Sister Shout.
The second gig was at St Pauls in Devonport, another beautiful venue (with the outstandingly helpful pastor Sherri Weinberg) with a similar audience that featured Rick Bryant, Fiona Samuel, Marilyn Waring, Debby Harwood, Barton Price and many more local choir members. If anything it was a more focussed performance, if the standing ovation was anything to go by.
Our soundman for these gigs was Rikki Morris, a former APRA Silver Scroll winner and legend of the New Zealand music scene - we played in the Crocodiles together (with Barton) back in 1981, and it was a pleasure to work with him again. Thanks Rikki.
Everyone seems to think that Willy's version of Our Father in Maori (O Matua) is a standout, I agree - and have to commend all our soloists for really whipping it out. I'm enjoying playing tremolo-heavy guitar on Pray On, I Won't Be Back and Lift Me Up and am loving the choir's sound.
Thanks to Wendy Moore and all who helped - it's great to here and to feel the choir, loosed from their lives back in Sydney, swing into action.

Caught up in preparing for two trips to New Zealand: one this week, when I go to Wellington and Auckland to work with various choirs('Sister Shout' on Waiheke, 'Heaven Bent' and 'One Voice' in Auckland) and do some promo for the second trip, which is of course the choir's tour of NZ in just over a month's time - but I've still managed to spend time writing music and making a couple of demos…just getting in some practice at the recording side of things before flinging myself into finishing the long-overdue CD with Peter Dasent. Meanwhile the choir is rehearsing diligently and Marianne is racking up the good karma in her role as the choir's tour manager…

• Tim Finn kindly gives me a nod on his new Imaginary Kingdom CD - I did some vocal arrangements for some songs of Tim's a few years ago, and while the fleshed out arrangements haven't ended up on the album, he's used their bones on Still The Song, So Precious and Show Yourself.

• And thanks to Nick Prater for including an arrangement of mine, Get Away Jordan in his new songbook Everytime I Feel The Spirit (more songs for community choirs and voice workshops). SATB scores with working notes for a range of spirituals, gospel songs, originals and other traditional songs. For more info contact Nick(who lives in Devon in the UK) via: Nick@prater.totalserve.co.uk.

Cafe of the Gate of Salvation to tour New Zealand April 2007

APRIL 14-26 The CAFE OF THE SALVATION’S FIRST NZ TOUR

Sat April 14 AUCKLAND
8 pm Performance at Baptist Tabernacle, 429 Queen St

Sun April 15 AUCKLAND
2 pm Afternoon performance at St Pauls, Devonport

Tues April 17 HAMILTON
8 pm Performance at WEL Trust Academy of Performing Arts, University of Waikato

Thurs April 19 NAPIER
8 pm Performance at St Pauls Presbyterian Church, Tennyson St, Napier

Fri April 20 MASTERTON
8 pm Performance at St Lukes Union Church, cnr Worksop Rd and Queen St

Sat April 21 WELLINGTON
8 pm Performance at St Andrews on the Terrace, 30 the Terrace
(This concert will be recorded and broadcast for Radio National Concert FM)

Sun April 22 WELLINGTON
1 pm Afternoon performance at St Andrews

Tues April 24 NELSON
8 pm Performance at Nelson Cathedral, Trafalgar Square

Wed April 25 CHRISTCHURCH
8 pm Performance at Great Hall, Christchurch Arts Centre

Thurs April 26 CHRISTCHURCH
8 pm Performance at Great Hall, Christchurch Arts Centre

All bookings through TicketMaster (http://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/ o8oo 111 999)
except Hamilton, which is through TicketDirect Waikato
(http://www.ticketdirect.co.nz/list_events.asp?a=11&id=Waikato) —
Tickets: $25/$20 (Booking fees apply)



Check me out!

Lounge Quintet

The Lounge Quintet featuring Stuart Davis is performing at Eastside Arts in Paddington (395 Oxford St) on Saturday night February 17th. Their repertoire will include a couple of my arrangements, one of which will be the absurd Born To Be Wild, and I'm looking forward to that. See you there.
LOUNGE QUINTET : http://www.stuartdavis.biz/theloungequintet/the_lounge_quintet.html
It's only $15/10 conc. Bookings 9331 2646 or bookings@eastsidearts.org.au

Summersong 2007 report

• Of course, there was, as fun and funky as always, SUMMERSONG, where I got to play a lot of electric guitar and bass, torture my classes with Beach Boys (God Only Knows), Palestrina (O Bone Jesu) and the Gospel Writers (Oh My Lordy), and hang out with inspiring chums, old and new. As well as teaching two a cappella classes, I ran a short session on song arranging, and ran a men’s chorus every day (the latter sang Fire Down Yonder and Thapelo). And you know, this is one of the most fun events on the planet - surf, tea-tree lake, 3 square meals a day and wall to wall music with people as fun as Kristina Olsen - thanks to Alison, Kristina, Pamela and Troy, Te Ua, Luciano, Carl and everyone - hope to see you all next year. (You can see a phonecam snippet of one of the a cappella classes singing Oh My Lordy on Te Ua’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/teua_houkamau)

What I've been listening to…

Mourning the late James Brown - the greatest performer I've ever seen, up (close and sweaty at a club in Takapuna in 1979) by keeping Cold Sweat (the seven and a half minute version), There Was A Time, I Can't Stand Myself and Prisoner of Love etc. on permanent rotation.

The Golden Eagles Gospel Singers (1937-1940) Complete Recordings (Eden ELE 4-200 - vinyl). A favourite of mine and an inspiration for the Amazing Grace Brothers - I haven't listened to it for years, but I rediscovered my fondness for their versions of He's My Rock (definitive), The Prodigal Son, When Death Comes Creeping In Your Room (= Hush) and A Warrior on the Battlefield. The group remains obscure, though we know one of the singers was Thelma Byrd and blues artist Hammie Nixon adds harmonica on four tracks. 5 women and 4 men appear in the photo, and there is some guitar on the first 6 tracks. If you can use the term 'primitive' without it sounding pejorative, this is primitive but far from unskilled - raw and casually fervent with a lovely lead and prominent bass line.
(You can find the Golden Eagles on Document Records 5377: http://www.document-records.com/fulldetails.asp?ProdID=DOCD-5377 - and listen to or download from the Emusic site - http://www.emusic.com/browse/l/b/-dbm/a/0-0/1400109116+1200000290/0.html

Sun Gospel (BCD 16387 AH) - various artists, some white some black. A few years ago Len at Hounddog's Bop Shop (Victoria St Melbourne) insisted this was a mandatory purchase, and while not all of it's to my taste, there are some lovely items: the Southern Jubilee Singers' Forgive Me Lord, an unknown male quartet singing Working On A Building and Hank Williams' House of Gold sung gorgeously by some 'unknown chicks'. And of course a track from the Million Dollar Quartet: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.

The Spooky Men’s Chorale (SPOOKY1) - Stephen Taberner's crew wryly shrug and grunt through a shedful of tunes, some original, some post-modern tips of the hard hat to pop classics like Satisfaction (riveting), some Georgian (the beautiful Shen Har Venahi), Kasey Chambers, the Beatles, the Front Lawn and more. Exceedingly droll and enjoyable.http://www.spookymen.com.au/home.htm

My sojourn in Victoria

• Melbourne was - as always - hospitable and funky in the two weeks I recently spent there. I caught up with various old chums in the a cappella/roots music/choral worlds including Roger King and Therese Virtue from the Boite, Stephen Taberner and Tracey Miller; plus I got to hear several choirs, always an educational experience.
The Sweet Mona's performed brilliantly at their 10th Anniversary show, and I was impressed by the extent of their presence in the Ballarat community, encouraging singing, teaching singing, and organising their young childrens' choir the Mini-Monas. Their choral outreach includes getting me there to work with the choir and with 120 members of the community who came to a 2-hour workshop and then sang with me on the night. Thanks to Dani, Anna, Stella, Barry, Zach and Geoff and all of the SMs for looking after me so well, it was an honour.
Hurtling from Ballarat to Melbourne, I hit the South of the River Community Choir's CD launch just in time to be asked to join them on One Morning Soon, a treat for me though I suspect the lack of any kind of rehearsal mitigated against it being an overwhelming experience for anyone else. Their performance was great, good sound and energy, and I was honoured to be part of the program - thanks Annemarie and Debi for your generosity and good taste. Photos of the night are at: http://www.southoftheriverchoir.com/cd.html#cd
After a series of workshops in Melbourne and Queenscliff, I finished my stint in Victoria singing some solos with the Melbourne Singers of Gospel in the Spiegeltent in Melbourne, and loved that - Phil Heuzenroeder and his 80+ voices are a warm and uplifting mob and sounded pretty thrilling. (A pleasure to hear Diana Wolfenden and her girls in the Gospel Belles at the same gig.) Thanks to Phil, Cora, Jelena, Sheira, Will and all.
I ran (notionally) two a cappella arranging workshops under the auspices of Community Music Victoria (a great organisation). I didn’t get as deeply into this as I’d hoped – partly because of time restraints, partly because I didn’t understand where the participants were at until too late. I gave them homework at the first session, and was amazed when we met the second night at the high level of skill and ideas they came back with. I outlined a lot of techniques, starting points and gospel devices, we sang some stuff and discussed a lot of ideas - and in having to articulate what it is I do in the arranging realm I got a lot out of it, and I hope the participants all got something useful. Thanks to Nerida, Christoph and Nimity for providing me with this opportunity.

SUMMERSONG 2007

My favourite event of ANY year is coming up:

SUMMERSONG 2007
January 17 - 23
Lake Ainsworth NSW
http://www.summersongmusiccamp.com/

The faculty will be:
Tony Backhouse, Kristina Olsen, Richard Lawton, Kathryn Riding,
Steve Nugent, Karl Farren, Mandy Nolan, Gyan and Alison Pearl.

Tony will be leading 2 singing classes; Kristina will teach one Songwriting and one Slide Guitar class; Richard will teach one Performing Skills and one Vocal Techniques class; Mandy Nolan will be teaching us Comedy and Confidence (insight into one's overall performing approach, using comedy AND comic/humourous/ironical/satirical Songwriting); Steve Nugent will be teaching African percussion and dance; Karl Farren will be teaching two levels of Guitar class, one for complete beginners, and one for the next level up; Gyan will be one of several people who will co-teach Songwriting with Alison. The plan is to have Gyan, Tony, Richard & Mandy co-teach Songwriting with Alison. Kathryn Riding will again lead her Bodywork/breathwork/improvisation blend to keep us going for one intensive week.

The web site now has the Registration Form and the required Medical Form ready for you to download.
Please note that the only way to register is by posting a deposit to Alison Pearl along with the Registration and Medical Form.
Alison Pearl
PO Box 234 Mullumbimby 2482
02 66 845 570
0428 845 570

My coming three weeks in Victoria 17 Nov - 4 Dec

I'm gearing up to spend 3 weeks in Victoria from November 17 on where I'll not only be running vocal workshops in Ballarat, Melbourne and Queenscliff, but also enjoying a few other events: joining with the great Ballarat choir Sweet Monas for their 10th Anniversary, singing some solos with the massive MSG at the Spiegeltent, and running two arranging workshops - contact details below:

November 20th Evening Workshop, Mornington, 7 - 10pm.
(Mon evg) Contact: Sue Kirkpatrick. ph. 03 8707 0031
suekirkpatrick@optusnet.com.au.

November 23 Vocal arranging workshop, Melbourne, 7-10 pm
(Thurs) Contact: Nerida: nerida_kirov@bigblue.net.au

November 25-27 Weekend Workshop Melbourne
Contact: Babette: babetteo@telstra.com

November 29 Vocal arranging workshop, Melbourne, 7-10 pm
(Wed) Contact: Nerida: nerida_kirov@bigblue.net.au

December 1-3 Weekend Workshop Queenscliff, Vic.
Contact: Virginia: 03 5258 5444
Virginia.cooke@yahoo.com.au

December 3 Guest soloist with Melbourne Singers of Gospel,
7 pm Spiegeltent, Melbourne
http://www.spiegeltent.net/index.php?action=productcatalogue&prodcat_id=617&prod_id=8478&pageID=4633§ionID=0

Cafe of the Gate of Salvation appearances in November

Tuesday November 8, about 9 am -
you can see the choir do a couple of songs on MORNINGS with KERRI-ANNE, Channel 9

Sunday November 12, 4 pm -
the Café of the Gate of Salvation runs its own concert for the family at the High Tide Room, Bondi Pavilion, Bondi - our final big gig for the year.

Saturday November 25, 12 pm -
Sydney Festival for Peace, Pioneer Park, Norton st Leichhardt, Sydney
promoting peace and anti-racism and helping raise money for victims of war in the Middle-East.

Sunday November 26, 3 pm -
St Phillips Anglican Church, York St, Sydney CBD with Timbre Flaws, Honeybees, Sorelle (Benefit for Capetown School Feeding Schemes)

what I'm listening to -

Prison Songs - Historical performances from Parchman Farm 1847-48. Volume 1: Murderous Home. (The Alan Lomax Collection Rounder CD 1714).
Mandatory. Good liner notes, wonderful voices and haunting performances. Recorded in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman Farm in 1947, these are highly rhythmic worksongs sung in loose unisons and improvised harmonies, songs to synchronise the work and to just get through the day.
“It is a sobering thought, but I know of no other class of song, anywhere on earth, that was recorded at the point of a gun. Society needs to control it's errant members, but does it have to use such barbaric means? How many skifflers happily sang Leadbelly's song about Black Betty without realising that it was a four foot long one inch wide leather strap, used to flog the rebelliousness out of prisoners?” (Fred McCormick: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/prison.htm)

The Lord Will Make A Way - The Sensational Nightingales/ The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi - The Early Recordings 1947-1951 (P-Vine PCD-5837).
Two of gospel’s most electrifying quartets are represented here, culled from 78s of varying quality, mostly pretty good. (Some distortion from the screams.) Screams? If you haven't heard the Blind Boys with Archie Brownlee, do yourself a favour - what a singer, an awe-inspiring mix of white-hot intensity (When God Dips His Pen of Love) and delicacy (Lord, I've Tried). Excellent screams. Rev. Percell Perkins who shares the leads has a more unusual voice, but also delivers with great intensity. A repertoire typical of the era: every quartet had a crack at Safety Zone, John Saw The Holy Number, Working on the Building, Dig A Little Deeper and so on.
(In other words, all the songs the Heavenly Lights love.)
The Sensational Nightingales’ earliest four sides feature the late Paul Owens, a singer I've always enjoyed, a mellifluous tenor who can still whip it out. Check out Guide My Mind, long a favourite song of mine. (Owens later sang with the Swan Silvertones and the Dixie Hummingbirds, and also appeared on one of Aretha's first secular recordings, duetting with the Queen of Soul on Love Is The Only Thing - they were an item at the time.) While Owens brought a lighter jazzy style to quartet, the Nightingales’ were to become better known as a hard gospel quartet with their more famous lead Rev. Julius Cheeks, a rasping and squalling baritone who joined the quartet in the early ’50s. He sings lead on only two songs here: There’s A Vacant Room in Heaven and Live So God Can Use You.

and let's not forget my favourite on-line RADIO PROGRAM:

Give The Drummer Some (http://wfmu.org/Playlists/Doug/), : old gospel, early klezmer, Mingus, Hawaiian music, funk, Brazilian psychedelia, gutbucket soul, teenage love potions and grown-up music – Little Wing on tuba, auctioneer's calls, school bands, the Jones Girls, Duke Ellington, Anthony Braxton, the Blue Jay Gospel Singers – plus genres you didn't even know existed.

Heavenly Lights at Mittagong Winery this week

The Heavenly Lights (http://www.tonybackhouse.com.au/groups_hlights.htm) are playing at Howards Lane Winery Mittagong, Sunday 29:

there will be (free) wine tasting from 2pm, then we'll perform from
3pm. The ticket price includes a glass or two of wine and some
finger food. Hopefully some of youwill be interested in buying from the cellar door. The vineyard has an excellent reputation, some prize-winning wine.

The vineyard is only 70 min's from the East, 90 min's from the North
Shore. Views from the vineyard range over the undulating hills of
the Southern Highlands, and at dusk yellow-tailed wallabies emerge
from the bush to graze close to the Cellar Door.

Please book through Stuart Davis in advance by email or phone 9665
8054. Places are limited.

The Café of the Gate of Salvation performing at their 20th Anniversary Concert, Newtown RSL, Sydney.
TB solos, Linda Calgaro conducts.
Photo by Alex Craig.

Welcome…

NEWS –

It's been a busy few months, I've been on road constantly since the beginning of July (workshops, festivals, gigs) and inbetween I was writing arrangements for various projects and preparing for and promoting the COTGOS 20th anniversary. (Notably, about 20 members sang on the ABC Music Show Sat September 9, and while it seemed a pretty good performance at the time, it was also notable for both soloists - me and Lisa Spence - forgetting words to songs we'd been singing for decades.) And it was all a blessing and a privilege: great workshop groups, great singing and great spirit in Toowoomba, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Camden and Newscastle.

As well, The Heavenly Lights are currently working on an album, predictably focussing on quartet numbers from the ’40s and ’50s.

The Café of the Gate of Salvation's 2oth Anniversary bash seemed to go off brilliantly. I only say ‘seemed’ because I was so involved doing stuff on the night - performing, guest-wrangling etc - that the night was a blur. But the feedback I got indicated that it was a varied, funky and joyous night. For a start, I was impressed at how many exmembers showed up to sing or watch.
The band was tight and thrilling in its responsiveness: Peter Dasent (keys), Hamish Stuart (drums), and Tim Curnick (bass) - and I got to whip out the Strat for a few rhythm noodlings - in which I fondly imagined I was channelling Pops Staples - on most of the numbers, thanks to Dynes taking over as conductor on those songs.
The highlights were most likely to have been the choir’s opening ‘Walls of Zion’; the Heavenly Light Quartet’s ‘Shall I Meet You Over Yonder’ (the Heavenly Lights reuniting for the evening with William Selwyn (which felt great - Willy slotted beautifully straight back into the tenor part with just one run-through); and the great array of guests: Jenny Morris sounding glorious (another reunion: Jenny, Peter Dasent and I were last on stage together in 1980, playing in the Crocodiles); Doug Williams was ALL over that bass, wringing new and wonderful variations out the old favourite ‘I Woke Up This Morning’ and singing like a god; Jackie Orszaczky was similarly dazzling and eccentric on piccolo bass and aching vocals on ‘Lift Me Up’; and what was apparently the standout of the evening, Tina Harrod blazed through ‘Spirit in the Dark’ with divine authority.
After that, the reunion choir: with 20 or so-ex-members joining us, it was all exuberance and joy on ‘How I Got Over’ (the first song the choir ever learned), ‘The Storm Is Passing Over’, ‘In The Spirit’, ‘Jesus and Me’ and ‘Be Thankful’, the last two with the band.
Thanks to all our fabulous guests, to the band, to the ex-members who showed up (Thanks, especially to Geri, for flying in from Paris) to the hardworking choir team (Alice, Nicolle, Steve, Sue, Mike and all) who did so much work putting it all together, to our old soundman, Josh James who did front-of-house for us on the night, Tim Mieville for great work as our MC - and thanks to all of you who turned up to support us on the night.
But it’s not over yet:
The concert was filmed and some of that footage will turn up on ABC2’s AustraliaWide (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/australiawide/about/default.htm).
Highlights from the gig were broadcast on Music Deli (ABC radio) 8pm Friday Sept 29, repeated 4pm Sunday Oct 1. You can hear it until the end of October on-line at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicdeli/ for a month - it's 'audio-on-demand', you can stream it but not download it.
Photos by Bridget Elliot of a rehearsal (with the choir, band and guests) for the gig will appear in the November ’06 issue of 2MBS -FM’s Fine Music magazine (http://www.2mbs.com/Magazine/tabid/167/Default.aspx)

2007 promises to be a year of travel: after the ever-stimulating and evolving Summersong in January, it’s New Zealand again to work with Babette Oshry's music and cultural tour (March), and in July it’s Western Samoa with Messepa Edwards (ex-Manuhiri), where we're teaching at a singing retreat at some impossibly beautiful location. (Details of those events below.)
Plus the Café of the Gate of Salvation will tour New Zealand in April.
Later in the year, I'll be going back to the USA with Rosie Johnson’s WA choir Band of Angels, then on to Canada, the UK and France to run workshops.