Heartland art, entertainment and recreation
For years Sherry K has plied her piano trade around the country, playing at festivals, theaters, and fairs to the delight of young and old. When she decided to put down some roots in South Bend, she decided to lay down some tracks as well, the result being A Whole New Woman, her second collection of original instrumental compositions.
The 12 tracks run over an hour and span a variety of genres, including light jazz, gospel, classical and new age. The pieces are very well composed and performed, but what struck me most was the use of real instruments (ironically played by real musicians) instead of the usual “synthesizer band” common among indie releases. By having flesh-and-blood musicians add their styles and subtle techniques, the entire project takes on a depth and spontaneity that even the best MIDI orchestras lack.
But how ëbout that thar music? “Home” is aptly comforting and inviting, with piano and harmonica welcoming you in before an inspiring turn towards the grandiose with horns (real horns, mind you) and strings (keyboards. but they still sound good). The genuine sax lays down a very nice line in “Shadowland,” a track where slight wah-guitar and overall laid back sound combine for an AM radio feel, a kind of modern Carol King. “The Swing” opens with calliope and glass bells, joined soon by piano and a nostalgic melody that is sweet and pleasing without being saccharine. Part Jewish, part Russian, “Sisters of Faith” is a jaunty folk dance on the piano with horns, flute, clarinet and accordion thrown in for spice, while “On The Steps of Ebenezer Lutheran” scales down to a wistful ragtime piano-and-clarinet duo. A slightly out-of-tune piano playing a hymn opens “The Gospel According to Lu” before jazzy guitars, rollicking piano, drums and Hammond organ manage to develop this same hymn into a bouncy Salvation Army marching rock band. My personal favorite is “Female Problems.” Not that I like female problems, but I do like how the song careens along, changing directions with a cartoon-like pace, incorporating a huge array of sounds and instruments, from massive and ominous pipe organs to bells, woodwinds and timpani, being capricious one moment and sad the next and bounding from innocence to deviance in an instant. If this is what it’s like to be a woman, I’ll take my “deformed chromosome” any day!
Sherry K has packed years of experience and expertise into these 12 fun-loving compositions. To explore your feminine side or experience the myriad joys of being A Whole New Woman, stop by Wooden Nickel or double-X click over to www.sherryk.com.