Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Accomplished Canadian composer and pianist Juanita Faas has teamed up with Dr Carl Shipley, co-founder of the American children's charity AngelAID, to produce an album that puts Faas' instrumental work to the spoken musings from Dr Carl. AngelAID serves children who are terminally or critically ill and both Dr Carl and Faas have drawn on the actions of these children as inspiration for this piece of work. Faas' talent lies in her ability to musically mirror Dr Carl's words - most notably in the title track where she uses ambient piano to evoke trickling water before using a fuller orchestrated sound to match water's power. Elsewhere, Faas showcases her versatility as a writer and a performer by flitting from the Latin tinged "In The Darkness There Is Light" to the hotel lobby jazz of "Be Still And Listen" before bowing out with the record's highlight "Fountains" - a Cuban jazz fusion that fittingly boasts some Santana-style guitar from Kevin Banks and some simply stunning keyboard work from Faas. At the front of each track, the good doctor offers his thoughts on a range of topics such as selfishness, God as Father and healing and whilst there are occasional nods to self actualisation and self-healing, Scripture is referenced throughout. An enjoyable release that will hopefully bring further notice to a noble and worthy cause.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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