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RhythmWorks! CDs
NOW available at:
Circla Arts Gallery, 528 E. Colfax Ave., South Bend, IN
Orbit Music, 2568 Miracle Lane (Town and Country Shopping Center),
Mishawaka, IN
Manifesto! music store, 209 E. Main St., Niles, MI
Outside of the Michiana area?
Buy it through CD Baby at:
If you would like to carry RhythmWorks! Blue Road in your store, contact Judith at:
574-233-3267 or
photo by Matt Cashore
Percussionists: Vinny Carrasco, James Riley, Judith Hizer
featuring Joyce James on wind instruments
vocal pieces: Judith Hizer, Vinny Carrasco, Joyce James
guest vocalists: Marie Kolecki and Cole "Boom"
Review By Carrie J. Smith:
This full-length debut CD from percussion professionals, Rhythmworks! is a journey through tribal territory: from the wilds of Africa, to the jungles of South America, and onward to the dry sands of the Middle East. Each song on this rhythm-based CD has such a unique feel that it's bound to capture the attention of any lover of percussion music.
The opening track, “Enter the Circle” starts slowly and builds to a crescendo that has the feel of a rainstorm in the jungle - which each successive plunk, you can almost feel the fat drops hitting jungle greens. And each successive song has a unique “feel” to it. The song “Un-deux-trois” (French for “one-two-three”) is catchy - and it's obvious how it got its name even before the vocals give it away.
Other notable contributions include the cover of “The River is Flowing” a popular folk ballad, and the title track, “Blue Road” which is a new-age adventure with haunting vocals and other-worldy mythological imagery. Classical drum jams, like Kou-Kou and Dun Dun Ba round out this CD.
Veteran percussionists Vinny Carasco, James Riley, and Judith Hizer cover a variety of techniques, incorporating West African rhythms as well as Latin rhythms; and newly-joined Joyce James adds a surprising element to the works - namely the incorporation of wind instruments such as flutes and clarinet.
Vocals, while present in some songs - and indeed the main focus of a couple, such as “Elemental Dream” which is reminiscent of a barbershop quartet, with its multi-layer harmonies - are not overpowering. What is most interesting about this CD, is that unlike some percussion-based albums, songs without vocals do not feel like they're lacking anything. The complex rhythms and layers of rhythm stand alone. Truly these drums sing - whether with human voices or alone.
RhythmWorks!
Blue Road
1. Enter the Circle: group jam
2. Fire Keeper: by Judith Hizer and Vinny Carrasco; arranged by Vinny Carrasco
3. Un-deux-trois: composed by James Riley, arranged by James Riley and Vinny
Carrasco
4. Dun-Dun Ba: traditional West African; arranged by Vinny Carrasco
5. Blue Road: composed by Judith Hizer, arranged by Vinny Carrasco
6. Djole: traditional West African; arranged by Vinny Carrasco
7. Seventh Chakra: composed by Judith Hizer and Vinny Carrasco; arranged by Vinny
Carrasco
8. Guantanamera: traditional Cuban; composed by Jose Fernandez Diaz, 1929; arranged
by Vinny Carrasco
9. Guaguanco: traditional Afro-Cuban; arranged by Vinny Carrasco and James Riley
10. Blame it on Baladi: traditional Middle Eastern; arranged by Vinny Carrasco
11. Elemental Dream: composed and arranged by Judith Hizer
12. Lamba: traditional West African; arranged by Vinny Carrasco
13. The River is Flowing: composed by Diana Hull; arranged by Judith
Hizer and Vinny Carrasco
14. Rhythm is the 6th sense: group jam
15. Kou-Kou: traditional West African; arranged by Vinny Carrasco
Vincenzo Carrasco: djembe, dun duns, doumbek, misc. percussion, vocals; lead vocals (Guantanamera)
James Riley: djembe, dun duns, conga
Judith Hizer: djembe, dun duns, doumbek, bodhran, misc. percussion, vocals (Firekeeper) lead vocals (Blue Road, Elemental Dream, The River is Flowing)
Joyce James: clarinet, flute, Native American flute, vocals (River is Flowing, Gunantanamera)
Special Guests: vocals, Elemental Dream: Marie Kolecki and Cole “Boom”
2008 RhythmWorks! www.rhythmworks4u.net
Recorded and mixed by Jeff Harrison, Red Stone Studios
photographer: Matt Cashore www.mattcashore.com
photographed at the Ella Morris Botanical Conservatory, South Bend IN
graphic designer: Joe Hektor
RhythmWorks! Blue Road: about our disc
by Judith Hizer
Wow, Five years after Vinny and I did a multi-tracked EP of 5 percussion songs, we've evolved into a five-piece ensemble using percussion, woodwinds and vocals.
Our core is still our great love, percussion. It's what drew Vinny and I together, professionally and personally. Along with our longtime drum partner, James Riley, we've developed a repertoire of music from West Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, as well as original drum pieces using instruments from North America, Ireland, and the aforementioned regions of the globe.
For this disc, a couple of these have evolved with vocals and woodwinds.
In June of 07 we drafted Vinny's mother, a world-class oboe player who had “retired” from the Florida Orchestra. As you can guess, we weren't about to allow her to fully “retire!” How fun to draw her into the mix and collaborate on some of our original compositions.
Our dear friends Marie Kolecki, and Cole “Boom,” joined us for one vocal piece, Elemental Dream. We've since recruited Marie as a regular member of RhythmWorks!.
Here's a description of these songs (not in order on the disc):
West-African:
We've had the distinct honor of studying West-African percussion from a number of drum masters who've traveled to the U.S. or have relocated here; and from other people, who, like us, have learned from these masters. These pieces are our interpretations of songs from the regions of Guinea and Senegal. Breathing life into these pieces are the brilliant solos and show-stopping call and response of “Lightning” James Riley and Vinny Carrasco.
Dun Dun Ba
Djole
Lamba
and always our finale, Kou Kou
Latin:
We consider it a distinct mark of our diverse, global community that Vinny, who is Hispanic, has chosen to specialize in West-African percussion; and James Riley, who is African-American, specializes in Latin percussion. In addition to RhythmWorks! James is a timbalero for the Salsa band, “Orquestra Caribe.” On these songs, James Riley turns it out on the congas.
Guantanamera- mother and son get to harmonize on this classic Cuban song.
Guaguanco - a fun jam of traditional Latin rhythms
Middle Eastern:
Blame it on Baladi is our interpretation of a traditional piece. We'd had a blast playing this, live, for Middle Eastern dancers.
Jams
Warming up in the studio before recording, we found some keepers.
Enter the Circle was a jam that our fabulous engineer, Jeff Harrison, added his backyard crickets to. Paired with a nice little echo effect and fade-in/fade out, it sounds a lot of the bonfire drum circles we've been to over the years.
Rhythm is the 6th Sense was another fun jam; a living, breathing piece captured by Jeff - unbeknownst to us - or at least to me! until he played it back to us.
Original compositions
Un-deux-trois was the brainchild of James Riley, from a jam he started over a year ago, which he turned into a fun song with nod to the French - at least in numbers.
Firekeeper was once a jam I started on the dun duns, with Vinny on djembe and James on congas. It has been another staple in our repertoire, with audiences responding to a drum cue with, “hey!” For the disc, Vinny wrote down some simple lyrics and I chanted it while he “rapped” it.
Seventh Chakra was a jam that Vinny and I developed at a laid-back party about five years ago. We'd brought drums and percussion toys to share, and people drifted in and out of the circle. I started a rhythm in seven that I'd learned with some of my girlfriends. Vinny turned it into something ethereal by doing the same rhythm in a round behind me. This has been a nice mellow staple in our repertoire early on, and was in our EP. With the addition of Joyce and her flute, the song completely takes you away. The flute solo was recorded twice, and Jeff had the foresight to blend the two, making it a truly exotic piece. For live shows, we add a guest flautist to the ensemble.
The River is Flowing is a beautiful song from the book, “Songs for Earthlings” (Emerald Earth Publishing, 1998). My women's drum circle sings this a lot, and I loved it so much that I spent literally months tracking down the composer, Diana Hull, for permission to use it. I can't wait for her to hear it and see what we've done with it. She has also recorded it, with some other performers, for a birthing CD, which I'm anxious to hear. We kept it pretty simple, with Joyce on flute, and Vinny on djembe. The vocals were done in a way to evoke the image of a gently meandering river.
Elemental Dream is a little bit of Utopia inspired by mine and Vinny's 2005 vacation in Niagara Falls. It was such a beautiful day, everyone we passed seemed as lighthearted and joyful as we felt, and nature enveloped our senses in spite of the mass of people. “Honey, stop! I need a pen and paper!” We sat on a bench overlooking the falls, where I composed the first verse. We also traveled into the Adirondack Mountains to camp, where I came up with the second and third verse. The last verse was inspired by the bonfire drum circles we've attended. I've done this song in a couple of different ways with different musicians. It's no accident that in this recording, the vocals have a bit of a barbershop quartet feel to it (although there are only 3 vocal parts). I grew up on barbershop music - my daddy sang bass. This song is in memory of my father, Harold W. Hizer Sr.
Title Track, Blue Road
Once upon a time, Blue Road was developed with Vinny and James, and a former drum partner, Chris Helvey (who has since moved away) around my bodhran jam. Today, it is played with the bodhran, a Native American Mother Drum, congas, and a doumbek. We've added Joyce on clarinet, complementing the vocals. Vinny and Joyce kick in vocals with me at the end.
The lyrics were a poem I'd written, loosely based on the 6th century Welsh bard, Taliesin, and other quasi-mythical Celtic characters. I snuck that poem in as a lyrical chant into our annual show at the Midway Tavern in the fall of `07. It was so much fun that we decided to add it to the disc. Utilizing a style of poetry popular in the ancient Celtic world, I honor Taliesin, and other inspiring figures. Possibly overlapping in lifespan, was Myrrdin, a.k.a. Merlin, and Arthur. Yet another 400 years prior was Proto-Celtic Queen, Boudicca, who led her armies against the occupying Romans.
Topped off with Joyce's clarinet solos and a bit of echo, it comes together to capture the spirit of what I'd envision as music in an ancient megalith in Taliesin's time.
We've had a blast putting this disc together, and hope it will inspire you to your feet to dance.
Seventh Chakra
EP by Vinny and Judith, 2003
out of print except a few left at CD Baby
Reviewed by Quill Mastercraft
Vinny Carrasco has a musical background going back many years and, with his wife Judith Hizer, the two present what real drumming is all about: Seventh Chakra. The tracks - both original compositions and arrangements of traditional Middle Eastern and African songs - have lively rhythms which make the listener want to get up and dance with abandon and joy. And while it might be thought only so much can be done with djembes, djun-djuns and shakers, RhythmWorks! defies that stereotype with their skill and creativity. Their music encourages others to find the rhythm within themselves, and leaves you wanting more.