Sanctuary
The Trinity Jazz Ensemble
Sanctuaries are everywhere. We find ourselves drawn back, again and again, to places where our spirits can seek shelter from the storms around us. Sometimes a sanctuary looks like the interior of a church, sometimes it looks like a sports arena, a nightclub, a library, a river valley. Your sanctuary is the place where you find refuge and renewal.
Over the past four years, The Trinity Jazz Ensemble has performed in sanctuaries all over Canada. Trinity concerts are always celebrations of melodies and rhythms that sustain the soul.
The Trinity Jazz Ensemble
Peter Dent, piano
Marcus Mosely, vocals
Peter Woods, saxophone
Pierre-Yves Martel, bass
Marilee Townsend, drums
Mark Alcorn, guitar
Will Walker, drums
Vanessa London, vocals
To purchase the CD:
Cost is $20 + $3 shipping.
Prices are in Cdn dollars.
Please email Peter Woods to order the CD >
The Songs (with notes from Peter Woods)
1. Come Sunday (Edward Ellington/ G. Schirmer Inc.)
Duke Ellington's song of a man who survives the trials of life knowing that he will find his way from one Sunday to the next.
2. Sandon Samba (C. H. Purday/Traditional)
Inspired by samba rhythms, Trinity turns its attention to the hymn tune commonly know as "Unto the Hills".
3. How Great Thou Bop (How Great Thou Art - S. Kine/Manna Music)
Be-Bop meets Gospel. What else is there to say? This one moves straight from the honky-tonk to the jazz club with a very brief stop in church.
4. Feelin' Good (Lesley Bricusse/Anthony Newley)
Nina Simone and John Coltrane have placed their marks on this song from "The Roar of the Greasepaint". Marcus leads us deeply into the natural world to celebrate the possibility of "feelin' good".
5. Peace in the Valley (Thomas A. Dorsey/Unichappell Music)
This was a hit for Elvis Presley...but with a far different feel. Peter and Peter create a soprano sax/piano duet that gives thanks for tranquil moments.
6. Some Other Time (Bernstein, Comden, Green/ Leonard Bernstein Music Publishing Co.),
Vanessa London takes this standard, made famous by Tony Bennett and Bill Evans, and recreates it as a sensual prayer of confession.
7. Leaping in Leicester (Leicester-William Hurst/Lester Leaps In-Lester Young/Bregman Vocco & Conn Inc.)
Lester Young will always be the president of the saxophone world. His swinging tenor defined jazz for many decades. While visiting Leicester, England, Peter Dent mixed Lester's swinging sound with an old hymn tune of the same name.
8. Just as Softly and Tenderly (Misericordia - Henry Smart/Softly and Tenderly - Will L. Thompson/Traditional)
Marcus brings the power of his gospel roots to bear upon this gentle melody. The call to "come home" is one that resonates within every heart that feels weary and in need of rest. The assurance that one will be received "just as I am…" adds joyful anticipation to that homecoming.
9. People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield/ Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)
Marcus invites us on a midnight train to somewhere. It is a pilgrimage with consequences only revealed after we get on board.
10. Lay My Work Song Down (Lay My Burden Down - Traditional/Work Song - Nat Adderley/UPAM Music)
Nat Adderley wrote a blues melody based on the traditional work-songs of the African-American slaves. It is a melody that has shaped jam sessions for decades, and works well as a companion to the spiritual, "Lay My Burden Down".
11. His Eye is on the Sparrow (Charles H. Gabriel, C.D. Martin/Traditional)
This quintessential gospel anthem is given an impassioned treatment by Marcus and Vanessa. We dwell with an abiding assurance that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground unnoticed. We do not just survive in the world...we find ways to thrive together.
12. Gospel John (Jeff Steinberg/Maynard Ferguson Music USA Inc.)
"Saturday Night Live" goes to Church - Originally written for the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, this small group version lets the band stretch out on a nice mix of gospel and blues.
13. What a Wonderful World (Robert Thiele, George David Weiss/Quartet Music Inc.)
Ever since Louis Armstrong sang it this has been jazz's greatest sermon. A full/peaceful heart finds its reflection in everything it encounters.
14. Trace the Rainbow through the Rain (St. Margaret - A.L. Peace/Traditional)
This melody is one of the true pop tunes in the hymnbook. It is simple and heartfelt...a perfect place to end the proceedings.
The Reviews
"Sanctuary" arrived today. It's a dynamite CD- wonderful music-sounds like you had fun making some of the tracks. I was moved by Just As (I am) Softly and Tenderly. So many good things - the So What opening to Feelin' Good - Time after Time introducing Some Other Time - Unto The Hills as a samba.
Well produced and you all sound inspired. So glad I ordered it!
Bill Falconer, Trustee Emeritus, Berklee School of Music (Nov 2003)
*****
"I have been waiting for Sanctuary for a long time. Jazz is music of the soul. Having participated in jazz worship services with members of this ensemble, I am delighted that this CD is now available for everyone. Listen. Enjoy. Be moved and restored."
Rt. Rev. Dr. Bill Phipps, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada.
*****
Chris Levan reviews The Trinity Jazz Ensemble:
“Bring on the Jazz.
Last week I was honoured to listen to a fresh version of the Jesus story. A jazz gospel concert….I wasn’t prepared for the depth of feeling, the sensual power of the music to move me. I didn’t want it to end.
Gospel Jazz…for me and for many with me, a totally new rendition of the “Jesus loves me” story.
(The Sudbury Star, Saturday, May 24th, 2003)
*****
"It's unusual for religious music to be both musically interesting and theologically profound. This selection of the Trinity Jazz Ensemble achieves both. It is a rare combination of tradition and contemporary idiom. With its wonderful rhythmic sense and spiritual sensitivity, the recording deserves to achieve high popular appeal in both church and society." Douglas John Hall, Emeritus Professor of Christian Theology, McGill University, guest lecturer across North America, authour of thirty books
*****
Nothing better for an aching soul than jazz. This wonderful group - familiar to many in congregations all over Canada - draws on genius from Duke Ellington to Thomas A. Dorsey to assure us our pain is real, and so is God's care. We are renewed by these melodies and rhythms, intensely creative and complex, and by the powerful assurance with which they are offered. Trace the Rainbow through the Rain, for instance, will melt any little clump of ice still clutching your heart by the end of this collection.
Donna Sinclair, "The United Church Observer", February 2003
*****
"It was the music, not the chill in the curling rink at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ont., that repeatedly brought delegates to their feet, joyfully stomping and clapping. But their delight at the way the Dent/Mosely/Woods Jazz Ensemble heated up both body and soul was evident."
"The United Church Observer", July/August 2002
*****
"Jazz is form pushing against form, affirming individuality and playing with other people. You have to hear what others have said to push the boundaries of the music. You have to feel others to swing with them.
This is the feeling of the music created here. Pushing one another, Trinity gives us a feeling of hope and sanctuary in a time of need. But having rested in sanctuary we are lured out to recreate that reality in our world. Join in."
Source: The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson
Production Info
SANCTUARY was recorded by Jason Jaknunas at Raven Street Studios, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 5-6, 2002.
SANCTUARY was mixed and mastered by John Knill and Marcus Mosely at Dream Maker Studio during July, 2002 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Producer: Peter Woods
Photographers: Hugh Griffith, Rod Bennett, Richard C. Choe
Graphic Designer: Daniel Lohnes
Creative Consultant: George Hermanson
Musical arrangements by Peter Dent
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