on both of these two CDs.
Desert
Wind thanks CD Baby for hosting these sound clips.
Insightful Artist Rendering of She is a Tree of Life
by Dixie Schafir (C) 1999:
She is a Tree of Life (2 CD Set)
"These
songs and chants are a gift to those of us who like to dance as we pray."
~ Rabbi Ya'acov Gabriel
"Lush and inspiring. Danceable with great fullness of spirit."
~ Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank, Berkeley, CA
"A
wonderful help to the entertainment of the heart and the spirit,
done with sensitivity and soulforce."
~ Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, author of "From Aging to Saging"
"She is a Tree of Life" is a DOUBLE CD SET that contains a re-release of the best Hebrew songs
from "Sarasvati," PLUS 5 original Desert Wind versions of Hebrew favorites.
"Another kind of muscular, millennial music comes from Alan Scott Bachman and his group Desert Wind. On his double CD, She is a Tree of Life (available via deswind@aol.com or Desert Wind, P.O. Box 3722, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110) the focus seems mythological and political. You can hear Middle Eastern chant, belly dance sensuousness, and classic rock influences, as well as lyrics that sing of repairing the world. It's very cool to have Jewish music that's this sexy and anthemic. It reminds me of The Who when they were making records that were larger than life and happily rebellious. The power chords on this recording are mostly on Alan's keyboards.
The power and grandeur of the sound comes from the Hebrew verses Alan highlights and from his Desert Wind Singers, who do a kind of Temple Priestess vocalese. It's clear the songs are to God, but this face of the Divine, so feminine and lush, is often overlooked in our tradition. What can I say? I'm seduced. I like it a lot. These songs and chants are a gift to those of us who like to dance as we pray. I encourage you to get these recording and to play them loud. They have a strong pulse and a hot core, and they groove the body as well as the mind. As we enter 5760 and a new millennium, we will need all the vigor we can fit into our spirituality. Baruch HaShem, than the Nameless One, for inflammatory and fun recordings like these."
"Sounds of Renewal: Holy Chutzpah!" ~ by Rabbi Ya'acov Gabriel (from TIKKUN magazine, September/October 1999)Songs:
1 Kedoshim
2 Yah Melekh
3 Tikkun Olam
4 World Niggun
5 Avinu
6 Ayl Na Refa Na La
7 Diaspora from Spain
8 Dodi Li
9 Sage Dancer
10 Hine Ma Tov
11 I Am
12 She is a Tree of Life
13 Song of Songs
14 Ruach Hamidbar (Spirit of the Desert)
15 SHEMA - I AM the One
16 Shabbat Shalom
17 Kabbalah Dancer
18 Lo Yisa Goi (Peace Dance)
19 Le-Shem (Unification Prayer)
20 Ets Chayim Hi
21 Closing PrayerFeaturing the Musical Performace of:
Alan Scott Bachman, Andalin Bachman, and others...
Including the Fabulous Shofar Sounds by Rabbi Ayla Grafstein.The mail keeps coming!!
"I am writing to extend a heartfelt thank you for your performance
at our Purim carnival in support of the Kol Ami Religious School,
and the Youth Department. Your music added so much atmosphere to our event!
We really appreciated your performance and thoroughly enjoyed it.
We look forward to your performance at the Israel Independence Day Celebration,
at the JCC on May 2nd! ~ Lisa Cohne, Director of Education,
Congregation Kol Ami, SLC, UT
Just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your music
at Rosh Hashanah Service Monday. I was raised in the "no instruments"
ages and mind set, so at first I wasn't sure. But now I'm convinced!
What you did wasn't work at all -act of love and giving.
Thanks for helping open my ears, eyes and heart..."
~ Lynn Rustin, Phoenix, AZ