The Life Connection • Music Reviews

The haunting echo of an eagle’s whistle…the eerie bay of coyote’s howl…the songs of doves, quails, loons, seagulls, dolphins and whales…the sounds of nature are no strangers to these bamboo flutes.

They come as the song of Spirit dancing in the heart of the incomparable Jesse Kalu, who has never studied music and neither reads nor writes it. Each and every melody comes directly from his heart at the moment it is played.

Journey of the Heart is a compilation of music taken from four prior albums: One in Spirit; Heartfelt Presentation; Sedona; and One Heart. The pure flute tones and the soft sounds of rattles are Jesse’s; we also hear the contributions of his friends Alexander (keyboard), John Dumas (didgeridoo and crystal bowl), and ThunderBeat (chime and percussion).

Each of Jesse’s flutes has its own name and personality. His music belongs to this land, but the inspiration to make flutes of bamboo probably came from his native Mariana Islands, far off in the Pacific, where he recalls playing in bamboo groves as a child.

After a journey that took him to the far reaches of this country, he tells us, when he reached Sedona he felt he had found his home. In 1992 he began collecting bamboo and making flutes; before long, he was playing in venues all over red rock country and then all over the world. He continues to make his home in Sedona, however.

I knew Jesse back then, and I remember those early days of his musical career. I have heard him play live many times, and I enjoyed them all, but I particularly love this CD. Sweet and gently wild, the melodies call to my soul, taking me on welcome journeys far away from the world I live in most of the time.

I think you will love it, too. How could you not?

—Chiwah

Dragonfly

Instrumental Piano with Orchestra

By: Timothy Crane; $12.95;
www.cdbaby.com/cd/TimothyCrane

I don’t know about you, but I have a soft place in my heart for great piano music. You’ve probably figured that out if you read my reviews regularly. And there’s no piano I like better than Timothy Crane’s.

Dragonfly, Crane’s second album, features eleven new piano compositions. From the first track to the last, the music expresses a passion for all of life. I find it hard to decide which cut I like best. The first one, “Two x Two,” is vigorous and pleasing, but perhaps my favorite is number five, “A Child’s Goodnight.” Then again, I like the playful nature of the aptly titled “Play.”

The album evokes a wide range of uplifting emotions in instrumental pop style filled with interesting openings, choruses, bridges and endings. The soft opening strains of “Star Cross Moon” develop into a full-bodied movement; “Salish Sunset” offers a calm and healing musical panorama; “Theft in Eb Major” tinkles across the keyboard in a most delightful way – all of this in the accompaniment of instrumentation by friends and former band mates.

This is music for the sake of making music, art performed for the enjoyment of the people on both the playing and the listening end. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

—Chiwah