August  2005

Scola Tristano is currently the name of the band that Fr. Stan Fortuna is recording and touring with. Fr. Stan has always been a chameleon when it comes to music . He is ever changing from pop, to rock, to rap and even world music.  Now he is teaming up with jazz musicians Peter Scattaretico and Peter Prisco to form "Scola Tristano". The group formed after studying together at the Lennie Tristano School and found shared interest in jazz. The self titled CD is a collection of new songs written by Fortuna and Prisco as well as regular jazz standards. The mood of the music is laid back with jazz guitar and bass with drum accompaniment. There is no horn section on this CD. This helps to highlight the God-given talents of each musician. On the Johnny Green standard “Body and Soul” the blend of the group can be especially heard. The music writing talents of the trio shine in the original songs “All Things,” “Blame Me,” "Goin' Home,” and “It’s You.” Fr. Stan’s vocals are heard only on three songs: ”What Would I Do,” “I Don’t Know Why,” and “All Of Me.” It’s the song “All Of Me” that is my favorite from the CD and could definitely be thought of as a song in which one is pleading to God in prayer to be used for His glory.

 The group has also simultaneously released a second CD called New Culture Concert. Peter Scattaretico and Peter Prisco joined Fr. Stan Fortuna on stage in New York for this live recording. There are no second takes or studio mixings here.  This is a double-disk CD that gives you the best of both worlds of Fr. Stan’s music. Disk I has your standard jazz numbers with little or no vocals. It’s songs like “Shuffle Blues” that really stand out, as Fr. Stan improvises the lyrics on this piece. Also, the trio gets to pay tribute to their teacher by playing one of his tunes called “317 E. 32nd Street.” It’s on Disk II where we find a rap set performed by Fr. Stan, utilizing bass guitar, percussion instruments and boomerang phrase sampling. It’s great to hear him perform live songs like “Never Been Born” or “The Zipper Zone.” I never thought I would hear him sing “Kumbya.” But the best of this disk is the live version of “Everybody Got 2 Suffer.” Fr. Stan gets his audience involved in singing with him, and as you listen you can’t help but sing along with the crowd. All the songs in this set are extra-long with jazzy/ blues intros that add new life to these familiar Father Stan tunes.  

Another CD release that offers sort of a “best of” by a Catholic musician is YES!. It’s from former British rock star Sal Solo and it brings together a collection over ten years in the making. It’s a mixture of his studio work and live concert performances as well. The mixture is awesome! The live music is recorded at such a high level that you can’t tell that it is before a live audience until you hear the yelling and clapping. Each song blends into the next without a hiccup, showing that Solo is a great producer and mixer, as well as musician. Solo has performed at over 40 Diocesan Youth Rallies, countless parishes, schools, and conferences, and has sung in 36 countries. Found on “Yes!” are hit songs like “Glorify The Lord,” “Prince Of Peace,” “No Other God,” “Remember Me,’ and more.  Many of the songs here are now out of print. The CD even contains two songs totally reworked and rearranged, but familiar to anyone who has seen Solo in concert. These are “Ship Out To See” and “Alleluia.” You even get to hear Sal Solo preach a little before a few songs, like he does in concert. YES! is a CD packed full of music that runs over one hour and ten minutes, with 19 tracks plus two extra bonus tracks that you must hear! If you have never heard Sal Solo pick this up. YES! is a great collection to own.  

Songs In His Presence is a group that is hard to classify or review in many ways. The band is a broad mixture of men and women, young and old, who are bound together by love of music and love of the Lord. They are talented musicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who share in peaceful, worshipful, and beautiful music. Each song has a different feel in vocals or style, and the album could come across as a “various artists” type of CD.

Their first CD is called Taken by Love and is a collection of inspirational songs that are for worship settings. The first track, “Our Hearts Will Rise,” is an up-beat piece that proclaims that time when God calls to us and our eyes are opened to Him. It’s the song where the title “Taken by Love” comes from. Slowing down to a quieter tempo is “Glory Cry The Angel Choirs.” The flute on this track is sweet. Also, the soft vocals used in “Prayer Of Augustine” complement the thoughts of this great saint.  Giving a little country flavor to the CD is “In Your Light We See Light.”  The group comes together as a choir in “Like A Son Of Man.” “Let Us Go Rejoicing” is almost a pop song, based on Psalm 122.  More Psalms used include “Psalm 42: Like A Deer,” “Psalm 16: You Are My Inheritance,” and “Psalm 123: Our Eyes Are Fixed On The Lord.”

 Songs In His Presence must have a preference for King David’s prayers. The band’s other CD release is simply called Psalms and is a collection of 12 responsorial psalms performed by the talented group of musicians. These songs are wonderfully arranged and would be a great help to any music director. For those of us who don’t have a parish choir and cantor to lead, but love the music of the Mass, this is for you. It is inspired listening. All songs on this CD are peaceful and familiar to anyone who regularly attends Mass. The Psalms include “Psalm 63: My Soul is Thirsting,” “Psalm 90: If Today You Hear His Voice/In Every Age/Fill Us with Your Love,” “Psalm 139: I Praise,” “Psalm 22: My God, My God,” “ Psalm 34: The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor,” “Psalm 29: The Lord Will Bless His People With Peace,” “Psalm 32: I Turn to You ,” “Psalm 145: The Lord is Near to All,” “Psalm 19: Their Message Goes Out,” and more.

                                                                                                  - Jeff Burson, Aug 2005