“A Case of You”, composed
by Joni Mitchell about her times with Leonard Cohen, as first performed by
Allison Crowe on CBC Radio’s “Sounds Like Canada” with host Shelagh Rogers –
cover photo by Billie Woods captured on PenderIsland. A combo Canadian as a plate of poutine in the snow.
Counting the human species alone there’s more than 7.6 billion Hallelujahs,
really. When you start to consider all living creatures, the potential is
infinite.
Here’s one take. Allison Crowe, live at the LSPU Hall in St
John’s, Newfoundland with
Leonard Cohen’s song. The rest of the band’s gone below to change into
accordionist+ Keelan’s clothes… leaving Allison and the folks in the concert
hall to carry harmonies in the chorus. It’s just one word:
Musicians Allison Crowe (vocals, piano, guitar,
fiddle, bodhran), Céline Sawchuk (cello, vocals), Sarah White (mandolin,
guitar, vocals), Dave Baird (bass, vocals) & Keelan Purchase (accordion,
12-string guitar, bodhran, harmonica, vocals) banded together on the lovely
isle of Newfoundland for sessions and shows.
For a flock of creators who live, literally, all over the map it’s a rare
chance to slow the world a bit. “We had time to experiment, and think more
about the larger picture musically,” says bassist & birder Dave. “It’s only
the beginning. It’s just the first we’ve had opportunity to work the music out
without much time restraint. It was fun, relaxed, and productive.”
Melding into one sound and performance experience the rawest of folk roots
and the richest of arena rock – that barely begins to describe the originality
and freshness of the quintet’s music and personality.
Debuting at Corner Brook, NL’s
Rotary Arts Centre, RAC Theatre Co-ordinator Brad Randell observes, “The
performance was absolutely magical.”
Rolling across the rock, captured fresh at the LSPU (Longshoremen's
Protective Union) Hall in St. John's,
NL, Canada –
it’s music that’s food for the soul and fun for all.
Fortune’s present audio-wise, and Allison’s SD (memory) card is filled with
tracks to be mined and enjoyed. Sláinte!
"Welcome to Us 2", the concert’s second act, presents the
brilliant bi-coastal band's more piano-centric tunes – and encore – live: http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/welcome-to-us-2http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/welcome-to-us-2
Professor Goza notes @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZddiM1KjMU:
“I'm starting a new educational series to give my students some ways to
think about music, and I'll probably post them here from time to time.
This one involves a heartbreakingly beautiful performance of Leonard
Cohen's ‘Hallelujah’ by Allison Crowe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIMOdVXAPJ0 )."
Dr. Goza, who teaches World Music at OU’s state-of-the-art facility, in his posting expresses "nothing but admiration for Ms. Crowe's extraordinary artistry.”
In turn, Allison’s honoured and grateful that her performance of
Leonard Cohen’s song is part of, and launches, this wonderful new
series.
“O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as
others see us!” quoth the bard Robbie Burns. A Canada Day post from the personal
blog of Allan Showalter, the word-spinner of magic @ "Cohencentric: Leonard
Cohen Considered": http://allanshowalter.com/2017/07/01/10-reasons-love-canada
“Heirs+Grievances”,
already a glorious album of music from Allison
Crowe and Band, is now an even fuller experience.
Two song tracks are restored to the original
release: a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea
Hotel No.2” and a live-in-the-studio take
of “Secrets
(That Aren’t My Own)” – a signature of
Crowe’s repertoire.
As concert versions of both songs are heard on
“Introducing”, the live-CD element of the
double-album, these tracks were dropped from last
year’s physical pressing. Now, they’re reunited
with the other tracks captured at Turtle Recording.
A work of “artistic genius”, as “The
Celtic Music Fan” describes the album, is
now ever-more brilliant.
Allison Crowe is among the
artists and community members of Corner Brook,
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, paying tribute
to the maestro Leonard Cohen – events in a global
chain of people celebrating the life and creativity
of the bard:
"No Way to Say Goodbye, a
Tribute to Leonard Cohen" - Rotary Arts
Centre, Corner Brook, NL Canada - Photo
courtesy Dean Peckford - posted to
The Leonard Cohen Forum
This
weekend Allison Crowe joins the Bay of Islands Sunday Session (Ivan
Emke et al), Nick Hamlyn, Ruth Lawrence, Daniel Payne, Dahlia &
Bridget, Helen Fox Reid, Emma Peckford, Tara Manuel with Michael Rigler,
Louise Gauthier w. Tom Brennan and Cindy Kawaja, Gary & Whit
on-stage in “ No Way to Say Goodbye…” – a loving tribute to the buckskin
boy who’s uplifted our world through words and music, the bard Leonard
Cohen.
As the artists soon take the Rotary Arts Centre stage, in
Corner Brook, Newfoundland we all share in the salute. Here’s a
live-in-the-studio, (previously unreleased), track from Allison Crowe
and Band’s “Introducing / Heirs+Grievances” debut. Allison (vocals,
piano) and LIN (cello) check-in with “Chelsea Hotel No. 2” – “I remember
you well…”:
"No Way to Say Goodbye, a tribute to Leonard Cohen"
When maestro Leonard Cohen passed away this Winter
Allison Crowe and Band were in the midst of a
concert tour. Immediate on-stage and audience
outpourings of emotion and acknowledgement of the
great loss of the man and artist flowed then.
Now, event organizers in Allison’s snowy
home of Corner Brook, Newfoundland are
planning a celebration of Leonard Cohen,
his poetry, music and life – to happen next
Saturday, January 14 at 8pm in the city’s
Rotary Arts Centre:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1345683302119641
“No
Way To Say Goodbye, a tribute to
Leonard Cohen” – to benefit
the Artist Emergency Fund for
Newfoundland and Labrador, CAPE
(Cultural Artists Plan for Emergencies)
– brings together Allison Crowe, Louise
Gauthier, Tara Manuel, Dahlia &
Bridget, Ruth Lawrence, Daniel Payne,
Gary & Whit, Emma Peckford, Helen Fox
Reid and more Cohen comrades and
partisans.
Earlier, at 4pm, January 14, also at
the RAC, will be a screening of “Ladies
and Gentlemen...Mr. Leonard Cohen” –
the National Film Board’s 1965
documentary portrait directed by Donald
Brittain & Don Owen:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1191539880927868
If It Be Noel - Day 9 on the Musical Advent Calendar
It’s possible that everybody knows –
certainly “Cohencentric: Leonard Cohen
Considered” has pegged today for “Allison
Crowe’s Delightful Performance of The First
Noel”:
http://cohencentric.com/2015/12/16/video-allison-crowe
Blue Christmas - Day 5 on Musical Advent Calendar - "All the Colours of a Song"
Day 5 of our Musical Advent Calendar opens with “Blue
Christmas” – from Allison Crowe’s remarkable
all a cappella collection, “Souling”
(2015). Composed by Jay W. Johnson & Billy Hayes,
the song’s first recorded in 1948 by Texan Doye
O’Dell - “All America’s Cowboy”. Several popular
renditions followed – and, in 1957, another
singer/actor, this time from Tupelo, Mississippi,
stamped it indelibly as an holiday classic.
Allison Crowe’s fresh arrangement and performance
of an Elvis Presley signature tune launches
December’s 25 song videos - blending her own
originals alongside music from The Beatles, Leonard
Cohen, Gary O’Driscoll, Aretha Franklin, Eartha
Kitt, Stevie Wonder, Patty Griffin, Phil Ochs and
Nat King Cole. (November’s calendar revealed
Crowe’s takes on gems heard decades earlier by
Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell,
Ryan’s Fancy, Harry Hibbs, Bell Island’s Ray Mclean
+.)
Allison Crowe’s repertoire, including her classic “Tidings”
and a cappella “Souling”, unites
traditional tunes, carols and hymns, with sounds of
rock, jazz, folk, Celtic and soul to celebrate
“music for the season and all time”. "You really
have to see Allison Crowe live. The way she splits
those notes, it's like light through a prism - all
the colours of a song," reflects longtime radio/tv
host Rick Dennis. From a vantage point atop a
snow-peaked mountain in Canada, print journalist
Stephen Smysnuik observes: "Crowe's voice (is) as
much a manifestation of Christmas spirit today as
Bing Crosby's was in 1942. It's as warm as an open
fire; as gorgeous as snow-frosted evergreens; as
tender as that hug you give your mother on
Christmas day." Each day through Christmas a new music video link
will open @
http://allisoncrowe.com/MusicalAdventCalendar2016.html
With, both, “Cover Me” and “Coverville”,
a pair of the world’s premiere homes for lovers of
cover songs, sending birthday wishes to Allison
Crowe today, it’s an invitation to explore the
artist’s body of interpretive work. All music can
be found linked via the “ABC List” @
http://www.allisoncrowe.com/ABC.html
A supreme interpreter and arranger of songs -
traditional, Celtic, jazz, Broadway, hymns, carols
and aires – Crowe’s famed for her renewal of
popular songs – including those first penned by
Canadian icons Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, and
Atlantic coast treasures Gary O’Driscoll, Al
Pittman / Ron Hynes, Wince Coles, Harry Hibbs+,
alongside tunes from The Beatles, Pearl Jam, Tori
Amos, Ani DiFranco,Counting Crows, Lovin’ Spoonful,
Phil Ochs, Annie Lennox, Radiohead, Ronnie Shannon,
Patty Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, the Rolling
Stones and more.
In this rich and varied repertoire, each of Crowe’s
singular performances is a favourite.
Having just come off the road with Allison Crowe
and Band – during our travels we learned of Leonard
Cohen’s passing. Tonight, his manager released
these details:
Allison Crowe, together with countless people all
over our world, shares a special bond with the bard
“born with the gift of a golden voice”. This
relationship intertwines with the DNA of Leonard
Cohen songs – among those in her repertoire is his
universal “Hallelujah”. Of this, “Cover
Me” founder and editor Ray Padgett opines:
“Born in British Columbia, Crowe has amassed a
loyal following in Canada and Europe. The
songwriter’s songwriter pure tones sound like a
bell, no show-off acrobatics necessary. The amazing
thing isn’t just that she performs the best version
of Leonard Cohen‘s oft-covered ‘Hallelujah’
(sorry Jeff); the amazing thing is that she does so
using the same solo piano style that everyone else
does. There’s nothing particularly creative about
it; her voice is just that good! So throw all those
other ‘sensitive’ covers. This one’s the keeper.”
The blog 'anacronyms' says:“Crowe's
version is a living thing, a meditation and a
celebration and a benediction."
Thank you, sincerely, L. Cohen. We have the music.
"For today’s ep, I tried to pick L.Cohen covers I
haven’t played before. But you should check out
covers by @allisoncrowe22 - I’ve played all...
Would help if I got that Twitter account right!
@Allison_Crowe - and it’s her birthday today! Check
out her amazing L Cohen covers!... She does a
beautiful Hallelujah, Chelsea Hotel
No. 2, Bird on a Wire and Famous
Blue Raincoat. All great."
https://twitter.com/Coverville/status/798998064635793410
And here's Allison's take on L. Cohen's "Joan
of Arc":
Today - November 16 - marks the birthday of the
great musical artist, Allison Crowe. Celebrated as
an original songwriter and performer in popular
music genres, Allison's song interpretations are
also globally loved. "Cover
Me" tweets in appreciation, reprising this
Spotlight from the blog’s founding editor, Ray
Padgett @
http://www.covermesongs.com/2010/07/in-the-spotlight-allison-crowe.html
“There are some voices that speak (or sing) for
themselves. You know the ones. Voices where it
doesn’t matter what they sing. Voices where it
doesn’t really matter what instruments support
them. Solomon Burke has such a voice. Jeff Buckley
had it. Allison Crowe has it too...”
Arthur - Allison Crowe and Band Euro Live Bootleg Sparkles in Cohencentric Setting
Gem of a music-lover’s blog, “Cohencentric: Leonard Cohen Considered”, reveals facets of artistry on display in a rare bootleg of
Allison Crowe and Band. The recording, just unearthed from an European
audio-trove, features the quartet performing a song sparkling in the
diamantine prose of Allan Showalter, Cohencentric’s master wordsmith:
“ ‘Arthur’ is elegantly, efficiently lapidarian, interweaving deeply
personal questions of devotion and loyalty, Arthurian legend, intense
romantic longing, and, of course, sex. It is, in a word (albeit a
conveniently coined term) – Cohenesque. The video for ‘Arthur’ is also a
visual treat, featuring sweet, awkward, altogether fetching clips from
home movies, shot in Johannesburg and the Natal Coast of South Africa,
of the honeymoon of two young people of my own parents’ generation.”
Mandrač, Slovenian journal of news and
culture, today features Allison Crowe and Band in
advance of the group performing in concert at
Palazzo Manzioli, Izola on Saturday, March 26,
2016.
This article tells the magic of how things comes
together as a consequence of dedicated and wondrous
global arts patron and presenter Milka
Smid-O’Reilly reaching out to Crowe years ago –
seeking her help in obtaining permission from
Sony/ATV, publishers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”,
to allow a
translation of the song into Slovenian.
Through their contact the country’s renowned
and much-loved musician,
Enzo Hrovatin, was enabled to make a
version of this universal song in his tongue.
The friendship formed then between figures of
the cultural community in this European nation
and the Canadian team of Allison Crowe has
flowered beautifully ever since.
This Easter weekend, the exciting and
amazing quartet of Allison Crowe (vocals,
piano, guitar, fiddle, bodhran), Céline Greb
aka Lin Lin (cello, vox), Sarah White
(mandolin, guitar, vox) & Dave Baird (bass)
will perform in the restored Venetian
late-Gothic Manzioli Palace - built in 1470 and
now the heart of Izola’s Italian centre.
Special guest is the delightful recording
artist and music producer
Martin Štibernik aka Mistermarsh.
Fittingly, with all the Irish roots on both
sides of the water, this news adds to Happy St.
Patrick’s Day. Sláinte, everyone!
“The First Noel” - a favourite from the
traditional Christmas canon.
Late one afternoon, Allison Crowe took her place
at the piano and performed the songs of “Tidings”
live-off-the-floor – captured on film in real-time
by director/producer Alex Postowoi and his crew:
camera-persons Karen Duthie, Randy Rotheisler,
editor Shirley Claydon and interviewer Steven
Rosenberg. The audio’s recorded by Larry Anschell
at his Turtle Recording studios in White Rock, BC,
Canada.
Crowe's much-loved
versions of carols alongside tunes from the popular
songbook, by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The
Beatles and more, have been viewed and heard by
millions of people around the globe - every sex,
race, religion and creed+ without boundaries or
divisions.
It’s an historic session that nearly didn’t
happen.
On the way from Vancouver to the studio near
the Canada/US border, the large industrial van
carrying the musician, film crew, and the
lighting and camera gear broke down and had to
be abandoned on the median.
Once bodies and equipment had been
transferred into friends’ passenger vehicles,
including a Volvo sedan so weighted down its
undercarriage sparked as it grazed the tarmac,
all arrived at Turtle late in the day for what
had been booked for a morning call.
Engineer Anschell said had it been any
artist other than Allison Crowe he’d have
cancelled the session and looked to reschedule,
as there was not the time available to set-up
and film/record an album of song material.
Knowing Allison, though, “Turtle” let things
proceed – and, between sips of water and tea,
she performed each song in a single, first,
take. The full recording happened in the window
it takes to enjoy these videos.
"A Brush of Hope" Celebrity Painting Auction Opens
The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Atlantic
Branch, today launches its “Brush of Hope”
Celebrity Paintings Auction on ebay. Musician
Allison Crowe is delighted again by the opportunity
to contribute to this great cause and campaign.
Nowhere else can you see such a collection of works
from a range of Canadians that also includes
Leonard Cohen, Elizabeth May, Don Cherry and more.
The gallery is open! The Foundation tells us
what it’s about:
“This is a rare opportunity to own an ORIGINAL,
one of a kind piece of artwork by ALLISON CROWE.
All proceeds from the sale of this artwork will go
to support the valuable work of The Kidney
Foundation of Canada by allowing us to continue our
patient services programs, education and awareness
initiatives and life saving research. These
programs and services enable us to improve the
lives of the 1 in 10 Canadians who are living with
or affected by kidney disease.
Item Details: 8 x 10 canvas board, acrylic,
signed on back”
monterey media, an uniquely independent film studio since 1979, today
announces the release of “The Pardon” in Digital (incl. iTunes). and
DVD formats. The movie is now available for rent and purchase at Vimeo
on Demand: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thepardon
“A very thought provoking,true crime drama that examines the muddy-grey
areas where victims, justice and love reside” says Amy Handler, Film
International. “Jaime King lights up the screen… compelling,” – Kam
Williams, Baret News Syndicate. “Oscar nominee John Hawkes is riveting” –
The Hollywood Reporter.
