By Wolf
Wolf is an internet DJ, you can hear him at https://blues-at.co.uk He also writes regularly for Blue Monday Monthly
Longtime Colorado musical artist Jenn Cleary has put together a wonderful new collection of songs for kids, fun and educational and yes, adults will get a kick out it as well. With a focus on nature and how humans and nature are interconnected, every song carries a strong message that “we are family” regardless of what form or shape.
“Animals, birds and trees
Are related to you and me
We all need the wild places
Waterfalls, rocks and bees
Make us happy, feel free
Let’s take care of our family.”
And so goes the opening song Our Wild Family, with backup vocals provided by … well, a fabulous chorus of kids singing in perfect harmony, and therein lies the point of the song, and the entire CD: that we as humans need to live in harmony with nature, thus ensuring its preservation. Lest one think that there’s no Americana/Blues, rest assured that you’ll find plenty of toe-tapping music here. My Sisters And Me is just about as fun as it gets, as Jenn sings a song about honeybees:
“We make lots of honey, there’s enough to share
We love to work hard and scare away the bears
Yes we do, honeybees
Oooooh oooooh my sisters and me.”
With lyrics about pollination, the queen bee of the hive and a warning not to touch the
honeybees, there’s nothing not to love about this tune. But be careful as you walk around and be sure to look down, because you might see a pile: Scat’s The Word For That, and that “pile of poo” is precisely what scientists use to identify native creatures, such as bears, raccoon and deer. Cleary being the consummate artist, there’s plenty of “scat” along the way, Ella Fitzgerald style, and it’s incredibly good.
Clean Water is a song on how to keep pollution out of out of streams and rivers. Cleary, who founded a non-profit that, for nearly 15 years, promoted innovative, locally sustainable healthand economic sufficiency programs in Nepal, India, and Tibet, draws heavily on that background at every turn.
Love Right Now was inspired by words from Cleary’s mother, Margaret Cleary, and gave the two a chance to work together. Bubbles is an endlessly fun number featuring some fabulous harp, while Backyard Farm, where Cleary touts the “little-bitty farm in my back yard” is a rundown of animal sounds and activities, much more fun than Old McDonald’s farm, because Jenn Cleary. Dinosaur Friend and Less Gravity are toe- tappers that spark the imagination, as do the rest of the songs on “All Together Now!”
The closing song, All Kinds Of Families, is about the different kinds of families in which kids can live. Cleary wrote the song with her adopted daughter, Dorje Dolma, who was initially raised by aunts, parents, and grandparents who were nomadic yak herders in Nepal. Dolma was in a Nepali children’s home before Cleary brought her to America for life-saving surgeries and subsequently adopted her. After college, Dolma went on to work in a preschool where she witnessed many different kinds of family situations. Dolma co-wrote the song with Cleary, and her artwork, “Healing Heart” is featured on the “All Together Now!” album cover. Music truly is the universal language, and Jenn Cleary offers up proof. “All Together Now!” is a CD for kids of ALL ages. Set for a June 21, 2021 release date, the CD will be available on Amazon and will be available at Jenn Cleary’s live shows, as well as through her website:
www.jenncleary.com
… if you have kids, this is a “must have” CD, and if you don’t, it’s one that you’ll probably want anyway: it really is just that good.