Liberty Quartet, Calvary Church of the Nazarene, 1/23/09

I spent a wonderful evening watching the best gospel quartet in the western United States as well as one of the best youth choirs.

The Liberty Quartet from Boise, Idaho was at the Calvary Church of the Nazarene in Clovis, a suburb of Fresno, CA...and appearing with them was the Ambassador Youth Choir from nearby Riverdale, where they are a part of that community's Assembly of God church.

You'll recall last May at this very little corner of the web that I described that church as the most musical church I have ever encountered. They demonstrated their exceptional musical acumen in a lively opening set, accompanied by the gifted Jim.E. Davis(writer of Gold City's hit "Preach the Word") at the piano with a three-piece backing band, and Jim's wife Darla directing. The choir ranges in age from 14 to 28 and I didn't hear a single bad note or wrong pitch. And their energy level and stage presence(yes, I said stage presence)is nothing short of phenomenal...but this group has appeared often on stages, most notably at the annual Great Western Southern Gospel Fan Festival in Fresno.

Oh, the church was packed with people...something that pleased me very much, as our gospel show on KMJ was the primary publicity source for the concert.

But it always helps to have a quartet with the ability of the Liberty Quartet as the headline attraction. They can sing any style...from traditional to contemporary...and they are quite personable and engaging on stage. And in the past couple of years, they've become more visible and renowned than ever in the world of gospel music.

There are several reasons for this. One, they have worked extensively with the well-known singer/songwriter Phil Cross for most of their recent album projects. Two, they are led by Royce Mitchell, one of the finest bass singers, managers, and arrangers in today's gospel music. Three, they feature the piano work of Doran Ritchey, one of the most talented musicians in today's gospel music. And finally, they've expanded their visibility quite a bit in the last year, even performing at an NQC showcase last year.

What was exciting to me(one of the first to make the Liberty Quartet's name widely known)was the first chance to see the quartet with its' newest addition, Jordan Cragun, who officially joined the quartet at the beginning of this year. This move officially makes the quartet a five-man unit(a full quartet by traditionalist standards), and signals a definite move upward for the group.

Despite all this promise, the quartet got off to a slow start tonight, singing competently but without its' usual energy for the first half of the concert. They were still good enough to earn lively applause from the packed church, and Cragun was particularly good on his featured songs, but something was missing at the outset.

The intermission seemed to relax the quartet, and they loosened up considerably. I was particularly taken by Ritchey's improvisational medley at intermission, where he made an impromptu medley from three audience requests. Staying at the full-sized church piano, Ritchey accompanied the quartet through a number of old-time quartet classics done right at the piano(off the main stage). The energy fueled by those fun old songs seemed to give the quartet life, and they finished the evening with a number of their finest recent songs. Ritchey even delivered a closing message, in the tradition and style of the Couriers' Dave Kyllonen, and Mitchell brought the house to its' feet with a rousing interpretation of the old Speers' hit, "City Coming Down", the same number that impressed EVERYONE at last year's GWSGFF.

Again, I was extremely impressed with the style and presence of this marvelously talented group. When they shifted their gears, Mitchell, Ritchey, Cragun, lead Dan Gilbert, and tenor Keith Waggoner clearly showed why they are one of the nation's finest gospel quartets.

Waggoner is an outstanding presence on stage, with energy, humor, and a good tenor voice adept at both features and blending.

Gilbert, despite a broken toe he suffered earlier this week, is a strong, clear lead, able to interpret any lyric with power and professionalism.

Cragun, from Louisiana, is a young talent with a good solo voice, blending ability, and a great attitude about being in a top quartet. He is a find.

Of course, Royce Mitchell is a strong bass soloist with a wide range and ability to deliver a lyric and emcee a program, while easily being able to sing as low as necessary to make the quartet's sound rich and full.

And Ritchey remains a good vocalist, is a good comic foil, can communicate from stage, and is a GREAT pianist and musician.

I have compared the Liberty Quartet to the Couriers in the past, and their combination of music and testimony is remarkably similar. Plus, when they were a quartet, the Couriers' greatest commercial success came when they were a full five-man unit, when Jerry Evans and L. David Young were there to provide excellent musicianship and to allow lead singer Neil Enloe to concentrate on merely singing and writing songs. Ritchey wrote five songs on Liberty's latest album...get the picture??

I'm confident the Liberty Quartet's biggest days lie ahead, and if tonight was any indication, they are destined for unprecedented notoriety in 2009. It was a night of great singing and wonderful fellowship, and except for the original Couriers, there is no group today I would rather see in concert than the Liberty Quartet. I'm glad they stopped by my part of the world when they did.

Changes in the GVB

Once again, the Gaither Vocal Band is at the center of discussion in the world of gospel music.

And once again, there is all kind of speculation about things that those doing the speculating can't possibly know about.

Several observers felt that when Guy Penrod went on sabbatical from the group, he would not return. And it's been announced that Penrod has plans to pursue a solo career. But given the nature of followers of a group, we(I'm a fan of groups too, after all)tend to develop such an interest in the members and their lives, that we sometimes feel as though we're entitled to know every detail of their personal lives, or worse, we pretend we DO know those details, and circulate the information we THINK we have to everyone we know.

But we're not. And we don't.

No one but God, Bill Gaither, and Guy Penrod really know all the factors involved in Penrod's departure from the GVB. This is not to suggest that we're not entitled to our opinions...of course we are. It's just that it's really irresponsible to publicly speculate on things we really don't know about. These are real people, not baseball cards or symbols or ciphers for our lives. And they can be harmed by that sort of thing...especially on something like the internet, where its' mere presence there signifies a certain amount of truth. We all know that that"ain't necessarily so".

What SHOULD our attitude concerning Penrod's departure be then?

Well, since we know that the GVB has fans across the board, Christian and non-Christian, for those fans that are Christian, it would be nice to read encouraging thoughts toward Penrod, accompanied by prayers and best wishes for one of Christian music's finest singers...not speculation about his health or his family or his relationship will Bill Gaither, none of which is really any of our business. Penrod must be trusted as someone who will inform his fans of anything he feels it is important to know...period.

For those fans who are non-Christian, Penrod should be saluted and acknowledged for the talent he's so amply demonstrated through the years...along with loyalty and trust that his future music will be of the same high quality it always has been. Certainly Penrod has done nothing to deserve any less.

And there has been speculation as well regarding the other departing member, Marshall Hall. Some have intimated that his departure was not entirely his decision. How they would know that is hard to say, but it's out there...and it's certainly not fair. Why does there have to be some secret "real" story beyond the obvious?

Hall apparently has other pursuits he wishes to follow. And Bill Gaither has never stood in the way of anyone who has worked with or for him who wishes to look into other opportunities he or she may have. Let's extend the same attitude toward Hall that I outlined above about Penrod, shall we? And let's welcome Michael English and David Phelps back to the place(the GVB)where both made such a discernible impact in gospel music.

Finally, let's not jump to premature conclusions about the GVB, which has proven to be a consistently excellent and resilient group down through the years. They have gone through a variety of changes over the years, and always re-emerged as a musically and spiritually vibrant force each time. Never sell Bill Gaither short when it comes to making moves that are the best for him, his organization, the industry, and the GVB.

I realize that it's only a minority of fans who engage in the sort of thing I'm speaking of in this post, and don't want to overstatemy point in light of that. But I hope we can remember to be responsible in our discussions of the people who make this music we all love so much.

UPDATE: For some unknown reason, I neglected to mention the return to the GVB fold of Mark Lowry, one of the most visible and popular Gaither alumni. Lowry's presence makes the GVB a quintet for the first time in its' history after being a quartet for nearly 30 years. Given the group's penchant for vocal arrangements beyond the standard gospel quartet variety, it's quite possible that now, with Phelps, Wes Hampton, English, Lowry, and Gaither, the GVB could be moving into its' most musically interesting period ever. If folks want to speculate on the GVB, certainly this would be a far more profitable and worthy vein to engage in than the kind of speculation that prompted this post in the first place.

And I didn’t even ask them to…

This is a bit of an unusual post for me, for unlike the many bloggers and observers who say this and that about the National Quartet Convention, how good or bad or useful or useless or relevant or irrelevant it is or who should be there or who shouldn't be there or what they should do to make it better or what they should never do at all...I am quite content with the NQC exactly the way it is...for it is what it is...still southern gospel's leading annual event, and still the main venue for as large a segment of the genre as it can be.

But I wanted to pause for a moment...and offer justified kudos to the NQC board, and in particular Claude Hopper, for seeing their way clear to putting Dave, Duane, and Neil(the "original" Couriers)on the Friday night program this coming year....proof at least to me that there IS an effort to put together the best possible convention.

Now Dave Kyllonen, Duane Nicholson, and Neil Enloe are no newcomers to the NQC...for nearly three decades as members first of the Couriers Quartet and later the Couriers Trio, they were annual mainstays at the NQC. And they were always well received and warmly welcomed there as well....with their winning combination of personable, Godly behavior and inspired musicianship.

And still today, many years later, the three original Couriers still possess the God-given ability to inspire and move audiences as few gospel artists can, or could...and many agree with me that they still can have the NQC audience eating out of their hands the moment they have the opportunity to take the stage there.

But Dave, Duane, and Neil are not about that. They have done it all in their 50+ years of singing, and have no need to prove anything to anyone. They were the original group about music ministry, and their main purpose in gospel music has always been to carry the gospel in song to everyone they sing to...and I have no doubt that this year at the NQC on Friday night, everyone in attendance will see Dave, Duane, and Neil spread the gospel on stage there, just as they always have.

Yes, it's also about the fact that DD&N are gospel music pioneers and the feeling of the NQC board is that they should be celebrated for that while they're still around to be celebrated, but my feeling is that after DD&N sing at this year's NQC, the people there will get a healthy taste of what they've been all about in over 50 years of singing gospel music professionally.

I have yet to attend the NQC...ever...but if there ever was a year that this should be the first time, 2009 is it.

Off to a flying start, pt. 2

This post is not so much a continuation of my last one as much as it is an addendum to it.

And by no means does anything I post here minimize what I said in my last post one bit.

For things ARE going well for me for the most part, and I am exceedingly thankful and grateful.

Perhaps some of you can relate to what I'm about to post here...any of you, when things are going really well and you SHOULD be feeling great, choose NOT to feel great because one or two little things bother you to the point that you can't seem to focus your mind where it's SUPPOSED to go?

Well, if you have(and I'll bet you ALL have), you know how I feel right now then.

There is NO good reason I shouldn't be absolutely joyful...but a couple of nagging concerns are trying to bring me down.

I know what to do...I know Who's in charge...I just have to put the "silly stuff" aside and move on with my very blessed life.

But sometimes, the simplest things to do seem to be really hard.

Trust me, this time tomorrow...I'll be back to my rightfully thankful self.

But now...I can smile, but it takes quite an effort...more than it should.

Off to a flying start

Well, the holiday season is over...and it's been a nice ride already as I sprung into 2009.

As some of you know, it began for me when I was chosen to host a radio program of Christmas music...on Christmas day and morning drive, no less! I was proud and honored to be chosen for that duty.

At that same time though, the cold and flu virus that had been affecting a lot of people all over the place hit me but good! It started to really kick in during that Christmas show...and by the following night, it had taken my voice away. This was very inopportune, as I was using my voice much more often than in the recent past, and I was expecting a very good friend to come and pay me a visit, all the way from Oregon!

Happily, my raspy excuse for a voice did not stand in my way of having a great time with my friend, and I was also able to catch up with some other people important to me. It was also apparent that despite the word of cutbacks at my radio station, I was needed...now more than ever...and all of the above caused me to feel useful...which is something we ALL need to feel.

Now, the cold is nearly gone...and my voice is nearly intact once more. But along with all that, I have a treasure trove of precious memories to take into 2009, and build my new year on.

So, as Mosie Lister wrote decades ago, "I'm feeling mighty fine."

Happy New Year, everyone!

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