Phil Cross and Crossing, Northwest Church, Fresno, CA 6/12/09

Yeah, yeah...I know...I've been relatively absent from my little corner of the web of late!

But hey, I've got life to live too, just like all of you...but this past Friday night, I was able to slip over to my home church(Northwest in Fresno)and see one of gospel music's most prominent songwriters and movers in concert with a new vocal configuration.

Phil Cross was here, not with Poet Voices(the male group he's performed with for the past decade and a half or so), but with Crossing(two female singers)..consisting of Phil's wife Rebecca, and noted songwriter Paula Stefanovich("Jerusalem" and "Yahweh", the two Hoppers hits). This appearance is part of a special tour Cross is conducting nationwide(the "Song of a Lifetime" tour).

Appearing with Phil and Crossing was the Golden State Quartet from Bakersfield, who appear often in Fresno, and have quite a following here. They did a fine and energetic opening set. Cross was inspired to borrow some of the quartet members to make an impromptu, scrap-iron quartet to perform a couple of his old quartet hits, borrowing Golden State's tenor and bass to help with "When I Get Carried Away" and "Wedding Music". Stefanovich was used as the baritone for these songs(singing it an octave high, of course). Not only did Cross prove that he loved true southern-style gospel music(which as we ALL know is quartet-driven...j/k), but both he and the audience had a lot of fun presenting some of Cross's fine songs in an unplanned, iimpromptu manner. Maybe Phil would like to re-form Poet Voices as a quartet?:-)

After that bit of levity, Cross and Crossing performed a mixture of new songs(written by Cross or Stefanovich or both together), and more older songs written by Cross.

The highlights for me were when the group performed Stefanovich's "Jerusalem", a HUGE hit for the Hoppers. We've all heard the Hoppers sing the song hundreds of times, but Stefanovich(a fine singer in her own right)and the group did it better! There's something about the writer of a song bringing out the song in a fresher way than anyone else, and Crossing did that! Phil Cross and Crossing should record and release "Jerusalem" as a single...it would have a real shot at being a hit for them.

Cross's stage manner was much like him, folksy and unpretentious. I'm not sure that everyone there was aware of all the well-known songs Cross has written, but if they didn't know before the concert, they certainly did after it...especially when the group concluded the program with Cross' "sugar stick", "Champion Of Love", performed in a compelling way by the group.

Cross comes to California often, and the central part of the state appreciates him much, and he them. I expect he'll be back many more times in the future.

Mixed trios generally don't "turn my crank", but I enjoyed seeing and meeting Phil Cross and Crossing. They sing well, they're personable, and they represent what is really good about southern-style gospel music.

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Reader Comments

   .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) ~ 06/19/2009

I hope to have the privilege of hearing this vocal configuration sometime. Thanks for taking the time to convey your impressions, John!

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