Elizabeth Woodbury Kasius & Heard: News

When I was 5, I had a terrible case of what I think was probably strep throat. I was forced to stay home from school for 2 whole days, and this mom-imposed hiatus began as mind-bogglingly boring, compared to the wonderment of my newly taken-on life in kindergarten, full of new friends, art projects and snack time. But somewhere into the first day of exile, my compassionate and empathetic mother came home with something she hoped would keep me entertained--the newly-released Jackson 5 Greatest Hits LP. I must have been somewhat aware of music before then--it was on the car radio, here and there in stores and elevators. But having this album all to myself, just me in my bedroom with my junior record player for 48 hours, was like going on some sort of shamanic journey. Like the Wizard of Oz, I went in, in Black and White and came out in Technicolor. Being intensely sequestered with those songs and those voices changed the way I felt about music, how I listened to it, how it affected me, and what I expected from it. It went to the very center of me and woke me up. After I recovered, I continued to be enthralled and mesmerized by music-I can still right now remember the angle my head was at, peering up at the transistor radio that was on the wall unit in the living room. I remember standing and staring at it as it played the music of the 70's. (particularly memorable is that piercingly high note from "Lovin' You" by Minnie Ripperton! WOW!)

When I returned to kindergarten class, I couldn't wait to share The Jackson 5's ABC with all my classmates--it was so topical, I was sure it'd be a hit! Sometimes we had music during naptime and I asked my teacher Mrs. Casey if she could play that track while we tried to get some shut eye. I nestled in with anticipation and my afghan blanket as she turned off the flourescent lights. To her credit, she gave it her best shot, but didn't make it past the first chorus--it was a little suspect as a lullaby. She found "I'll be There" and gave that a try with some success, but didn't get any further through the album. But I will never forget that feeling, of wanting to share music that had brought me joy & comfort, with others in my world. It had my heart beating fast--I'm sure it was the first time in my young life that I had experienced the impulse of wanting to open up to something bigger than myself--the world of art and the artist, of ideas, inspirations, of connecting through it all --and to bring it to those around me. So I thank Michael Jackson and his music for lighting that fire in me...

Yes, there was snow today...But sunshine too and the hyacinths are the better for it!

The big news to report is that we're en route to getting a new collection of songs out. We were in the studio recently, with Rebecca K. in from LA, John Ehlis on guitar up from Montclair NJ, the inimitable Jonathan Greene on clarinet and sax, as well bassman John Menegon, percussionist Brian Melick and last but not least, our Ghanaian master drummer and musician, Zorkie Nelson. These arrangements have been largely inspired by Zorkie's influence on my music--I think he's somehow conjured up the West African in me. I've also had IK Dairo on my mind a lot lately, leading up to this session--he was a pioneering Nigerian juju musician that I was lucky to be able to study with for a year in Seattle, back in the 90's. Check out his music--it's joyfully infectious! My hope is to polish these tunes up, get them out to our listeners and garner some great gigs with this new configuration for the summer and beyond.