Here Come the
Reviews!
"Do
you hear what I hear?" Christmasreviews.com
2007!
"Do you hear what I hear?" Christmasreviews.com 2007!
Please visit christmasreviews.com, a special music site dedicated to finding and promoting that special music which best expresses Richard Banks' love for Christmas and other seasonal music. Desert Wind has been honored with a wonderful review of Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land, which will appear in the soon to be released Christmasreviews.com, 2000! "If this site has any value at all, it is to focus attention on independent label and artist releases--music that is often unavailable through most distribution channels. I hope to provide an opportunity to connect people to music they might not otherwise hear about at all."
" You'll hear standards such as "Silent Night," "What Child Is This?" and "O Come, All Ye Faithful. But like you've never heard before!" Read more at
The LutheranThe following reviews of Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land
are exact reprints from the articles in which they appear.
Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land - City Weekly Magazine Review,
December 23, 1999- by William Athey (Scene & Heard Column) If there is one disc this year that is begging for a listen, it is Desert Wind’s Christmas release. Why? Innovation and creativity are present in massive amounts. The title pretty much reveals what’s up. Desert Wind do the Christmas thing using dumbek, riq (Egyptian tambourine), tablas and djembe, as well as more familiar instruments. The group is heavily into percussion, so their version of “The Little Drummer Boy” must be viewed as a highlight. Amy Faust performs the vocal portion in an unearthly fashion. “Gaudete,” a Chirstmas song from the 16th century, brings both enjoyment and education to the recording. It’s probably difficult to imagine “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” set to rhythms from the Middle East, but Desert Wind doesn’t stop there. “What Child is This,” “Silent Night” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” receive similar treatment. I thought the Dropkick Murphys had turned in the definitive version of “Amazing Grace” until I heard Desert Wind’s take. “Amazing Grace” isn’t exactly a “Christmas” song, but Faust is celebrating life. Give praise for experimentation, and it works!”
Desert Wind Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land
- The Event Newsweekly Magazine Review,
December 23, 1999- by Randy Harward (Sound Bites Column) Desert Wind is an extracurricular activity of Alan Scott Bachman, Utah’s Assistant Attorney General. You wouldn’t know it from the picture in the CD, he looks just like any other guy you’d find in a drum circle - except here plays nine instruments (Boston Steinway Grand Piano, mandolins, mandola, mandocello, acoustic guitars, alto recorder, harpsichord, keyboards, sleigh bells, and oriental bells - gasp!)
Not that Desert Wind is a one-man project. Eight other musicians playing 16 more instruments (mostly percussion) perform ten different Middle East rhythms (Ready for another list? Beladi, Ayoub, Masmoudi, Bolero, Khaleegy, Maqsoum, Saidi, Mid-East and Persian 6/8, Rock-Beladi.) on Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land. The exotic rhythms infuse the standards with new energy, making this one of the more interesting holiday releases. For more info, email Desert Wind or write to: Desert Wind, P.O.Box 3722, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110.CHRISTMAS: Rhythms of the HOLY LAND - Jareeda,
"The International News Magazine for Middle Eastern Dance"
October / November, 1999
by Sara Nosanchuk (Feature Article)Hands down, CHRISTMAS: Rhythms of the Holy Land by Desert Wind is the premiere holiday album to add to your collection this year! This is definitely for those who still want to dance in November and December!
This is the BEST thing to happen to Christmas music since Christmas itself! For years we have been subjected to the same blasé Christmas tunes-blaring in grocery stores, at outdoor events, at Christmas parties, just about everywhere we go in December--and for years we have desired to hear something different, something refreshing and festive, powerful yet elusive. Well friends, the wait is over, Desert Wind's Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land delivers!
Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land differs from every other holiday album out there for a few distinct reasons.
First, consider the title of the album. Finally, a full length CD with the unprecedented merging of familiar Christmas tunes, such as O Come All Ye Faithful and Joy to the World, with various Middle Eastern rhythms, such as beladi, masmoudi, ayoub and maqsoum (just to name a few.)
Hearing the various ancient rhythms and rich melodies transports the listener from their everyday living environment to a place far off, one that is exotic to most Americans, back to the Holy Land where Jesus himself once walked nearly 2000 years ago.
Next, the album is distinct in that it does not overwhelm the listener as being entirely "Christmas music." While most of the tracks are Christmas songs, there are a few festive pieces you'll want to hear and dance to year round.
For instance, Alan Bachman, who is the executive producer, composer and arranger for the album, as well as a very talented, multi-faceted musician on the album, has chosen to reinvent Pachelbel's Cannon as Pachel-BELLS, in which several types of sleigh bells, oriental bells, and jingle bells ring with joy. His original adaptation of a Scarlatti sonata, called Scarlatti Bachman, is one of the finest and most gorgeous instrumental arrangements that I have ever heard--ever!
While Alan Bachman's around-the-clock efforts to produce such a masterpiece was clearly a labor of love, his efforts would not have been as successful if not for the brilliant musicianship of all of the Desert Wind players.
Famed Bay-area drummer, Rami Ziadeh, just happens to be a Palestinian Christian with Bethlehem family roots and was born on Christmas Day. It is no wonder he shines in "The Little Drummer Boy." He was joined by dumbek master and teacher Jonathan Kessler, from Santa Barbara, to lay the fundamental and driving rhythmical force for the album.
Then George Grant on tablas, Brett "Angus" Bowen on bass dumbek, Rajab Juma on riq/dumbek, and Christian Perry on trap drums each added their own rhythmical spice to create the powerful and passionate rhythms heard throughout the entire album.
The sultry yet powerful flute sounds are accredited to the brilliant workmanship of Andalin Bachman, who has been playing the flute for over three decades. She plays fervently throughout the album, adding her own brand of eloquence and zeal. Her energy seems boundless as she improvises with Middle Eastern scales upon exotic rhythms. Perhaps you saw her on the Ted Mack "Amateur Hour" national CBS TV show when she was just 16!
As many of you may know, "Desert Wind" was the name of the band which originally consisted of Bob Dexter (on dumbek and percussion) and Alan Bachman who performed in the 1980's in Oregon -- until Alan had a premature midlife crisis and left for Vegas!
Desert Wind got a "second wind" when Alan met Andalin on the set of "Promised Land" in 1996. Andalin said that Alan's creative genius has allowed her to stretch out from her jazz background and into this incredible world of dance and song. "It is great fun to play off of Alan's mandolins and absolutely fantastic to musically dance with his piano playing. When Alan's fingers fly over the grand piano, I can just see the dancers move with him, as I do on my flutes."
Amy Faust, daughter of a Baptist minister and professional vocalist, sings her soulful heart out on three of the fifteen tracks with insurmountable passion and drive. Her voice is as powerful as the lyrics she delivers, and after listening to her vocal faculties you will have a new understanding of the real power in "caroling." Unafraid to "let loose," Amy's gospel-influenced upbringing pays off, big time! Her rendition of Amazing Grace will be a year round favorite.
Overall, Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land is a holiday album that anyone can enjoy. It evokes a plethora of feelings from beginning to end and offers a breath of fresh air to the common Christmas music that we hear year in and year out. Adding to the album's immense grace and proportion is the final song which is added almost as a closing prayer, Tikkun Olam (Healing the World.)
Even if you are not a fan of Christmas music (especially if you are not a fan of Christmas music) you will have no choice but to dance, hum, sing or drum along to the festive sounds that world-renowned artists, Desert Wind, drum into your soul. Even Ebenezer Scrooge couldn't "bah humbug" this jubilation!
If you only purchase one new holiday album this year, your best bet for a refreshing, festive CD from beginning to end is has got to be Desert Wind's latest release, Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land.
Destined to become an "instant classic" in no time due to its unique nature, expansive array of talent and enlivening sound, listening and dancing to this album will help your spirit to heighten, your soul to enlighten, and your holiday to brighten! As Alan expresses it, Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land is "part of a continuum as a universal prayer to greet the new millennium."
November, 1999 Ladyslipper Distributions, New Release Review
Desert Wind - Christmas: Rhythms of the Holy Land. Here's something different; on this 1999 release, familiar Christmas songs are created again with luscious ancient rhythms from the Middle East. Several drummers provide a rich tapestry colored by Andalin Bachman's warm wooden flute tones. Her flute interplays with the passionate virtuoso drumming of Rami Ziadeh (currently residing in the Bay Area, he was raised as a child in Bethlehem and born on Christmas Day -- no wonder he shines on Little Drummer Boy!) While mostly instrumental, several songs feature the lovely voice of Amy Faust. We now have Christmas music from many parts of the world, but this is the first we know about with more direct links to where it all happened in the first place.
December 16, 1999 Tucson Weekly reported that Desert Wind'd rendition of Little Drummer Boy
"positively delivers on the album's grand concept, a delicious fusion of the familiar and the exotic."
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