FolkWorld #54 07/2014
© Michael Moll (with specialist support from his 3 and 5 year old daughters)

German Folk for Kidz

Folk for Kidz

Just one album of jazz for kids...

Seth Kibel

Artist Video Seth Kibel @ FW:
FW#22, #34, #40, #46

www.sethkibel.com

This time I have one single album to review in this column (any other childrens musicians out there who would like their album covered in this space?!?), so this will be a short one. But any childrens CD that will find the attraction of my girls at the moment is a welcome distraction from the "Frozen" soundtrack which you cannot escape even if you don't have it on CD and not even have watched the film - it seems to be anywhere where children gather...



Seth Kibel, Jazz for People Who Are Shorter Than Me. Own label, 2014

"Jazz for People Who Are Shorter Than Me" promises Seth Kibel in the title of his album. Seth Kibel is on his home turf (Washington/Baltimore region) a popular jazz, klezmer and swing musician, playing saxophone, clarinet and flute. This is one of those "one-off" childrens CDs that seems to be currently also quite trendy amongst "mainstream" folk musicians.

The idea of jazzy versions of traditional songs for children is a nice one, so can this album deliver?

Well, the songs that they know well ("Twinkle Twinkle"; "Down by the Bay", and particularly "Row, Row, Row your boat") go down quite well with my daughters - but I have to say that the jazz versions of some of them do not always work that well for me. Then there are - at least on this side of the Atlantic - lesser known as well as new songs. And finally, a number of decent jazz tunes which are good tunes but are not particularly distinctive as music for children. I find that the kids only want to listen to those songs they know, and the rest is for them a "take it or leave it".

For me, of course, certainly miles better than listening to the "Frozen" soundtrack - but I am not fully convinced if it meets the objective of an album of jazz music for kids.


THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE IN THESE WATERS...

A ragtag group of musicians from the wonderfully "peculiar" Portland, Oregon have joined forces to produce a nautically themed children's record. It’s for kids.... yes, but it's also the sort of music that parents might get caught listening to when their kids aren't around.

This EP is a musical sampling of the magic that is to come with the soon to be released album The Peculiar Tales of the S.S. Bungalow. If you are itching for some sea-faring folk music that will inspire imagination, wonder and a good deal of foot tapping, this album is for you.

Come along and join us on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Bungalow! Download the EP @ NoiseTrade!

The Peculiar Tales of the S.S. Bungalow. EP/Download, 2014 (www.ssbungalow.com)


Photo Credits: (1) Seth Kibel, (2)-(3) CD Cover (from website).


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