It’s not too often you hear children’s music with a country and bluegrass twist, but that’s exactly what The Okee Dokee Brothers delivers with their latest release, Take It Outside. The Okee Dokee Brothers are Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing, and this newest album features 13 original songs with witty wordplay and instrumentals with just a bit of hillbilly twang. Some of the songs are educational, while others tell stories. You can really get an idea of the Brothers’ humorous style just from the track names – “Antidisestablishmentarianism” in particular.
Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti is the first release from Spare the Rock Records and features uplifting music from a variety of family musicians. The album concept came on the heels of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, and the music is an outpouring of love and generosity for the families whose lives were touched by the disaster. Most of the tracks on the album are previously unreleased – and quite a few were recorded specifically for Many Hands. Artists include Pete Seeger, Gustafer Yellowgold, Recess Monkey, and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Proceeds from this lovely album will benefit the Haitian People’s Support Project.
Wake Up Clarinet! is the newest release from acclaimed jazz artist/composer Oran Etkin on his new record label, Timbalooloo. The nine tracks are very musically rich; besides being pleasant to listen to, the album employs some of Etkin’s acclaimed teaching methods to educate kids about music. His clarinet and saxophone style is incredibly lyrical, and he’s backed by an accomplished band including Jason Marsalis on drums, jazz vocalist Charenee Wade, Fabian Almazan on piano, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone and Garth Stevenson on bass. I particularly enjoyed the Big Easy-influenced “Eh Las Bas.”
Meredith LeVande’s What Are the Odds? has a definite pop feel while remaining truly child appropriate. Besides being a children’s musician, Meredith has also lectured on Women’s Studies. She feels that popular female musicians (not always the best role models) are influencing children, especially girls, at younger and younger ages all the time. She said, “I find it fascinating and somewhat disturbing that many parents are so conscious of their kids’ nutritional diets, but pay very little attention to their children’s media intake. I think there’s a definite corporate movement to force kids to grow up quicker in order to turn them into earlier consumers.” In short, What Are the Odds? is filled with fun and upbeat songs that let kids be kids!
Take It Outside by The Okee Dokee Brothers // Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti by Various Artists, Spare the Rock Records // Wake Up Clarinet! by Oran Etkin // What Are the Odds? by Meredith LeVande
Obligatory disclaimer for the FTC muckety-mucks: Yep, I received free review copies of these CDs. No, I didn’t receive any compensation for this post! Shame on you for even thinking it! Full disclosure »
