A Page from My Heart – Christopher Page & the Dream Keeper’s Ensemble

Christopher Page & the Dream Keeper’s Ensemble
A Page from My Heart
Restoration Records 2008
www.myspace.com/christopherpageandthedreamkeepers

A former professor of gospel music at the University of Maryland and an ordained minister of the Church of God (Anderson, IN), DC-based Christopher Page demonstrates his knowledge and understanding of music and Scripture on A Page from My Heart.

A Page from My Heart contains a potpourri of musical styles. It takes listeners by surprise at every turn with shifts from RnB to Holy Hip Hop to praise and worship to inspirational to ambient to jazz. The RnB-flavored pieces, such as “Sanctified Slide” (reminiscent of Dana Divine’s “Gospel Slide” but without the TSOP backdrop) and “I Come” are the most compelling; the former has the greatest chance at radio play but the second is a lovelier composition. Having said that, “Even Me,” a medley of gospel hymns, stands out as an island of formal hymnody in a sea of musical experimentation.

The Dream Keeper’s Ensemble, a group Page formed in 1997 to bring arts education to underserved communities in the DC area, anchors the project. Ensemble member Jeanne Nicole Ruffin is an especially important asset. While Grammy-winning Delious Kennedy from the RnB vocal group All-4-One (“I Swear,” “So Much in Love”), Tina Meeks Parcher and Tamara Fingal also contribute quite nicely, it was Ruffin I looked forward to hearing. The group functions as a true ensemble cast, with singers talented enough to step out and lead a song and step back on the next track to support someone else.

One constant throughout the album is its interpolation of lyrics from popular hymns, spirituals and gospel songs. Like a treasure hunt, pieces such as Doris Akers’ “Lead Me, Guide Me” and the congregational song “In the Name of Jesus” lie hidden here and there, waiting for the listener to find it and smile with familiarity.

Christopher Page’s narration and reflections are resonant and genuine, though if given the choice, I would have favored less spoken word and more musical lyricism to get across the spiritual message. Regardless, A Page from My Heart is musically complex and jam-packed with material thoughtfully arrayed (as “chapters,” natch).

Four of Five Stars