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January 17, 2007
Assiniboia Times
by Pam Mytroen
CADENCE Shows Their True
Colors
Afraid to clap and
shatter the perfect prism of sound, the audience sat in stunned silence
until applause erupted for their encore performance, “Tribute”.
“Cadence”, a men’s
a cappella quartet from
Toronto has that effect on their audience.
How do they do that?
By stripping songs of
their instruments and exposing the raw beauty of the human voice.
Instruments are for surgeons, they say. And there’s no need for
surgery on this
group. They
are a near perfect rainbow of harmony and color.
At the bottom of the
spectrum, in their black suits and jazz hats, are the deep shades of bass,
sung by Kevin Fox. Fox directed and produced several albums for “Wibijazz’n”,
(now known as “Wibi”), York University ’s mixed a cappella group.
As bass and vocal percussionist he brings his writing and arranging skills
to keep Cadence in precise rhythm and pitch.
“How does he do that?”
was the most common question of the night, referring to Fox’s imitation of
bass guitar and drums using only his voice. Songs such as “Straighten
up and Fly Right (Nat King Cole) turn the head with his new ideas about
arranging. Every once in awhile the quartet released him from his uncanny
drumming ability and let him solo. You’d never guess he was a bass when he
blew the lid off “Matilda”.
Carl Berger dishes out a
baritone as creamy and decadent as his smile. With his understated
confidence he swings through “Hit that Jive, Jack” (Nat King Cole) and one
of his favorites, “No Restriction Signs in Heaven” (Golden Gate Quartet).
If he’s not singing, he’s scatting a sultry sax. Carl sang with Wibi and
the Toronto Orpheus Choir, as well as the a cappella outfit No Band Here. He
co-founded Cadence with Kevin Fox and brings a degree from York University
in ethnomusicology and jazz piano. He keeps busy teaching piano, guitar,
voice and saxophone.
Perhaps the most colorful
singer is second tenor Ross Lynde. He never misses an opportunity for humour
and he’s quite willing to make fun of himself. So in full nerd style, with
pants hiked up, he and the guys serenaded a guest from the audience in “A
Fine Romance”. His easy voice drips off the edges of the beat in
“Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps”, a mellow vocal attitude that he takes to
Toronto’s rock’n’roll scene. Lynde brings a music degree from York
University and is also known for piano, guitar, world music and vocal improv.
At the top of the rainbow
is Aaron Jensen, first tenor and youngest member of Cadence at age 24. He’s
only been with the ensemble for a couple months but sounds like he’s been
with them for their entire nine seasons. He has a cosmopolitan ability in
composing, evident in his piece “Take a Bow”, with its throwback to the big
stages of Broadway. And his solo in “True Colors” by Cindy Lauper seemed to
surprise him as much as the audience. Everybody held their applause until
the beauty of the moment, like a rainbow, faded. Aaron brings multiple
talents to Cadence, including experience as the music director of York
University ’s “Wibi. In July 2006 he directed and performed in his own full
length musical in his home town of Prince Albert . It met with critical and
public acclaim. Jensen graduated from York University with a music degree
majoring in composition.
Cadence just returned
from Munich and Vienna , and will be traveling through Canada and the States
until the end of March. They’ve released two albums, “frost free” (2001) and
“Twenty For One (2005), garnering Juno nominations for both and several
prestigious a cappella music awards earning the label, “ Canada ’s premier
pop-jazz group”. But they are much more than pop and jazz. They sang a
medley of oldies from the 40’s and 50’s including “On the Sunny side of the
Street, Paper Moon, and Earth Angel”. Even the rock/blues style of famed
guitarist, Eric Clapton fits the Cadence style in “If I could change the
world”. And the calypso beat in “Matilda” complete with ‘oogachuckas’
and scatting on bongo drums, proved their musical versatility, if not
hilarity.
Cadence came empty
handed, but they did bring their passion, humour, and keen ear. With no
instruments to keep them on pitch, their singing is all the more amazing.
Intricate chords, sometimes clashing over several bars, showed their
tenacious ability to hear the pitch and hold it.
Against the ever changing
skyline of Canadian music Cadence shines like a rainbow: in their
arrangements – brilliant; in their harmony – weightless and pure as color;
and in their horizons – promising. We hope they show their true colors
over prairie skies again.
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