With Roots & Wings

The Angel Band is three extremely talented ladies; Nancy Josephson, Jen Schonwald and Kathleen Weber, whose combined and individual voices will make you think you have somehow been placed in the company of Angels. There is a power in this music that is undeniably compelling and compliments the nature of the songs, most of which were either written or co-written by Nancy Josephson. This is a band that relies on the strength of the material they write or chose to sing, the musicianship of both the singers and musicians and the absolute integrity of the performances. Nancy Josephson and Robert Tangrea (mandolin and guitar) or a combination of the two composed all of the music on this disc with the exception of one tune she composed with Jen Schonwald and Angel of The Morning" which is by Chip Taylor. It is the material and how well it fits the group's strengths that is what makes this a compelling disc.

They are backed by their "chums" who are led by Nancy's husband, the illustrious David Bromberg, and also include Bob Taylor, Bobby Tangrea, Nate Grower and Jeff Wisor, who are all seasoned, and well traveled musicians in their own rights. There is a small group of guest artists that assist them to augment the sound, most notably the producer of this disc, the ubiquitous Lloyd Maines on pedal steel, rhythm guitar, 12-string, and mandolin. This is Angel Band's second disc together. The impetus for this joining together came from a weekly jam session that was headed by folk legend Bromberg, who wanted to get back into playing music again. As his band came together and began to tour the ladies, who often served as backup singers, started opening shows for him and became an entity in their own right. Most of the instrumentation is acoustic which allows the strength of the voices and the stunning harmonies to shine on thru. This is truly a band that is aptly named.

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Edited by: David N. Pyles
(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)