Review excerpt from Music and Media Focus
5
By MDiamond
Utilizing electronics and looping devices, Jami Sieber weaves sonic tapestries that transcend the expectations one has when they think of the cello. The album opens with an appropriately titled track called “The Invitation.” The long low drone of the cello strings indeed portrays a sense of timelessness, and as the title implies, it gently invites you into the lush musical realm of Jami Sieber. As layers of cello were added, I had to remind myself that I wasn’t listening to a synthesizer soundscape. On the next track, “A Love Song For Humanity,” I couldn’t help being moved by the emotional undercurrents that this music generated. On “River Of Sky,” the plucked arpeggios that begin the piece are a nice contrast to the expansive bowed pieces that preceded it. As melody lines intertwined over them I was aware of how the song blended a feeling of both sweetness and sorrow at the same time.
While Jami is the primary instrumentalist on the recording, there are a number of guest performances, including the sampled loops and synthesizers of Evan Schiller that add exotic atmospheric textures on a track called “Dancing With Tinkerbell.” The sound of the kora, a harp from West Africa, played by Kane Mathis, adds melody and motion to track 7, which also features Jami’s Enya-like ethereal vocals. The album draws to a serene conclusion with the haunting ambience of “Begin Again,” which echoes the elegant expansive quality heard throughout the recording. With this latest release, Jami Sieber has magnificently achieved her goal of composing music that transcends temporality. Not only is a sense of timelessness so exquisitely evoked, but the emotional resonance of the music is breathtaking. I can’t imagine listening to this album and not being deeply moved.
