We listen to a whole heck of a lot of music in our house, and much of it is either family music, Disney soundtracks, or music that falls in any of the pop/rock/hip hop categories.

So, to shake things up, we often make a switch to classical music on Sunday mornings. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a warm cup of coffee, reading the paper, and begging my daughter to please, for the love of all things, eat her vitamins.

And every time we go classical, I have the thought, “we need to listen to this more often.” Instead of wanting to bounce around the living room like rabbits on speed, my kids tend to gravitate towards coloring, reading, or puzzles while classical music is playing. The genre shifts the energy in our house to one that is a bit more calm. A bit more cerebrally stimulating. A bit more enchanted.

Now I have one more reason to crank up the classical music in our home.

Author Ana Gerhard, concert pianist and music educator, has written a new book with an accompanying CD, Simply Fantastic: An Introduction to Classical Music that is sure to fill your home with magic. It’s not just a book with a CD, it’s an experience.

This gorgeously illustrated book (centered on the fantastical world of fairies, witches, gnomes, elves, wizards and the like) covers the Big Hitters of classical music such as Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, among others.

Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, La Scala Chorus and Orchestra, and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the 20 excerpts found in Simply Fantastic span over 300 years of music history.

For each piece of music, Gerhard has provided brief descriptions that detail what magical creature the piece is about (fairies and their traits, for instance), and summaries of the plots of the ballet, opera or orchestral piece the work comes from. Often, she also includes bits of trivia regarding the composer and the impetus for the piece’s creation.

It’s a great primer for young ones to the world of classical music, and for adults, as well! I felt so knowledgeable after reading this with my children and found new appreciation of classical favorites. The vocabulary Gerhard uses is basic enough to help young readers and listeners comprehend the complexities of the composition, but not so simple that it won’t appeal to older audience.

To add to the magic of the music’s topics and Gerhard’s writing, Claudia Legnazzi created lush, vibrant illustrations that add a rich layer to the entire experience.

And, do I even need to mention how amazing this collection of music is? The CD includes pieces of music that are widely familiar and identifiable, some less recognizable, as well as many compositions that most of us can hum to, but may not know it’s origin. Songs like “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg), for instance. Look! It’s not just a commercial soundtrack!

As a dancer, I was pleased to see excerpts from ballets famous and not-so-famous, such as “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, “Dance of Terror” from Manuel de Falla’s Love, the Magician and “The Infernal Dance of Ali Kashchei’s Subjects” from Stravnisky’s The Firebird.

Many of the songs are short in length, perfect for a young listeners attention span.  The book’s selection of music covers a wide musical range, from the sweet and tender (“Dance of the Blessed Spirits” by Christoph Willibald Gluck) to the melodic and joyful (“The Fairy-Queen” by Henry Purcell), to the mischievously perky or dissonant (“Witches Dance” by Niccolo Paganini or “Pucks’ Dance” by Claude Debussy), to the intensely dramatic (“The Hut on Fowl’s Legs” by Modest Mussorgsky or “Ride of the Valkyries” by Richard Wagner.) All of the selections display just how powerful a piece of music can be.

Author, Ana Gerhard

Gerhard saved the best for last, with an amazing listening guide at the end.  It’s perfect for folks like me that love listening to music, but aren’t sure how to discuss what they hear in musical terms. The guide sheds a warm and knowledgeable light on what you’re hearing. I would recommend listening first, reading the guide, then listening again for a deeper experience.

Simply Fantastic: An Introduction to Classical Music is a book and CD that should be a staple in any home to young children. It’s available in the United States on June 17th.

But you don’t have to wait until then! I’m so excited about this book and CD that I’m giving one to a lucky reader! If you’d like the chance to win this extraordinary book and CD, it’s as easy as entering the Rafflecopter widget below by 11:59pm on Friday, June 13.  Open to anyone 18 and over in the contiguous United States.

I have always loved the process of making art, more than the art itself.

As a choreographer, I far more enjoyed the experience of exploring an idea in the studio than having it polished, finished and performed.

And I’m a total geek when it comes to hearing how other artists make their work.  I’m the slowpoke that reads all of the plaques at an art museum.  “Behind the scenes” DVD extras are my favorite.  There’s just something irresistible to me about understanding how an artist took a kernel of an idea and then created something beautiful.

I prefer seeing art as a journey, rather than a destination.

Like The Okee Dokee Brothers.

These guys? They’re all about process.  And the result is music that is rich, grounded and enamoring.

Embarking on their second “Adventure album”, GRAMMY winning The Okee Dokee Brothers, comprised of Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander, spent a month hiking and camping along the Appalachian Trail.  The result is the highly anticipated “Through the Woods.”

As soon as I cracked open the stunningly gorgeous CD, I already felt like I was on a journey.  Not only does Through the Woods consist of a CD with 15 original and traditional songs, it also contains a supplemental DVD with a film that illustrates the story of The Okee Dokee Brothers’ trip, beautifully shot and edited.

One fun note:  I love that the liner notes disclaim, “No electronic insturments were used in the making of this album.”  And upon listening to the album, anything electronic would seem as out of place as zebras in a dog run.

Lansing and Mailander have gathered a slew of GRAMMY winners of American folk music and “mountain musicians” to play just about everything but the kitchen sink, though I have no doubt the Okee Dokee Brothers could pull that off too. Pots, pans, a log drum, a tomato box; they all make an appearance.

Through the Woods is an album of discovery, love and adventure.  The Okee Dokee Brothers’ distinctive melodies and lighthearted energy fall easily on young ears, especially with songs like “Echo”  and “Black Bear Mama.”

“Riddle and Rhyme” is a fun tune with short lines and sharp rhymes that tingle in your ears and mouth.  And you can’t get any more fun than with “Jamboree”, one of my favorite songs on the album.  Its celebratory vibe is full of a warm and welcoming energy and spirit,.

“Big Rock Candy Mountain” weaves tales of a magical place, full of sunshine, surprise, and sugar.  And then there’s the trio of songs that I like to call The Cousins: “Fiddlestick Joe”, “Ruby Jane”, and “Hillbilly Willy”.  These songs paint portraits of characters full of history and personality.

To say this is a children’s album is a huge understatement. The Okee Dokee Brothers’ sophisticated harmonies, smooth production and encompassing lyrics could easily translate to adult music. Songs like “Baby Mine” and “Evergreen” are sweet love songs that could land themselves on my next anniversary mixed CD. (Yeah, you read that right. I still do that kind of thing.)

Gems like “Tiny Little Life”, “Out of Tune”, and “Lighten Your Load” provide listeners observations and contemplations about life, offering the kind of sound advice that comes with having taken a transformative trip.

“Walking with Spring” seems to echo The Okee Dokee Brothers’ adventure’s motto, and gets me excited about lazy summers of exploration and wonder.

Perhaps the standout tune of the album, though, is the title track, “Through the Woods”.  Reminiscent of their “Along For the Ride”, it showcases not only their smart writing but gratifying harmonies that could rival the Indigo Girls.

The Okee Dokee Brothers have hit their latest album out of the park. I’m definitely playing this album while we’re hanging by our fire pit this spring, or wherever our summer journey takes us.

And you can, too!  I’m giving away a CD to one of you lovely readers!  All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter widget below by 11:59pm on Friday, May 23rd.  Open to anyone 18 and over in the contiguous United States.

Good luck, and may you enjoy your journey!

Okay, YES I realize that we are past the mid-mark of May. Like many of you, the end of my kids’ school year looms near, and with it, a surge of parties and school events, life-sucking meetings and things to organize.

Thankfully, some sweet new family music has been released to get me through the final push.

For starters, the Sugar Free Allstars released a single “My Daddy’s Record Collection” on a stunning vinyl 45 in honor of national Record Store Day (which was April 19^th. Yes, call me a procrastinator. I can take it).

Photo courtesy Sugar Free Allstars

Pulling the 45 out of the album jacket brought up all kinds of nostalgia about my childhood music experience. The sad thing was my kids were like “what the heck is that?”  as they stared at the record. And I didn’t even have anything to play it on. I need to fix this. STAT.

But, I digress.

“My Daddys Record Collection” is a perfect mix of funk and pop, with it’s delicious baseline and groovy organ. Listening to this song makes me start wiggling like Cliff Huxtable and do this weird thing with my eyebrows that I’m sure looks smarmy, but makes me feel soulful. SFA’s classic “Banana Pudding” appears on the flip side.

You can buy this track on their site, iTunes, and Amazon, and check out the song on this video here:

And if that didn’t make you all warm and fuzzy, Malaysian-American, multi-talented artist Zee Avi’s latest album, and first for families, Zee Avi’s Nightlight certainly will.

Her tune “Bitter Heart” won me over a few years ago, with her rich mesmerizing sound, and it’s a voice beautifully suited for children’s music as well.

This lady knows how to take an existing song and make it her very own. Zee Avi’s covers of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas, Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game”, The Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun”, and Michael Jackson’s “Ben” will change the way you hear these songs forever. Her voice was made for songs like “Dream a Little Dream.”

But perhaps my favorite cover on the album is “Rainbow Connection”. Move over, Sarah McLaughlin’s version of this Muppet classic, there’s a new favorite rendition in my town. “Nightlight Medley” weaves in lullabies from many cultures in to one poignant goodnight song.

You can buy Zee Avi’s latest at her store, on iTunes, or on Amazon.

And rounding out the crop is Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, back with a new Spanish language album, Aqui, Alla that varies in timbre and mood, keeping you both on your toes, and tapping them.

It’s smoothly produced, with songs that remind me of something out of a Quentin Tarantino flick, (“Órale!”) or of strolling near La Vajita in my once-hometown of San Antonio, to songs that sound so distincly “Lucky Diaz” to me like “La Pequeña Araña” (Itsy Bitsy Spider) and “Cantaba La Rana” with their infections melodies and tempos.

“El Cucuy”, with its boogeyman intro, has an underlying darkness unlike Diaz’s others, but don’t worry, it’s not so scary when presented with Lucky’s warm vocals. The bouncy doo-wop of “Vamos a Contar” teaches counting in Spanish, “Tú Eres Mi Amor”, speaks of love, and the final Track “De Colores” builds to a big celebratory crescendo.

The album’s title track “Aqui, Alla” begins with a hauting guitar solo similar to something the late Jeff Buckley might have crafted.  The song ponders the thoughts “Where do we come from and where are we going? We are from here and we’re from there as well.”  Thoughts that perhaps many second generation Mexican Americans, or for any second generation immigrant for that matter, may ask themselves.

Find Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band’s latest album on their site, iTunes, and Amazon.

Here’s hoping these tunes get you through the rest of May.  On to summer!