Inner Voices

Inner Voices is Morgan Ames, Shelby Flint, Melissa Mackay and Michael Mishaw, an a cappella quartet made up of four top Los Angeles-based session singers led by arranger Morgan Ames They have been profiled on CBS Sunday Morning, have performed on KCET, KTLA Morning News, ABC Home Show, been featured on the innovative TV series My So-Called Life, have toured Japan and performed for the Betty Ford Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Association, the Society of Singers, the First AME Church and twice for President Reagan. They have sung and/or recorded with Kenny Loggins, David Benoit, Dave Grusin, Dori Caymmi, Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson and others. Each Christmas season they perform their highly acclaimed, sold out a cappella show in Los Angeles.

Discography

Prairie Jazz

Old Chisholm Trail Witch Tai To Goodbye Old Paint The Cuckoo Tumblin' Tumbleweeds My Real Home Old Diamond Joe Where Am I Going Home on the Range There's A Star On The Horizon Springtime In The Rockies Unused To Lovers Cielito Lindo The Water Is Wide/Oh Winding River I Wonder As I Wander

Manhattan Transfer meets Sons Of The Pioneers! The incomparable Morgan Ames had produced, arranged and recorded the selections which she describes as "a group of a cappella cowboy and mountain songs based on pure historical American, plus a few strays, filtered through my jazz-based sense of harmony and four city singers." She goes on to add... "I grew up looking for home on the range, pretending to be Annie Oakley on rented horses at the Burbank Stables. But singing this music, our shared American heritage, was a gift and that's how we offer it to you." Now, all isn't just tradition as occasionally a new lyic or two is added, but the singers Shelby Flint, Morgan, Melissa Mackay and Michael Mishaw manage to maintain a sensibility of tradition while creating an entirely new feel, exactly as Morgan describes in her quoted comments above. Real traditional tunes such as "Home on the Range," "Old Diamond Joe," (a multi-track overdubbed recording sung entirely by Michael) and "Old Chisholm Trail" are mixed in with a leavening of newer tunes such as "Witchi Tai To," "My Real Home," and "Springtime in the Rockies." The only difficulty we face in reviewing a recording of this calibre is expressing our enthusiasm without going overboard!

Listen to "Cielito Lindo", "Where Am I Going" and "Home on the Range"

Christmas In My Dreams

Christmas In My Dreams De King Is Born Today I Wash My Face In a Golden Vase The Savior Is Born Liz and Ralph and Calvin Christmas Night In Harlem Christmas Love Song O COme With Us My Father Alegria The Holly and The Ivy Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries O Holy Night Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The four members of Inner Voices' bios read like a who's who of session recording. Practice has made perfect, and they are caroling at your door! The female soprano, alto and tenor (one of whom is Morgan Ames, Grammy winning arranger) and male baritone, along with guest vocalist Mervyn Warren of Take 6, have produced an immaculate recording. The luminous sound has been refined and honed until it shimmers. All four singers trade lines on "I Wash My Face in a Golden Vase" (accompanied by keyboard, as is "Christmas in My Dreams"). Soprano Donna McAfee's soars on "The Savior is Born," gliding effortlessly up and down the scale with total precision. "Christmas Night in Harlem" captures that NewYork smoky jazz club vibe; "My Father" combines the Indian raga (phrygian scale?) with the traditional Western carol for a haunting, enigmatic result. This sophisticated group satisfies the heart and the mind.

Listen to The Holly and The Ivy in RealAudio.

Morgan Ames: Christmas In My Dreams

Christmas In My Dreams (SAT or Contralto B) O Holy Night (SATB) De King Is Born Today (SATTBari) Alegria (SATBari) The Holly And the Ivy (SATB) I Wash My Face In a Golden Vase (SATB) My Father (SATB) O Come With Us (SATB)

Produced just for us, these exquisite, mostly traditional carols can be heard on Inner Voices "Christmas In My Dreams" CD. Two selections, the title song and "I Wash My Face In A Gloden Vase", have optional keyboard parts. The layout is extreemely clean and easy to read. Some of the arrangements have solos, and the soprano parts can go a high as B flat above high C, but the results will be thrilling. Morgan's talent really shines!

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