Pianist Deanna Witkowski shows that you can stay awake in church, with some clever arrangements of popular traditional hymns. The joins together with Daniel Foose/b and Scott Latzky/dr.
Much of the time, she takes the original melodies from the countries of origin that became the popular pieces, thus “Nicaea” becomes an uptown “Holy, Holy Holy.” She’s not irreverent, but she’s not as staid as John Wesley, either, delivering a lively yet stately take of “Guide Me, O Though Great Jehovah” and teaming with Latzk’s well paced cymbal for a funky “How Firm a Foundation.” She adds clever harmonies to many of the pieces, calm and reflective on “There’s A Balm in Giead” and adding droplets of dew on “Holy Manna” while the take of “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore The” has an optimistic and rolling pulse. The team is gorgeously pastoral on “Beach Spring” and makes the Christmas tune “We Three Kings” suitable for any season. Check this one out for a cleansing of the soul-and you won’t even have to put anything in the collection plate!