phenomeNEWS - This Month's Music Review

This Month's Music Review
by Greg Ozimek
music@wwnet.net

Someone Is Missing At Christmas
Anne Cochran
www.patriciamusic.com

This single song CD is very touching and heartfelt. The idea of having an empty chair or an empty space in your heart that is reserved for a special person that no one else can fill...especially at times of the year when you really wantandmaybe-probably need, to have that chair filled or that space in the heart brimming with joy at the sight, sound and touch of that loved one... The idea of someone missing...

Whether the special someone is a soldier on duty far away from home or the separation is miles caused by emotional or physical separation or for those who have recently lost someone from their lives, Someone Is Missing At Christmas is a tune that will be a touchstone to that person now and for years to come.

Written by Cleveland based songwriter John C. Chaffee, Jr in 2003 during a moment of inspiration upon the death of his 62-year-old sister Lyn, a 21 year breast cancer survivor.

A portion of the proceeds from Someone Is Missing At Christmas are earmarked for Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer Organizations, as a tribute to Chaffee’s late sister Lyn who’s battled both diseases. Lyn died a month after receiving her diagnosis of ovarian cancer and two days after her birthday.

Christmas (the Warmest Time of the Year) and her

FUNKOLOGY XIII
Whitney Wolanin
www.WhitneyWolanin.com

Christmas (the Warmest Time of the Year) is Whitney Wolanin’s second album and it’s chock full of her up tempo versions of Christmas favorites, all from this girl who is warming hearts this holiday season while amazing the minds and ears of new listeners every day.

The 15 song, decidedly up tempo Christmasology album is for sale on Apple iTUNES and other download sites plus the full CD is available at retail specialty food stores in a box of Handcrafted Belgian Chocolate Christmas Ornaments from the Belgian Chocolates Music Company. This packaging offer will make you want to sing, “It’s beginning to look a lot like chocolate!”

Whitney said, “Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year and I thought it would be fun to redo a bunch of traditional songs to make them tunes you could party to.”

Let’s flash back: The musical electricity in the Nashville studio was crackling one day in 2004 when then 13-year-old Whitney Wolanin made her recording debut with a powerful and spirited rendition of the Martha and The Vandellas classic Heat Wave which she nailed brilliantly in one take. Legendary bassist and Motown “Funk Brother” Bob Babbitt, who gathered some of the industry’s top session musicians to play with the young singer, turned to his cohorts and asked what they thought.

“Amazing for a 20-year-old,” they agreed.

Then Whitney spoke up and reminded them, “Guys, I’m only 13!”

Reflecting later on her first session at the House of Bob studio in the vintage Victorian house whose vibe was very much like Grand Boulevard in Detroit, where the early Motown classics were cut she says, “I went in there wanting to just be myself and I was nervous at first working with all these great players. But the energy was high and the setting really inspired me. We cut four songs that first day!”

Those tracks quickly evolved the into the core of Funkology XIII, the singer’s debut project whose title reflects the sets lively old school-meets-modern pop/rock grooves and the age Wolanin was when she recorded it. Produced by Babbitt with the singer’s father, 35 year music industry veteran Vincent Wolanin, the collection is a fun-filled gathering of soul classics, some very familiar (This Old Heart Of Mine, What Becomes of The Brokenhearted, Young And In Love) and others magical but a bit more obscure (Martha and The Vandellas’ Quicksand, Smokey Robinson’s Head To Toe.) On Quicksand, the singer pulls off the amazing feat of literally “swinging with her voice,” along with the band.

It was in that summer of 2004 when Whitney performed and vocalized on 13 tunes while working on her first album. The album titled FUNKOLOGY XIII; with the roman numeral XIII standing for Whitney’s age (13) at the time of tracking plus the fact the album includes 13 major hit songs including a hit song Good written by Whitney, Bob Babbitt and Vincent Wolanin about the challenges of life and competitive sports.

Whitney’s own Funkology band which includes many of the best musicians in the history of modern music all played live on the album which resulted in a huge wall of sound on the album.

Today in 2006, 15-year-old Whitney Wolanin maintains straight A’s in school where she is on an intense course of study which assigns college level work. She is also a starter on her high school basketball team and plays softball and volleyball.

Whitney’s got some voice at any age and we are eager to hear it as her vocal presentations mature over the next few years.

Merry Christmas 2006!