JAN SCHIFERL
Waving Of The Grass
Sea of Heartbreak – Today I Started Loving You
Again – Freedom For The Cowgirl – If Horses – Someone I Used To Love –
San Antonio Rose – Crazy – Waving Of The Grass – It’s Who You Love –
Sweet By And By
One of the ‘best’ things I like, especially since
I’ve been in the music business something like 70 years, is listening
to a ‘new’ recording artist that brings to the musical genre called
‘country music’ her love for the music as well as her appreciation for
well written songs, and musicians that care as much as she does in
‘creating’ her very own ‘mark’ in the music world. That is exactly what
Jan Schiferl has done with this outstanding album. She’s a Nebraska
girl, a rancher no less, and she has selected some of the best love
songs in country music to include in her album. Dalton Coffey is the
‘picker’ at this session, with lots of ‘tracks’ including guitar (lead
and rhythm), mandolin, bass, drums, and Dobro. You can see the ‘basics’
are already in place. Add to this Eddie Farris, Joshua Lawrence, and
Kenny Putnam on fiddle, all on different songs. Don Saxton on steel.
This guy is remarkable. He reminds me of the steel style of Red Rhodes
who played steel for Michael Nesmith in his First National Band.
Terrific! These two instruments alone, the fiddle and the steel are the
major ingredients of ‘real’ country music, the very epitome of it, also
unknown in today’s world of ‘new’ country. Jan Schiferl is lead
vocalist throughout this project, and there are many other participants,
but it’s easy to see that this recording session was not only done with
a great deal of ‘love’ for the genre known as simply ‘country’ music,
is still true, honest, and revealing. Jan has done a super job on these
selections of ‘real’ country music. She also picked some songs that are
not that easy to represent, but she did it well, especially on “Crazy”
one of Patsy Cline’s most famous songs. Jan has also kept her obvious
‘traditional’ bent inside the project. A grand-daughter of a Danish
immigrant grand-mother who homesteaded in South Dakota, I find this
album a remarkable ‘tribute’ a wonderful memory creator, a wonderful
step back in time when honesty, truthfulness, and creative dedication is
so important to keeping this genre of music alive and well. The exact
reason for labeling it ‘Waving of the grass.” Boyd Bristow is one of her
accompanying vocalists, and adds his own voice to some ‘lead’ parts. A
wonderful contribution and combination of voices to make the music
truly theirs. Jan is generous with her time and her musicians. “San
Antonio Rose” has that special Bob Wills sound, maybe a little
smoother. Chris Gage is on piano for this super presentation. This
very very good album was recorded at Tenbrooks Recording Company under
the direction and engineering of Dalton Coffey who we hear so well as an
instrumentalist on this great CD.
Bob Everhart for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show