Kallet, Epstein and Cicone
Heart Walking - photo by Grey Larsen
OUR NEW CD, Heart Walk, is ready!! Click here to buy: http://cindykallet.com/music/1568
And check out our photo gallery from the recording and cover-shoot at: http://www.cindykallet.com/gallery/84
Praise for Heart Walk:
"In time for the spring flowers comes the year's most gorgeous album. Cindy Kallet, Ellen Epstein and Michael Cicone have delighted audiences since 1981, but this collection of close harmonies takes entertainment to ethereal levels." Rob Weir, Valley Advocate
"Gorgeous. Moving, powerful, beautiful, inspiring, joy-and hope- inducing. When I listen to it, I feel relief. It is an oasis." Sharon Teitelbaum Master Certified Coach
"The problem with the trio of New Englanders Cindy Kallet, Ellen Epstein and Michael Cicone is that their collaborative recordings are so sadly infrequent...This is well-crafted music from veteran performers whose quiet optimism is happily contagious." (TN) Dirty Linen
Kallet, Epstein and Cicone
Cindy Kallet, Ellen Epstein and Michael Cicone have had the pleasure of performing together in concerts, coffeehouses, and festivals throughout New England since 1981. Their close harmonies have inspired enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics alike. The trio sings both a cappella and accompanied by guitar and hammered dulcimer, drawing material from contemporary and traditional music of the British Isles and North America, with a liberal sprinkling of sea music and occasional forays into other cultures as well. The threesome released their third recording, Heartwalk, in 2008. They are currently celebrating their 30th year of making music together!
Cindy Kallet is a songwriter, singer and guitarist with five solo albums to her credit. Working On Wings To Fly and Cindy Kallet 2 on Folk Legacy Records, and Dreaming Down A Quiet Line, This Way Home, and Leave the Cake in the Mailbox - Songs for Parents and Kids Growing Up (chosen for a 2004 Parents' Choice Gold Award ) on Stone's Throw Music. She has also recorded a collaborative effort with Gordon Bok entitled Neighbors (Timberhead), a duo album with Grey Larsen, Cross the Water, and has extensive performing experience throughout North America. Cindy's love for the natural beauty of the New England coast has been the inspiration for many of her songs. The CINDY KALLET SONGBOOK - A Collection for Guitar and Voice published in 2003 by Stone's Throw Music, contains words, music. chords, and guitar tab for 32 original songs. Click here for more about Cindy
Ellen Epstein has enjoyed playing guitar and singing with adults and children for more than 40 years. She has lent her harmonies to numerous recording projects, including all of Cindy's solo albums, and to many singing groups, including the Boston-based folk chorus Northern Harmony. In 2007, Ellen received her credential as a Certified Music Practitioner with the Music for Healing and Transition Program, which trains musicians to play bedside music for people who are ill or dying. Please go to www.overallmusic.com for more information about Ellen and the Music for Healing and Transition Program.
Michael Cicone has been singing and dancing in the Boston area since 1979. He has performed with the Christmas Revels in Cambridge and New Hampshire, and was a member of both the travelling folk festival Green Mountain Crossing, and instrumental trio Filigree Deep. He teaches hammered dulcimer and English country dance, and can also be heard on Cindy's recent albums. His most recent release is an instrumental collaboration with Susan Robbins entitled Sea Change.
To order trio recordings, please go to: http://www.cindykallet.com/music
For bookings, contact ellen@overallmusic.com
A Recent Review of Heart Walk in The Vineyard Gazette, July 4, 2008, by Julian Wise
The folk trio of Cindy Kallet, Ellen Epstein and Michael Cicone have emerged after a 15-year recording hiatus to release HeartWalk,a collection of original songs and folk favorites. While the three may have spent the past decade and a half on other projects, the warmth and sincerity on HeartWalk demonstrates they've lost none of the chemistry that earned them accolades on the New England folk circuit for their previous albums, Angels in Daring (1988) and Only Human (1993).
The trio has performed New England's coffeehouses and folk festivals since 1983. Ms. Kallet is a singer, songwriter and guitarist with five solo albums under her belt as well as collaborations with Gordon Bok and Grey Larsen. Ms. Epstein has more than 40 years experience as a musician and music educator, including her work as a certified music practitioner who works with ill and dying patients. Mr. Cicone has been active in the Boston arts scene since 1979. in addition to performing with Ms. Kallet and Ms. Epstein, he teaches English country dance and hammered dulcimer.
Throughout the 15 tracks on HeartWalk the musicians display a mature, gentle touch. The opening track, "Farthest Field," a cover of David Dodson's 1993 ballad, introduces gentle a cappella harmonies of old-New England folk music. The song exposes the simple beauty of the human voice and the magic of harmony. "The Shanghaied Dredger" is a lilting maritime fiddle shanty set in the era of the 19th century
Chesapeake Bay oyster fisheries. Old Zeb is a version of Larry Kaplan's homage to Zebulon Tilton, the Martha's Vineyard sea captain who steered his schooner the Alice S. Wentworth through New England's waters in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Frobisher Bay is an a cappella song about the hardships of Arctic whaling, while "Since You Asked" is a skillful rendition of Judy Collins's 1967 folk classic, complete
with finger-picked acoustic guitar notes and vocal harmonies.
The disc sidesteps the redundancy of many folk discs by mixing in different styles. "Life Comes In" is a jazzy number with a swinging bass line and finger snaps, while "My Heart Is Ready is a speedy a cappella number written by Ms. Kallet that was inspired by the rapid pitter-patter of rain drops falling on a gutter.
After a pair of instrumental songs ("Swampie's Fancy" and "Househunting"), the disc closes with Shine On," Susan Ellenton's 1997 composition. The track's gentle a cappella harmonies are a breath of fresh air in the era of sampling and digital enhancement, proving that the human voice, alone and unvarnished, is magic.
What People are Saying about Kallet, Epstein and Cicone:
"...sheer beauty... Together they wove a sound as warm and healing as it was technically elegant... The stunning voices, often singing without instrumental accompaniment, summon up visions of a more simple, certain time." -- Daniel Gewertz, Boston Herald
"...a marvelous sense of balance among the voices. The music shines, flows, hangs in the air, impeccable... Together the group wove tapestries of magical sound." --Pat Waring, Martha's Vineyard Times
"Unadorned beauty...there are few better trios. The quality of their music is measured in their ability to bring out the best in the audience. Cherished feelings come back, mist comes often to the eyes. You leave the evening with a sense of hope and recovery. There is little distance between those who sang and those who listened." --John Budris, Martha's Vineyard Times
"Angels in Daring" [is] a collection of songs that can truly be called unique... The vocal harmonies are daring and often experimental. Truly original...highly recommended." --Timo Lipping, Amherst Bulletin
"Only Human" [is] a delightful array of songs drawing from a range as wide as traditional to Bruce Springsteen... "I'm a Mammal"...is alone worth the price of the recording." --R. Warren, Sing Out!
"Kallet, Epstein, and Cicone may be the best-kept secret in the New England Folk Scene. Their harmonies are throaty, lush and elegant... They did most of their folk-sweet set acapella . . . a bold move beautifully obscured by the richness of their harmonies and the inviting lilt of their melodies. Their set was warm, winningly paced, and thoroughly lovely."~ Scott Alarik, Boston Globe
"Kallet, Epstein and Cicone are not only masters of well-crafted harmonies, but are masters also of the even greater challenge of presenting their audiences with a well-chosen mix of traditional and contemporary sources of great songs. This ability to weave together the new and the old in an ever-growing body of music in the tradition of acoustic performance is the key to keeping that indefinable genre we call "folk" alive and thriving as we approach the 21st century."~ Ed Brown, U 'n' I Coffeehouse
"When I first heard Cindy Kallet, Ellen Epstein and Michael Cicone, my brains sort of oozed down my legs and started leaking out of the eyelets of my shoelaces! Cindy is well known in these parts as an outstanding songwriter and guitarist; Michael is a superb hammered dulcimer player; and Ellen is one of those charismatic performers that holds a stage on sheer personality. And voices - the harmonies are positively brilliant! . . .DO NOT MISS! ~ Mike Agranoff, The Folk Project