Album Notes

"...powerful chants of praise and affirmation."-Ysaye M. Barnwell, Sweet Honey in the Rock

From the Artist...

The rhythmically rich, original chants on FULL were born in sacred places: redwood forests, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, inside the hearts and minds of daughters learning to dance and give voice to Life's power...

"Vibralingual" is the word I coined for my living, composing and singing. My method and message: our voices have the power to help us amplify and embody wisdom. FULL contains 11 vibralingual chants of a lifetime that invite you to sing along and reclaim your voice.
--Rachel Bagby

"Most dramatically, the crisp and measured drumming on "How Do You Love?" highlights a question that, if asked repeatedly of ourselves, and answered honestly, might lead to the abolition of bigotry and violence worldwide."-LP, Sing Out

"No matter in what mood I come to this music, I am always uplifted, satisfied, thrilled and amazed, and remade, whole again. "Planetary" describes the varying flavors, though it steps beyond this too, in honoring life and all her visions."-Lina Goodyear, Reviewer

"Vocalist/composer Rachel Bagby is surely in league with the angels. Her debut album, Full, combines chant, African tribal rhythms, and jazz to create hymns of extraordinary power and beauty. You'll want to sing and stomp along-and you're supposed to. The album is a joyful celebration of life-don't miss it." ****-Susan A Segrest and Stephanie von Hirschberg, NEW WOMAN

FULL is filled with the generous and renowned talents of Voicestra's extended family: Producer Linda Tillery, Engineer Howard Johnston (of Different Fur and Windham Hill fame), percussionists John Santos and Peter Michael, cellist Joseph Hébert and vocalists Joey Blake, Darlene Coleman, Raz Kennedy, Melanie Rath, Linda Tillery, and David Worm.

Thanks be to Ned Hearn, Felicia Ward, and Bobby McFerrin for being the catalysts that brought us together.
--Rachel Bagby

"Describing Bagby's voice would tax a thesaurus; it's rich, mellow, fiery, limber, as resonant as a cello and sweet as a flute. It's the kind of voice that has brought [thousands of] people roaring to their feet; it's remarkable, and it's used to perfection to create music with roots reaching back to the ancient cultures of Asia, Africa, and North America."-NEW AGE RETAILER