Album Notes

"Lush and inspiring. Danceable with great fullness of spirit."
~ Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank, Berkeley, CA

"These songs and chants are a gift to those of us who like to dance as we pray."
~ Rabbi Ya'acov Gabriel

"A wonderful help to the entertainment of the heart and the spirit, done with sensitivity and soulforce." ~Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, author of "From Aging to Saging."

Sounds of Renewal: Holy Chutzpah! ~ by Rabbi Ya'acov Gabriel (from TIKKUN magazine, September/October 1999):

"Another kind of muscular, millennial music comes from Alan Scott Bachman and his group Desert Wind. On his double CD, She is a Tree of Life (available via deswind@aol.com or Desert Wind, P.O. Box 3722, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110) the focus seems mythological and political. You can hear Middle Eastern chant, belly dance sensuousness, and classic rock influences, as well as lyrics that sing of repairing the world. It's very cool to have Jewish music that's this sexy and anthemic. It reminds me of The Who when they were making records that were larger than life and happily rebellious. The power chords on this recording are mostly on Alan's keyboards. The power and grandeur of the sound comes from the Hebrew verses Alan highlights and from his Desert Wind Singers, who do a kind of Temple Priestess vocalese. It's clear the songs are to God, but this face of the Divine, so feminine and lush, is often overlooked in our tradition. What can I say? I'm seduced. I like it a lot. These songs and chants are a gift to those of us who like to dance as we pray.

I encourage you to get these recordings and to play them loud. They have a strong pulse and a hot core, and they groove the body as well as the mind. As we enter 5760 and a new millennium, we will need all the vigor we can fit into our spirituality. Baruch HaShem, thank the Nameless One, for inflammatory and fun recordings like these."

Ya'acov Gabriel

In Review, Music Design, 2002 Catalog:

"Desert Wind celebrates the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and the sacred teachings of Jewish Mysticism with this vibrant and uplifting exploration of spirituality. Featuring Alan Scott Bachman on both percussion and keyboards, Andalin Bachman on flutes, Pinna Joseph and Jonathan Seidel on vocals, and the consultation and shofar (ram's horn) playing of Rabbi Ayla Grafstein, the album is well paced and powerfully exhuberant with pop/rock and Middle Eastern influences. With 2 discs and over 2 1/2 hours of energetic, joyful tunes, (at the price of a single disc!), SHE IS A TREE OF LIFE is a fantastic selection for any fan of worldbeat fusion or Jewish music."