Album Notes

How the Spirit moves Me - Liner Note

In this recording, time-honored classics are being presented in a new and very exciting way. I have grown up hearing these songs over and over--the same way--but I've not felt the sense of resignation in life that these songs seem to project to others (i.e., life will be so much better for us after we have died). Sometimes I feel like a motherless child and the Let us break bread together on our knees/Nobody knows de trouble I've seen medley may sound and seem forlorn. To me they indicate what we all experience as living, thinking beings--obstacles we must overcome and lessons we can learn--on our journey of sharing our gifts with one another as well as accepting what others have to offer. To me, Po' mo'ner's got a home at last says that being a complainer and trying to accomplish something really don't work well together. However, if you stop and take time to hear and listen to that still small voice within you, then you can affect a more positive direction and become a meaningful contributor. Thus, to paraphrase the song, you join the band with the angels; thus, truly, nothing can harm you.

The title of this album, How the Spirit moves Me sums up my belief in the first song, Ride on King Jesus. Ride on King Jesus is reprised twice. The first time as a reminder that when we think we've done all we can, remember how Jesus (also a human being) showed that his sincere faith and his unquestioning belief in his ability to be one with the Universal Law (i.e., God) through meaningful meditation enabled him to transcend all obstacles. Night is not a spiritual; however, to me it addresses the idea that our inner spirit, after a period of hills and valleys, must rest. It is a refreshing and peaceful rest because of our connection with the Universal Law and the second reprise of Ride on King Jesus reaffirms man's best example of his connection with it. It is, thus my belief that with meaningful meditation and sincere faith, I, too, become one with the Universal Law and combined with a genuine belief in myself--indeed, no man can impede my determination to achieve any objectives I have or my ultimate goal.

I did not sit down and write out these arrangements by himself. My ideas were brought to life through the collaboration of and a meeting of the minds with my arranger/orchestrator Ophir Shur. Ophir listened and reached an understanding of what I wanted to express and how he could, through what I consider exciting and innovative orchestral arrangements, facilitate those ideas with the songs I have chosen.

The majority of my professional work encompasses "classical" music performances that have taken place on the stages of concert and recital halls in Europe and Canada as well as in the United States. I have been a soloist on recordings of works by composers of that genre, also. How the Spirit moves Me is my first solo project. It is not, per se, an album of "classical" music in the more accepted definition; however, these traditional American songs are classics.

Many people have aided me on this particular journey. I hope you'll allow the Spirit to move you.

With heartfelt thanks and appreciation,
James Sterrett-Bryant

& © 1995 JaanSing Productions

James Sterrett-Bryant is a singer of international stature, having performed in Germany, Spain and Canada. He is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts' School of Music with a BFA Degree in Vocal Performance. Additional honors include awards in U.S. Air Force talent contests, a University of Toronto Opera School Scholarship, and the Marie A. Lovelace Scholarship for Voice. In addition to this CD, James Sterrett-Bryant's other recording credits include the Mass in A Major by César Franck, Mass in D Major by Anton Dvorak and the Robert Winter - The Mozart Lectures Series.
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