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Note: Sons & Daughters is temporarily out of stock

Album Story

This is quite possibly my favourite recording so far. Right around Sarah’s (my daughter’s) 18th birthday we decided to do an album together. Sarah sang a song on the Simple Songs album a couple of years before, and people responded quite enthusiastically to her voice. I just wanted to hear her sing some more and have the chance to do something meaningful with her before she “flew the coop”.

We recorded in the early fall of 2003 and toured together with Mike Janzen (piano) and Gilles Fournier (bass) across Canada over the next year. Jacob Moon joined us for the first part of the tour and I will always remember it as the best of times. Mike, Gilles and Jacob are terribly funny and the three of them together on the road kept Sarah and I laughing hard most of the waking hours. The album itself was named Sons and Daughters (not Fathers and Daughters) because it signified (to me anyway) that we were now peers. Although I’ll always be her dad, we were now relating together as adults.

Reviewed by Steve Best / Cross Rhythms UK / December 1, 2004 - This collection features daughter Sarah and continues the extremely high quality we have come to expect from a man described – quite rightly in my opinion – by Billboard magazine’s Larry LeBlanc as “…a Canadian musical treasure.” All selections here are beautifully performed and arranged, particularly the jazzy treatment given to the traditional “I’ll Fly Away”. Carolyn Arends has contributed “Getting Ready For Glory”, written about Steve’s grandparents who were missionaries to China, while “Subtle Shiver” comes from a 17 year old babysitter, showing remarkable maturity. Steve’s superb guitar playing is to the fore throughout, but is really given a chance to shine on the fabulous “Air Jam” instrumental. Things come to an all-too-soon close with a perky reading of Paul Simon’s “59th Street Bridge Song”, which features Steve’s sons Micah and Jesse on guitar, bass and lead vocals, while a final hidden track features a four year old Sarah singing a snippet of a hymn. This really is a superbly crafted and performed album, perfect late night music, and truly inspired.