MELISSA VARDEY "Living in Divine Time" REVIEW in WHOLE LIFE TIMES December 2OOO issue

Melissa Vardey cuddled up to the family Steinway baby grand as a child,fighting her five siblings for practice time. With origins as a hotelpianist around the globe, she all along was developing her chops on manyinstruments. Working primarily in England, Australia, Scandinavia and theMiddle East before landing in Los Angeles in 1989, Vardey built a reputationthrough her session work, numerous releases composing background music,jingles, and songs for films, storybooks, and sound libraries. TheEnlightenment Tape, meditation music created by Vardey, is deemed bestselling ever at The Bodhi Tree bookstore in Hollywood. She wields skills as composer, keyboardist, vocalist, producer, engineer-even motivational speaker„and has worked with Patti LaBelle and Natalie Cole and performed for Royalty worldwide. Her latest album "Living in Divine Time" is awash in joyous African-themed sounds and funk/jazz fusions. Technique is formidable but also soulful. It is an alternative to all the angry music that litters the airwaves and CD players. Several songs feature long-established R&B, soul, and funk singer Chaka Khan, and Gueria Gaston from the Ivory Coast supplies incantations. Living in Divine Time receives thumbs-up from über-producer Quincy Jones, as well as renowned jazz performers Herbie Hancock and Al Jarreau. The funky step of opener "Listen to the Wind" shows off Vardey's loose and empathic keyboard abilities„she has a comfort with her main instrument that few musicians achieve. "Hunter Dance" is a mischievous percussive romp with rhythms bordering on melodic and the title track cruises in smooth jazz inflections with Vardey and Khan dueting. "Keep on Holdin On", and its spirited polyrhythms with gospel tinges, is admittedly Khan's favorite,evidenced in her sparkling performance. "Dancing on Sacred Ground" possesses a languid bounce that gets everything quaking and the otherworldly sounds and beats of "The Contented Life" actually seem very down to earth. "It All Begins With Love" is an inspirational head-bobber speckled with Khan's infectious laughter. It is "Happiness" indeed-that feeling can be found within these uplifting Goun tribal vocals and chirpy drumming. "Be One" follows a lush, introspective path punctuated by French and African incantations. Mellow grooves invoke an evening tide in "Euphrates", a spartan jam with creatures twittering, luscious bass, and prayers and incantations from Ghana. Finally, "Momboy Mystique (Dig Down Deep)" wraps the album in a supremely up note that'll have a smile tugging at your lips long after the last sounds dwindle away. Putting money where their mouths and meditations are, Vardey and friends' album proceeds are heading to aid Inner City Arts programs, the Chaka Khan Foundation, and the World Literacy Crusade. -Stacy Meyn Stacy Meyn...writer, editor, webmaven... Space Ltd. ...notices, interviews, features, whatnot... 1213 Park St. #1 Alameda, CA 94501-5211 USA Earth vox: 510-865-6309 fax: 801-740-9438 web: http://www.WellnessWealth.org/ Music/Media Ed., Worldly Remains

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