ALBUM:
At This Moment
TAYLOR USED:
855
355
555
SONG CLIPS:
The Wild One
28K | 56K | MP3
Graveyard of the Sea
28K | 56K | MP3
CONTACT INFO:
Full Moon Productions
P.O. Box 484
Lavallette, NJ 08735
Tel:
(732) 830-6464
E-mail:
barn music @juno .com
Web:
www. jennifer mylod .com
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In her song, "The Wild One", Jennifer Mylod evokes a vision of a young woman riding bareback through the woods, both
escaping her past, and reveling in her sensory experience of the present. A few simple words, sung in an honest, clear
voice, supported by an interwoven bed of moving layers - mountain dulcimer, 12-string acoustic guitar, bass, occasional
fiddle and whistle, along with a variety of gently pulsing percussion instruments - these elements lay the foundation for
the music you'll hear on Jennifer's CD, At This Moment. Her musical style is a meld of folk, Celtic and contemporary
influences, and her voice is rich and warm. She describes her songwriting style as "authentic and descriptive". That's
right on the mark - Mylod's lyrics address subjects with which she has a genuine connection, such as her love of nature
and her deep love and connection to family. In "This Old Kitchen Table", Mylod chronicles family life by acknowledging an
"old polished surface, now dull with the years", as more than mere furniture. Among other things, the kitchen table in Mylod's
song is "a harbor for friends and for kin", the place where major family decisions get made. It's also "where all the homework
gets done", and although old, "it still looks good with old linens or lace".
"Graveyard of the Sea" is another type of real-life story altogether. The song is dedicated to the families and friends of men
whose ships went down in the winter of 1998, off the East Coast and the Manasquan Inlet. It tells the tale of hard-working men
who struggle for their lives against a raging storm, and ends with a glimpse of one of their wives, kneeling in prayer on shore.
In addition to her original compositions, Mylod also includes two instrumental arrangements of traditional tunes, the lilting,
"Huyler's Lasses", and a Native American flute solo, "Wintercast". Both of these choices are beautifully played, and offer a
pleasant counter-balance to the vocal material on At This Moment.
A central element in Mylod's sound is her use of the fretted, or lap dulcimer, which lends, alternately, a sweetness or moody
droning quality to her songs. She discovered the instrument as a child, while on a family ramble into the mountains of Colorado,
where she saw rustic old mountain men playing dulcimers around a wood stove, and was taken with the sound. Her father gave her a
dulcimer kit the next Christmas, but there were no other dulcimer players around to learn from (the family had moved to Illinois).
Not to be discouraged, Mylod figured out her own tunings so she could play her favorite folk songs by ear. Nowadays she attends as
many East Coast dulcimer festivals as possible.
Both Mylod and her guitarist, John Wilson, own Taylor 12-strings (Mylod has an 855, Wilson has both a 355 and a custom 555). It
was through Wilson that Mylod became a "Taylor snob". She appreciates the "comfortable action, rich resonance, and sparkling
clarity" of Taylor guitars, and still thrills at the beauty of her 855, every time she takes it out of the case.
On At This Moment, Jennifer is ably backed by Wilson, on his Taylor 12-strings; Philip Mylod on the Irish Bodhran and other
assorted percussion; Tom White on whistle and bass; and Abigail Mylod on cello.
"This is a superb album. Jennifer's songs are very personal, and draw you into her way of looking at things. Above all, this lady can sing. The arrangements are well structured, well played, and very sophisticated in the best possible sense of the word. I expect we'll be hearing a lot more from Jennifer Mylod."
— Neal Walters, Dulcimer Players News
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