Mike Roberts And The Still Time Band - The Gospel According To Gershwin

Published Friday 9th November 2007
Mike Roberts And The Still Time Band - The Gospel According To Gershwin
Mike Roberts And The Still Time Band - The Gospel According To Gershwin

STYLE: Jazz
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 23387-12521
LABEL: Independent STMUS0107
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 2

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The Still Time Band are a evangelistic jazz sextet, made even more unique by their use of George (and Ira) Gershwin songs to present the Gospel at their performances. The first disc of 'The Gospel According To Gershwin' is a live show recorded in April 2006, which features eight Gershwin songs and five written by singer/pianist/presenter Mike Roberts. These tracks are interspersed with Mike presenting the Gospel through his testimony, which is done very well and with a great sense of humour, resulting in a captive audience. The second disc contains all the Gershwin tracks from the show without the speech, with an additional four songs recorded in the studio (the first and last two tracks). The band is amazingly professional, giving a near-perfect live performance, and each member is a master of their instrument. The group contains West-End star Lindsey Danvers (Cats, Les Miserables and The King And I) whose well-suited powerful vocals often steal the show. There are no weak points over the two discs, but highlights include the cabaret-style "They Can't Take That Away", the predictably complex "Fascinating Rhythm", and Roberts' beautiful "There's No One Else". The problem comes in reproducing the show on CD, as you are constantly thinking how much better it would be to see them live!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

Add a commentCommentBookmark BookmarkTell a friendTell a friend

Reader Comments

Posted by Mike Roberts in London @ 20:11 on Jul 22 2007

As a professional Evangelistic Jazz(!) band, we would like to reassure those interested in booking us that we are completely comfortable with all styles of jazz. Not only has jazz been our stylistic focus for over 10 years, we continue to use some of London’s top jazz musicians in our line-up. Don’t just take our word for it:

Referring to our debut album, Adrian Snell says, “Still Time represents the very best in Christian Jazz”; Tony Cummings likens us to, “something a little in the Oscar Peterson axis”; Helen Shapiro states that our, “musicianship and production is excellent” and Geoff Howlett (NFN) says that, “Jazz musos will have to go a long way before finding something better”.

The live performance presented on disc one of ‘The Gospel According to Gershwin’ won the CBC award for Best Music Based Radio Programme in 2006; Paul Davis (NCM) praised the full album as “a great concept album… very enjoyable and a novel way to present the Gospel”; Geoff Howlett rated it 8/10, likening our jazz sound to the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, and praising the “great jazz voice” of our lead singer and Gareth Hill, broadcasting for the BBC, raved about the “high-quality music”, “mellow sound” and “impressive evening to which you could comfortably invite non-Christian friends”.

Our heart is for evangelism and we take very seriously our responsibility to present a professional and credible witness by being completely in command of the musical style we have chosen to communicate through. To hear just how comfortable we are with a variety of jazz styles, please download the many free audio tracks that are available on our website. Just do a google search for “gospel jazz music” – we’re at the top!

[reply] [report abuse]


The opinions expressed in the Reader Comments are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms.

Add your comment

We welcome your opinions but libellous and abusive comments are not allowed.












We are committed to protecting your privacy. By clicking 'Send comment' you consent to Cross Rhythms storing and processing your personal data. For more information about how we care for your data please see our privacy policy.