“I believe that every school Music Department from Elementary through College should have a copy of this recording, not just as multi-cultural World Music experience, but also as an example of beautifully-recorded, virtuosic and inspiring performances on a wide variety of instruments.” – Bill Spilka

Demetrios Kastaris, a very versatile, first-class trombonist, arranger and music educator, is the Executive Producer of this amazing program of diverse cultural expressions ranging from African-American and Caribbean to ancient Hebrew Scripture and Greek Folkloric tradition. The unifying theme of these varied melodic expressions is the glorification the Almighty.

It took many years of intense effort to gather the very best examples of spiritually intense expressions from many countries, written over the centuries, to translate and arrange them and finally to find musicians and singers who would do justice to an endeavor of such scope and lofty purpose.

Starting with a core of brilliant trombonists supplemented by award-winning vocalists and a variety of virtuoso rhythm players, a flute and an assemblage of rarely-heard exotic instruments, including a pair of bouzoukis, toumbelerki, zelia, shékeres, cuatro, requinto, quinto, tumba, tambora, güiro, various conch shells, and a shofar, the end result is seventy-eight minutes of exceptional music.

The program will in turn excite you and calm you; inspire and thrill you; stir your soul, stimulate your senses and take you on a journey to unexplored shores where you will be fascinated by sounds that you have never heard before. Repeated exposure just might make you a better person!

I believe that every school Music Department from Elementary through College should have a copy of this recording, not just as multi-cultural World Music experience, but also as an example of beautifully-recorded, virtuosic and inspiring performances on a wide variety of instruments.

I also think that every House of Worship, Church, Temple, Synagogue and Spiritual Center should keep this disk in their Gift Shop so that their followers may broaden not only their musical experiences, but their appreciation of other societies’ attempts throughout history, to enrich their personal lives by establishing, maintaining or strengthening their ethereal relationship with a higher level of spiritual understanding for the eventual benefit of all mankind.

Kudos to Kastaris and his cohorts for this collection! I hope that it will be Volume One of a long series!

CD Review by Bill Spilka, Columnist of Live and Recorded Performances, Reviewer for the International Trombone Association Journal, The Brass Player, The Jersey Jazz Journal, Music Critic in the United States and Abroad.

“Te Exaltamos con Trombones” (Conjunto Katharí, led by Demetrios Kastaris)