Hope Harris: Cousins Jamboree (CD Music Review and giveaway)

GRAB YOUR DANCIN’ SHOES AND WARM UP YOUR SINGIN’ VOICE TO JOIN HOPE HARRIS

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COUSINS JAMBOREE

For ages 3 - 10

Label: Holcomb Rock Records

SRP: $15.00

Run time: 42 minutes

http://hopeharris.com

From the PR Firm: With a 2011 Parents’ Choice® Silver Honor Award for her new CD Cousins Jamboree proudly in hand, independent children’s musician Hope Harris is all set to share her music with the world! Rocking songs, whimsical songs, heartfelt songs, and soon-to-be sing-along-songs combine on this 16-track album of Hope Harris originals and arrangements, each one set with imagination, style, and country warmth.


Beautifully produced by the man who co-produces the Dan Zanes family albums, Rob Friedman, Cousins Jamboree cannot help but engage listeners from the get-go, in large part due to the open friendliness and musical purity of Hope Harris’s inviting voice. Hope relies on the quality of her singing to carry the song and compliments her young listeners by assuming they are intelligent enough to appreciate music that doesn’t rely upon gimmicks. In creating Cousins Jamboree, Hope’s wish has been to create a down-home, good-times celebration showcasing country, swing, jazz, blues, ‘50s rock and roll, folk, and show-tune sounds — a montage of American music — while at the same time reminding children that being kind to one another, looking out for friends, and behaving with good manners is a happy way to live.


Cousins Jamboree, previously released locally in Richmond, Virginia, is available online at www.hopeharris.com, amazon.com, and cdbaby.com, as well as at Franklin Goose in Richmond, Virginia.

My take:  One of my favorite radios stations around here plays music from a number of eras and genres; I like the station because I like the variety.  That's one reason I personally like this Hope Harris CD - she has songs that sound right up the "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" alley and then she segues right into Joan Baez type music and on to a down home country barn dance.  And with the exception of just a few, most of the songs on Cousins Jamboree are all dance hits with my 6 year old - upbeat and fun music, with some mixing in life lessons (in fact, "Hang on Friend" sparked a great conversation with my her on waiting your turn and being a good friend).  If you are looking for an age cut off, my 8 year old boy said he didn't like the CD because it's "baby music" (but I did find him seat dancing on the way to school to "Cousins Jamboree" and he didn't even realize it! LOL!)  My 6 year old daughter absolutely loves the entire CD and likes to hold the case and call out each song to me.  It's a keeper that I'll be moving to her MP3 player for car trips, that's for sure.  Get a copy for yourself today - see below for how you can win it!

Song Listing (preview on CDBaby):

1. Howdy Hello 1:37
2. Cousins Jamboree 3:00
3. Five Little Monkeys 1:58
4. Hang On Friend 2:12
5. Gelbart Dufrain 2:28
6. Down In the Valley 2:07
7. I Love Apples 2:11
8. I Can Do It 2:30
9. Eddie the Otter 2:02
10. Good Manners 2:18
11. I Am An Alien 3:30
12. Seatbelt Buckled 3:29
13. Babysitter 2:35
14. A Little Bit Afraid 2:49
15. Bright Moon, Bright Sun 2:36
16. Holcomb Rock Road

The giveaway:  WIN IT BEFORE YOU CAN BUY IT!  One lucky winner will win his/her very own copy of the Cousins Jamboree CD!

To win: Leave me a comment telling me something you learned about Hope from her website. Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Thursday, June 2, 2011. Good Luck!

Bonus entries: Get up to 8 extra entries for a total of 9 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

• Blog about this giveaway (don't forget to leave the link in your comment)
• Share this giveaway on any of your Social Networking sites (like Twitter or Facebook) and come back here with a link to your post/tweet (you can have up to two entries - be sure to leave 2 comments)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave a comment with your twitter id)
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (see top left sidebar)
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar (leave your website address for verification)
• On Technorati - click on this link, then on Fan or Fav (or use the green link on the top left sidebar)
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (see top left sidebar)

P.S.:  Be sure to check out my new fan page for Did You See That? on Facebook!

P.P.S.: New Facebook rules do not allow contest entries for "Liking" facebook pages.

About the artist: A graduate of the University of Virginia and, later, the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, Hope Harris spent many years living and performing in NYC, appearing both on and off Broadway, in regional and stock productions across the country, and even doing stints at venues like Nashville’s famed Bluebird Café. A crowning success in the kids’ realm was her starring appearance, for three years running, as “Baker Bobbie” for the Park Slope, Brooklyn, Chocolate Chip Chamber Music Series, for which she is also a contributing scriptwriter. Hope now lives with her family in Richmond, VA but returns often to NYC to perform.  Coming next from Hope Harris, in fall 2011, will be Picasso, That’s Who, an album honoring great artists through the centuries. Looking ahead to spring 2012, Hope plans to release an Earth-friendly CD titled Lemonade Stand.

This review was sponsored by Waldmania! PR who provided the CD for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary CD.