with Funeral and birth into eternity. This collection is a really unusual assortment of Christian music, with fourteen musicians and members of a children's choir, and featuring six "new" composers whose work has never previously been recorded. Lyrics are provided.
     Blessed with an elite group of musicians participating in the creation of "Amazing Graces," it was known from the beginning that most would be unavailable to sign on for a band commitment. When Beryl and Juan perform, they use instrumental studio mixes as accompaniment, occasionally adding a lead guitar and/or keyboard. Juan's percussion on "Amazing Graces" is unique. Never conforming to the usual "ho-hum" drumming techniques, he has been instrumental in transforming the Christian lifetime which is the theme of "Amazing Graces" into a living and breathing experience. Beryl's primary focus is vocals, using her keyboard mostly to prepare accompaniments for church cantoring. "Endless Love," one of the tracks on "Amazing Graces," was the first duet sung together at a friend's wedding.
     In the production of "Amazing Graces," their home was utilized as a "recording studio," and Beryl did the pre-mixes before bringing the tracks to Marc Hewitt at Sound Services Studio in New Orleans for final mixing and mastering. She also prepared the CD artwork for the cover, traycard and discface.

To order your copy visit: CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com/beryl2/)

A Review of "Amazing Graces" by earBuzz.com: Beryl and Juan Quinton's 2004 CD, "Amazing Graces", is a collaborative record that chronicles a journey of traditional Christian pieces along with contemporary flavors and instrumentation. The opening track, "Amazing Graces", utilizes a "House of the Rising Sun" progression with tasty guitar lines and personable and intimate vocal performances by Beryl and Juan. Well done. Track 2, "Come to Me, Jesus", continues in musical choices that work. The song has a late 60's early 70's recording timbre that reminds us of Lulu, and the overall effect is nice. Track 8, "Pass it On", is an uptempo encouraging tune to followers to pass on God's love. Track 13, "By My Side", is another of several duets on the album by the husband/wife team of the Quintons. Their love and dedication is evident in their delivery and efforts to create music they love and want to share. It should also be noted that the CD includes a 'Marriage Medley', that is clearly designed to be considered as a musical portion of a wedding ceremony. "By My Side" is the first of three songs in the medley. Track 21, "Let Him Lead You", again looks back to live recordings of the 60's and 70's with the room reverbed drums and clean Doors guitar sounds. Nice. Whether the Quinton's used these timbres intentionally or not, there are certainly some gems of interpretation on the record that we found very worthwhile and compelling.

ALSO AVAILABLE AT:
New Orleans: "Amazing Graces" is available at Louisiana Music Factory at 210 Decatur Street in the French Quarter across from House of Blues; at New Orleans Music Exchange at 3342 Magazine Street on the corner of Louisiana Avenue and Magazine, at the uptown location of Maple Street Book Store, and by special order at locations such as Borders and Barnes and Noble.

Nationwide: "Amazing Graces" is available through retail outlets such as Best Buy, Borders and Barnes and Noble. Internet retail sites which handle "Amazing Graces" are numerous and include CD Baby, vH1, Louisiana Music Factory. Amazon, Borders, CD Street, Garage Band, mp3 in Australia, MSN Music, iMusic_Artist Direct, New Orleans Bands.net and NOLA Bands.com.

     MIKE'S STORY (in the composer's own words): In August of 1999 on a weekend trip to Orange Beach AL at a motel in the middle of the night, I awoke to the sound of music in what I thought was the radio playing. I thought whoever was in the room the previous night had left the alarm on. As I searched around trying to turn it off, I realized that the clock-radio wasn't on. I was hearing this music in my head, and it was like a loop. I would hear the same sounds over and over and over, until I reached a point where I could literally hum the music I was hearing in my head. Then, when I reached that point, words started to come into my head, which coincided with the music. When it got to the point where not only could I hum the music, but also sing the words to the music, then I fell back to sleep. The next morning, when I awoke, immediately what came into my head was the music along with the words. So I decided to write the words down for fear that I would forget them, and I never really thought about it for the next 3 or 4 days. When I went back home, which is about the middle of the week, the first morning when I was getting ready to go to work bright and early, I heard the music in my head again -- the same words, the same melody, but I started to hear a different melody along with it. So I took my pencil, my paper, sat at the piano and little by little began to write down the words to go with the additional music. After about 15 minutes, I began to realize it was the daily message in the Divine Mercy Novena put to music. At some point in the process, the composer in me started to take over, where I started to write the lyrics. Then I would hear a very soft voice in my head, saying, "No, that's not it," and I would go back and erase what I had wrote and in its place I would hear additional lyrics and I would write that down. After about an hour or so, it all stopped and then I went back from the beginning and played it, and what was the end result was the Divine Mercy Novena in four distinct sections of the song. Then I was given some specific instructions clear as a bell to what I was supposed to do with the song, who I was supposed to bring it to, and that is exactly what I did. And I suppose that's that. In order to complete the task of disseminating the information about the song, I was assisted by U. S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Lindy Boggs, who managed to transmit the song to Pope John Paul II. I subsequently received a letter from the Vatican Secretary of State, acknowledging the fact that the Holy Father had received the song and extended an Apostolic Blessing in conjunction with that. In an ideal setting, the song would be disseminated so that people of all faiths would be able to hear it, and ultimately the song would become part of each day's segment of the Divine Mercy Novena.

To order your copy visit: CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com/beryl3/)

About Like The Seagull (2001):
     Beryl's first CD, "Like The Seagull," began as a demo for her new music ministry and evolved into a collection of her most-requested traditional hymns, linked together with an original title song composed by her brother David Caruso, Jr. Unique to this collection is Beryl's original arrangement of "Amazing Grace," combining into a duet the melodies of "As The Deer Longs" with the traditional "Amazing Grace." One special hymn, "I Am The Resurrection," was written by Ray Repp, the man known as the "Father of the Contemporary Guitar Mass." With only one exception, all sequencing and arrangements were personally prepared by Beryl prior to performance of vocal tracks, and all recording was accomplished using her home "studio" (shades of Paul McCartney). Professional mastering of the entire CD, and the arrangement/ accompaniment for the title song "Like The Seagull" was contributed by Vince Tividad, Beryl's son, a professional musician and then Chief Engineer at a recording studio in California. Tray card design and assistance with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator was contributed by Lance Tividad, Beryl's artist son who lives in Arizona.
      The songs included on Beryl's debut CD were personally chosen to reflect the emotional intensity of "passages" through life events. Having already faced the loss of her teenage daughter Cheryn years ago, recent years also brought the decline of health and eventual separation from both of her beloved parents. Several of the hymns on "Like The Seagull," and the title song, were actually sung at their funerals. Often requested in her music ministry, they are of special value to anyone who enjoys church and hymns, and also those who may be facing life challenges of their own.
      "Like The Seagull" sets to music scriptural messages which teach us to place all of our cares on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd, to trust our Blessed Mother to intervene on our behalf with her Beloved Son, and to anticipate our ultimate goal of sharing Heaven with all whom we love and have loved. Add to that our Lord's assurance that, if we trust in Him as do the birds of the air (including seagulls, no doubt), He will care for us - His children.