Jim Gill takes listeners on a wild, interactive, dancing adventure through 14 original songs on this Parent's Choice Award winning album and ALA Notable Children's Recording. Gill's music is influenced by jazz, swing, rock, and his own unique style of play songs, which encourage listeners to participate with movement and singing along. Listeners will hear children singing on many tracks with a broad variety of instruments: 5-string banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, acoustic bass, saxophone, steel guitar, piano, organ, harmonica, trumpet, mandolin, tenor banjo, fiddle trombone, and percussion. This recording can be listened anywhere that children are free to express themselves.

Jim Gill's original songs are full of stimulation - mental and physical - and imagery geared specifically for inquisitive and developing little ones. A great example of Gill's unique creativity is the song Doughnuts, a real recipe that happens to perfectly rhyme! Gill's song notes explain that his mother remembered this recipe from her childhood and passed it on to him, so he wanted to share it with his fans. Gill even includes his own rhyming recipe for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All Filled Up finds many creative ways that a child might come up with to explain how full they are, such as, "I can't eat more scones, They've filled up all of my bones" or "I can't eat more pare, I'm filled to the ends of my hair." Quite a few songs on the album actually include children singing as well, which solidifies the idea that these lyrics could easily come from a child's mouth. 5 Strings On My Banjo demonstrates Gill's humor as a string on his banjo breaks each verse until he's down to a no-string banjo and has to sing a capella - but then he loses his voice! Stick to the Glue is also funny, as it replaces the words of Skip to My Lou with a new story about hands, feet, friends, and teeth all sticking together because they are covered in glue. This is sure to get a chuckle out of both you and your little one.

Gill's songs are sure to get a lot more than a chuckle out of listeners - they are guaranteed to move your limbs! List of Dances requires listeners to tiptoe, hop, curl, twirl, slide, sleep, creep, and more. The big band sounds, complete with prominent brass, in Let's Dance Now and the title track The Night We Made it Noisy in Boise, Idaho are sure to get you swinging. Your Face Will Surely Show It sings about faces that are happy, sad, frightened, mad, sleepy, chilly, and silly. You can make it into a game by asking your child to come up with some new faces. The Sound Effects Song is often a quick favorite, as it features children singing sound effects for everything Gill mentions about his hometown, from animals sounds to honking horns. What sounds make up your little one's home? Tickle Tow is a great song for parents to participate with their children by singing and tickling together; "I've tried tickling my arm, tickling my ear, tickling my shoulder, tickling my rear."

I listened to this album a few times through with my three-year-old friend, Sam, one evening. I thought the Oh Hey Oh Hi Hello song was pretty cute, so I started singing along and apparently really got into it because Sam started repeating "Oh hey oh hi hello" after me. I laughed, which encouraged him to say it again. When I left that evening and said goodbye, Sam yelled after me, "hey oh hi hello!" (he messed the words up a little). Sam's mom looked puzzled, but I knew what he meant and winked at Sam, repeating it back to him.

--Audra

Jim Gill is a musician, author, and trained child development specialist with a Master's degree from the Erikson Institute of Chicago.Gill's focus is on promoting active play between adults and children. He developed his unique approach of combining word play and movement opportunities into songs through the twenty years spent directing weekly programs in music play for families with children with special needs in the Chicago area. He now presents "concerts of music and play" to children and families throughout the country at theaters, libraries and schools. Jim also speaks to early childhood educators and children's librarians about the many benefits of play in young children's lives.

Jim has produced five recordings of music play activities that have received awards from both the American Library Association and the Parents' Choice Foundation. He has also created a program of "Symphonic Music Play," new works for children accompanied by a full symphony orchestra. Jim's work with symphony orchestras inspired his latest picture book for children, A Soup Opera. Jim is also the author of May There Always Be Sunshine, a picture book that received the 2002 Book Award from the Philadelphia Children's Museum.

List of Dances

Yow!

Stick to the Glue

The Night We Made it Noisy in Boise, Idaho

All Filled Up

Your Face Will Surely Show It

5 Strings On My Banjo

Oh Hey Oh Hi Hello

Jim Gill's Lullaby

Doughnuts

Tickle Tow

The Sound Effects Song

Let's Dance Now!

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out