Award winning children's performer, Jim Gill, and friends present music filled with interactive play. Gill is joined by children singing, clapping, and even yodeling! Listeners are exposed to the sounds of percussion, acoustic and electric bass and guitar, mandolin, fiddle, cornet, cello, tuba pedal steel guitar, accordion, saxophone, clarinet, woodblocks, piano, organ, and harmonica. This album is great for car rides and play time at home.

Jim Gill stands apart from other children's entertainers for his creative and varied approaches to get children involved and participating in the music. The title track, The Irrational Anthem, puts new words to the tune of the U.S. national anthem, encouraging listeners to whistle, clap, tap their toes, swaying side-to-side, and singing along; "Oh say can you see me slap on my knee? If you'll do the same, we'll begin the new game." In I'll Spell it Out For You, Gill spells the dance moves he wants listeners to try, like J-U-M-P, S-P-I-N, and D-A-N-C-E. Jumping and Counting teaches counting up to ten by having a child count after each short verse; they begin counting to three and increase a number each time until they reach ten. Your little one will be having so much fun dancing that they may not even realize they are learning to spell and count! Saxophones teaches the four types of saxophones in a quartet (baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano), introducing each individually so your little one can hear the differences between the each more clearly than when they are all playing altogether. Follow The Band is a unique twist on the call-and-response song style, because individual instruments do the 'calling', and listeners respond with hand claps. Bix Beiderbecke is a repetition game set to Dixieland jazz style music. Children repeat each alliterated line after Gill, while the lines steadily grow in length; "Bix Beiderbecke blew boisterous blues on the B flat brass with his band." Another potential tongue twister is Toy Boat, where the only words are the title over and over. Even Gill's tongue gets twisted and he has to start the song over!

The album is a wonderful healthy release of energy for little ones, since the songs encourage movement in a structured way. Your child can shake their head and cheeks, like Gill, in Shakin' Everywhere, or they can clap their hands, stomp their feet, wave hello, and bounce up and down with Gill and his friends in Can't Wait To Celebrate. A wonderful playtime activity is The Dance Along Gong Song, which is similar to freeze tag; whenever Kevin from the band plays the gong, listeners are supposed to stop dancing and pretend the vibrations are inside them (wiggle a little). Children love the imagination involved in this one! Yodeling includes Gill and some young friends attempting to learn to yodel. Your child will laugh at how bad Gill is at it (he doesn't "know-del how to yodel"), or perhaps try their own hand at yodeling like a pro. In May There Always Be Sunshine, Gill sings about the other things children have shared with him that they hope is always around: colors, grapes, teeth, fish, pancakes, books, blankets, dads, farmers, hats, dancing, rain, and more. Find out what your child holds dear by asking them what they would like to always have in this world.

My three-year-old friend, Sam, and I had a great time dancing around to this CD. I particularly enjoyed Sam's impersonation of Gill's laugh in the soft jazzy tune, Laughing In Rhythm. Whenever Gill got to the laughing lyrics, Sam put his hand on his tummy and chuckled a big "ho, ho, ho", like Santa Clause.

--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.

The Irrational Anthem

Can't Wait To Celebrate

I'll Spell it Out For You

Saxophones

Shakin' Everywhere

The Going Son

Jumping and Counting

Toy Boat

Follow The Band

(Jim Gills is) Going Nowhere

Laughing In Rhythm

Buffet Ballet

Bix Beiderbecke

The Dance Along Gong Song

Yodeling

May There Always Be Sunshine