Jazz artist Larson switches styles with a spiritual CD

Over the course of his 35-year career as a jazz artist, Craig Larson has played in a lot of nursing homes. Quite often, he says, "people sit there with their heads drooping and their eyes shut. But we begin to play a waltz, and the heads come up and soon they are mouthing the words.

"You see the effect that music has, and that's like a miracle to me."

Music — good music — "can be wonderfully pure and uplifting. It is a blessing from heaven," he says.

That's the kind of music Larson and a group of his colleagues provide on their latest CD, a compilation of sacred hymns and inspirational songs titled "Goin' Home."

It represents something of a departure from Larson's usual style. "This is our fifth CD project. The first four were mainstream classical-jazz projects ("Classic Standards," "Legacy," "Holiday Songbook" and "Day By Day"). But for years, I have wanted to do a project of sacred music."

The project reflects something else he has learned about music over the years: Its power doesn't necessarily come from its volume. "All of the settings of the hymns and spirituals are intended to convey meaningful messages in an intimate way. The selections are all solo or small ensemble performances, mixed and mastered in a way that preserves the dynamic range and subtlety of the performance. We wanted it to sound like someone is playing in your living room."

The roots of the project go back about a decade, when Larson was called as his LDS ward choir director. "I started writing and arranging for the choir, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. With my jazz trio, I mostly play music from the late '20s to the late '40s," he says, so choral work was different.

In putting the CD together, he called on "my dear friend and great mentor Lars Yorgason" as well as "newfound friend Dan Carter." Collaborating musicians include woodwind specialists Daron Bradford and Ray Smith, guitarists Michael Dowdle and Tully Cathey, bassoonists Roger and Brian Hicks, and a vocal quartet from Brigham Young University called Six Miles Ahead, led by Kristie Arnold.

"It was a labor of love for all of us because of what music, and in particular these pieces, mean to us," says Larson. Plus, all the producer's proceeds from the project will be donated to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary fund. It is both gratifying and fun, he says, "to use our craft to promote something we hold dear, such as the missionary effort."