CD Review

Jennings & Ponder
World Tales: Live at Bennington College
Eastern Coyote

Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder perform folk and fairy tales from around the world, often combining variants from different traditions. This disc includes three stories, two of them over 20 minutes. "White Bear," combines
Appalachian & Norwegian variants of a tale that resembles "Beauty and the Beast." "Juniper Tree" is explores the dark, archetype of the evil stepmother with beauty and unexpected humor. The shortest, "Toe Bone," from India, is a chimerical tale of magic and morality.

In the telling, Jennings & Ponder employ light touches of harp and concertina, plus a short musical interlude. The stories are full of magic and humor but also deal quite frankly with death. There are universal themes and ancient archetypes running through these stories and it's a pleasure to hear them recreated by two performers who have studied their lore.

This performance at Bennington College captures the magic of live storytelling and the prepoderance of adults in the audience proves that the appeal of these stories goes beyond young children. The album won the 1999 American Library Association Notable Recording award -HB