Jazz violinist makes music for Yahweh

By D.S. Martin and ChristianWeek | September 15, 2010

Trevor Dick—Yahweh
Kerux Music, 2010

I'm afraid you'll get the wrong impression when I tell you that Trevor Dick is a violinist, and that Yahweh is a collection of instrumental hymns. No, this wouldn't be the ideal Christmas gift for your grandmother, unless she is far more cutting edge and sophisticated than most who are decades younger.

One enduring image I have of Trevor is watching his wild frenzy with his blue electric violin. I don't want you to misunderstand; he's no heavy metal maniac either. Trevor is a jazz violinist whose music is simultaneously accessible and challenging. For those familiar with the music of Bruce Cockburn (or know Steve Bell's excellent live album), I would compare Trevor's style most closely to the violin playing of Hugh Marsh.

Often he performs solo, or with partial accompaniment. His strengths, however, are best demonstrated in a band setting—and that's what this CD delivers. Even though I'd heard Trevor perform several times, I was still at first surprised with how much I love this album.

I was driving home from an Imago arts event in Toronto, where I had read poetry, and where several wonderful artists such as Trevor had performed. I even heard pianist Mike Janzen and Trevor perform together. That's when I slid Yahweh into my car's player for the first time.

At first what comes through is a fine jazz combo, playing something I didn't recognize: drums and piano dominating at first, with a smooth violin soon added. It was 30 seconds in before the violin took on the familiar melody that carried the words into my mind—"Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace..."

After the first verse the violin yields to the piano, steering away from the familiar, but then Trevor's violin quickly steals the spotlight back with a second verse. He doesn't let us be lulled into complacency here, though; suddenly the violin takes on electric distortion more reminiscent of a guitar solos, and then centre stage is actually passed over to a tasteful electric guitar romp.

The first track concludes with the violin returning us to the hymn for a final verse that ends more in a rock vein.

The tunes can generally be divided into three categories: traditional hymns, contemporary worship songs and original pieces written by Trevor himself. Some familiar hymns include "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "My Jesus I Love Thee," both of which are more mellow than "Come Thou Fount," but freely bubble with delightful deviations and alternate emphases that make the well-worn paths refreshingly new.

I was glad I hadn't read the titles carefully before listening to this CD. After the first two hymns, I was expecting more of the same. Track three, however, is a familiar tune from a completely different context—"Yahweh" from U2's CD How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb—"Take this city / a city should be shining on a hill / Take this city / If it be your will / What no man can own, no man can take / Take this heart... / And make it break / Yahweh..."

Trevor is not content to merely deliver an instrumental version of U2's song, he startles us by interspersing it with the gentle strains of "Take My Life And Let It Be." We are also treated to rollicking piano and acoustic guitar digressions before we return to Trevor's soaring version of the chorus.

The Fifth String Blvd. Band—as Trevor's group is known—consists of Brad Toews on piano and keyboard, Corey Lacey on guitars, Will Jarvis playing basses and Steve Heathcote on drums. It was only a fraction of this band I heard with Trevor in Belleville when he opened for Iona at their only Canadian gig on their summer tour of North America.

I realize that this CD has a narrow market. It's too churchy for the world (they wouldn't catch the significance of the hymn lyrics), too rocky for the old folk who love the hymns and too jazzy for all but the sharpest of the rising generation.

If this CD sounds appealing to you, I suggest you get it. Trevor's artistry deserves more attention than it will likely get, but then he has chosen to primarily make his music for Yahweh.