Cadence

Afraid to clap and shatter the perfect prism of sound, the
audience sat in stunned silence until applause erupted for their encore
performance, “Tribute”.
“Cadence”, a men’s a cappella quartet from Toronto has that effect on
their audience.
How do they do that?
By stripping songs of their instruments and exposing the raw
beauty of the human voice.
Instruments are for surgeons, they say. And there’s no need for
surgery on this group.
They are a near perfect rainbow of harmony and color. At the
bottom of the spectrum, in their black suits and jazz hats, are the deep
shades of bass, sung by Kevin Fox.
Fox directed and produced several albums for “Wibijazz’n”, (now
known as “Wibi”), York University ’s mixed a cappella group.
As bass and vocal percussionist he brings his writing and arranging skills
to keep Cadence in precise rhythm and pitch.
“How does he do that?” was the most common question of the
night, referring to Fox’s imitation of bass guitar and drums using only his
voice.
Songs such as “Straighten up and Fly Right (Nat King Cole) turn
the head with his new ideas about arranging. Every once in awhile the
quartet released him from his uncanny drumming ability and let him solo.
You’d never guess he was a bass when he blew the lid off “Matilda”.

Carl Berger dishes out a baritone as creamy and decadent as his
smile. With his understated confidence he swings through “Hit that Jive,
Jack” (Nat King Cole) and one of his favorites, “No Restriction Signs in
Heaven” (Golden Gate Quartet).
If he’s not singing, he’s scatting a sultry sax.
Carl sang with Wibi and the Toronto Orpheus Choir, as well as
the a cappella outfit No Band Here. He co-founded Cadence with Kevin Fox and
brings a degree from York University in ethnomusicology and jazz piano. He
keeps busy teaching piano, guitar, voice and saxophone.

Perhaps the most colorful singer is second tenor Ross Lynde. He
never misses an opportunity for humour and he’s quite willing to make fun of
himself. So in full nerd style, with pants hiked up, he and the guys
serenaded a guest from the audience in “A Fine Romance”.
His easy voice drips off the edges of the beat in “Perhaps,
Perhaps, Perhaps”, a mellow vocal attitude that he takes to Toronto’s
rock’n’roll scene.
Lynde brings a music degree from York University and is also known for
piano, guitar, world music and vocal improv.

At the top of the rainbow is Aaron Jensen, first tenor and youngest member
of Cadence at age 24. He’s only been with the ensemble for a couple months
but sounds like he’s been with them for their entire nine seasons. He has a
cosmopolitan ability in composing, evident in his piece “Take a Bow”, with
its throwback to the big stages of Broadway.
And his solo in “True Colors” by Cindy Lauper seemed to surprise him as much
as the audience. Everybody held their applause until the beauty of the
moment, like a rainbow, faded.
Aaron brings multiple talents to Cadence, including experience as the music
director of York University ’s “Wibi. In July 2006 he directed and
performed in his own full length musical in his home town of Prince Albert .
It met with critical and public acclaim. Jensen graduated from York
University with a music degree majoring in composition.

Cadence just returned from Munich and Vienna , and will be traveling through
Canada and the States until the end of March.
They’ve released two albums, “frost free” (2001) and “Twenty For One (2005),
garnering Juno nominations for both and several prestigious a cappella music
awards earning the label, “ Canada ’s premier pop-jazz group”.
But they are much more than pop and jazz. They sang a medley of oldies from
the 40’s and 50’s including “On the Sunny side of the Street, Paper Moon,
and Earth Angel”.
Even the rock/blues style of famed guitarist, Eric Clapton fits the Cadence
style in “If I could change the world”.
And the calypso beat in “Matilda” complete with ‘oogachuckas’ and scatting
on bongo drums, proved their musical versatility, if not hilarity.
Cadence came empty handed, but they did bring their passion, humour, and
keen ear. With no instruments to keep them on pitch, their singing is all
the more amazing. Intricate chords, sometimes clashing over several bars,
showed their tenacious ability to hear the pitch and hold it.

Against the ever changing skyline of Canadian music Cadence shines like a
rainbow: in their arrangements – brilliant; in their harmony – weightless
and pure as color; and in their horizons – promising.
We hope they show their true colors over prairie skies again. (by Pam
Mytroen)
- Assiniboia Times