Celebrate the King by Larry Karpenko creeps around and up on you, as you flip the family album and accidentally fall over a picture that pulls. He recreates music that has become familiar, as well as original, drawing on jazz notes and gospel swells that are authentic, with a natural feel Tracks like "Mary, Did You Know?" construct with skyscraping lines, whereas the song One Small Child plunges into dramatic twists of violins. All of it is captured in his Loma Linda location, as well as collaborators such as Ben Phipatanakul providing groove. No rush. Just layers unfolding.
I put it on a quiet afternoon, and it stuck and those warm vocals went round like an old blanket on a cold evening with that kind of reverence and swing. In adore, Karpenko has a melancholy voice that strikes in soft duet with his daughter Lauryn-intimate, unimposing. Influences peak through: an allusion to Steven Curtis Chapman in the ballads, the jazz comfort Diana Krall has in the song Jesus, You’re Christmas. He omits the flash; he resorts to filming effects. Earnest Kim's improv on "Hark! The Herald" sparks energy. Subtle. Real.
The album switches gears without any notice - between lullabies and big-band eruptions - like the way memories pour in fits and bursts. Originals such as Lullaby for a king are exceptional gentlemen compared to the classics. The craft is seen in Karpenko with his Pat Pattison training, however, it is the prayer-based sessions that stick, that meaning of missioning that is woven into it. Missed the glossy polish. Chose heart. I have listened to it twice and each time I get into some other part, a part you never realised you had visited before, almost like having a certain way back.
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