Morning Meditation by James Cockerham

It was not an easy task. “It was difficult writing quiet music,” he said. “How do you make people relax?”

The CD features nine of the familiar hymns that Cockerham grew up with in the church and the original song, “Morning Meditation,” which he wrote two years ago. He arranged and played all the songs on the disc. On the title track, Cockerham, who has never been to Africa, said he pictured beautiful Victoria Falls and tried to capture its beauty in the music.

Victoria Falls, at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, are approximately twice as wide and twice as deep as Niagara Falls. The falls span the entire breadth of the Zambezi River at one of its widest points (more than 5,500 feet), where the river plunges over a precipice, split by islands and promontories, to a drop of 355 feet.

“I imaged the water cascading off the falls and seeing it in the early morning with the sun rising,” he said.” I tried to capture the awesomeness of God in sound. “Morning Meditation” is Cockerham's eighth recording and his second CD. His first CD, 'Nobody Like Jesus,” was released in 1999.

On “Morning Meditation,” music lovers will find not only piano solos, but also bass, guitar, drums, strings and horns that Cockerham orchestrated on old favorites like “Be Grateful,” “I Surrender All,” “Give Me a Clean Heart” and “Hear Our Prayer, Oh Lord.”

As he did the arrangements, Cockerham said he envisioned individuals listening to a piano, bass guitar, and drums softly playing “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “Just As I Am” as they begin their day with prayer.

He is hoping that individuals and churches will play the CD as background music as they pray, and he envisions people relaxing to it after a stressful day at work, or just for meditation and praying in the spirit.

For more information, call Cockerham at 770-593-8522 or email BASICcoc@aol.com.

Average Customer Review: 3