Christmas in Iraq by Jae C. Steele

To classify her sound is difficult: Bluesy, bluegrassy, traditional, alternative, but definitely folk. There’s almost a syncopation reminiscent of rag time in some of her guitar phrases. And yet, there’s a hint of Spanish classical technique melded with a middle eastern flavor in the title track, “Christmas in Iraq”. You can tell she’s listened to John Fahey, James Taylor and Lindsey Buckingham more than once. The bottom line is that one never knows what to expect from Jae C. Steele, except deliberate honesty (stating the obvious), which, many times is served with a side of sarcasm and a smile. Even the title of her debut CD, “Christmas in Iraq” is unusal--this is hardly a Christmas collection.

Since her return to professional music in 2005 after a 10-year hiatus, Steele has played very succesfully at some of the best listening rooms and coffee houses in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, she recently opened for Tim Grimm, and has earned a level of respect among her peers she appreciates. Her new CD, “Christmas in Iraq” caters to the listening room audiences that have encouraged Jae C. to release her work, and presents some of her more philosophical works in a totally solo CD. In fact, most of the tracks are simultaneously-performed vocal/guitar takes with no overdubs.

The title track has, in particular, generated an incredibly positive response: “Christmas in Iraq” (the song) was used in WCAX-TV’s “The Year in Pictures” in January, 2006, and has received airplay on Vermont Public Radio. And songwriter KingDog Lewis was inspired to produce his own music video (DVD) based on Steele’s instrumental during the winter of 2006, as well (check it out on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8LxcwWKs7E).

"I was going to name the CD something totally different until I saw the artwork I asked Dan Moran to come up with for the song, ‘Christmas in Iraq’. The art was so great, it had to be the cover art for the CD. After that, and the buzz created by that song, I decided to make "Christmas" the title track, and so it goes," the artist explains. Steele intended her first CD to be an overall sketch of her 28 years of songwriting and guitar work. The lessons learned from self-doubt, the eventual birth of self-confidence and direction change, along with a nudge to treat each other kindly, resound repeatedly in her work. And her fans are giving her first release a solid nod of approval.

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