Witness, if you will, the synthesis, the harmony, and the passion that emanates from the latest offering of the accomplished musical unit known as The Kurt Henry Band: From Our Religions We’ll Be Free. As Roll Magazine suggests: “Henry engineers his most compelling and far-reaching testimony to date. Much like the message it delivers, the music cuts a wide swath: whimsy and pain, dalliance and heartbreak, frustration and bliss. Henry puts his adroit band through its musical paces, travelling through a range of genres and dynamics from straight-ahead roots folk to progressive jazz.”

Kurt Henry pours a lifetime’s worth of dedication to music—and its unique ability to communicate the truth—into this latest work. Since his debut at Greenwich Village’s historic Village Gaslight in 1968, Kurt has become a time-tested music veteran, as well as a multi-faceted guitar virtuoso. Blending with Kurt’s singular sound is an equally powerful message: he brings a career as a passionate literary scholar to each carefully crafted lyric, extolling the virtues of what it means to be truly alive. A geniune humanist, a committed pacifist, and above all a believer in the healing and teaching might of music, Kurt takes the stage each time with an energy that both celebrates and transcends Rock and Roll.

Kurt has played with the likes of David Bromberg, Artie Traum, Rick Danko, Chuck Berry, Jay Ungar, and, on this most recent album, John Sebastian; he has opened shows for such internationally acclaimed bands as Procol Harum, The Byrds, Asleep at the Wheel, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Still, there is no match for the captivating explosion of soul, style, and sound created by the tightly-knit core of The Kurt Henry Band

The uniquely human expression of music that is From Our Religions We’ll Be Free is celebrated, fittingly, by the collection of human beings that give it life. Kurt’s poignant vocals and driving guitar, Cheryl Lambert’s harmonies, and the lock-down rhythm section of Eric Parker on drums (Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood) and Alan Groth on bass are seamlessly enhanced by the rich rock-and-soul keyboards of Ross Rice (Peter Frampton, Steve Earle, Jill Sobule). Featured artists Peter Buettner (tenor sax, flute) and Neil Eisenberg (accordion) add accent and flavor to the mix; and, as a final dish to this banquet, Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian strolls in and contributes his signature harmonica to three of the tracks. Parker also takes production credits for this record, as he did on 2008’s Heart, Mind and All, both albums recorded at Mark Dann’s Woodstock, NY studio. The result is a cohesive, almost unconscious melding of minds that suffuses the album’s journey. “You know what’s funny?” says Kurt with a smile, “to be honest, we really like each other. We play for the playing.”

Sampling a range of styles—from dyed-in-the-wool folk to vibrant jam rock, from precision jazz to delta blues—the songs that tell the story of Religions keenly communicate that joy. What ensues is a wild, heartand- thought-provoking ride that moves and shakes with the force of human emotion. Drawing on the distinctly pure purpose and sound that bespeaks the beauty of the ‘60s, Religions’ tracks lead a guided tour of conscience and feeling that is always cutting-edge.

“Mind Your Business” features Rice’s resplendent Hammond going bar-for-bar with Henry’s guitar, in a classic-rock-inspired jam that harkens to Winwood’s Traffic. There’s nothing’s set in stone, my friend/No, not even your commandments/And now you want the world to end/’Cause you can’t understand it?, Kurt pleads, challenging you to dream of real compassion even as you dance. The progressive-rock deftness and multiple time signatures of the rollicking “Julia in Running Shoes” invites an intimate look into the invigorating playfulness of romance, while “Julia Left” shows the same character, some time after, recounting his tale of loss in a tragic haze of alcoholic dissolution. Shifting gears yet again, “Red Meat Aggression Monkeys!” is a good-old, pre-Dylan-at- Newport folk bust-up, one that carries the brutally honest humor of Phil Ochs in its phrases.

The opening title track provides a clear path to the album’s message. Combining crisp interpretative jazz phrases with dynamic, infectious rhythm, Kurt’s earnest call for unity and peace is an appeal for reason over doctrine. Strip off all of our illusions/and what’s left is harmony, Henry entreats his fellow humans. “You cannot encapsulate the whole of reality with a narrow scope,” an impassioned Henry adds. “We have to think for ourselves, to our own true morals.” For the full force of striking experience from the Kurt Henry Band, visit the groove and the gravitas of From Our Religions We’ll Be Free. -Gregory Schoenfeld