Personnel includes: Cathy Fink (vocals, guitar, five string banjo, tenor banjo); Paul Bell, Rusty Bogart (guitar); Marcy (mandolin); Ron Stewart (fiddle); Don Lerman (clarinet, alto saxophone); Charlie Hubel (tenor saxophone); Steve Shaw (trombone); Arthur Gerstein (piano); Mark Shatz, Jay Turner (bass); Jeff Lodsun (drums); Tommy Lepson Band.
Recorded at Community Music Studio and Chris Bondon's Studio, Kensington, Maryland; Bias Recording, Springfield, Virginia.
BON APPETIT won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album For Children.
Personnel: Marcy Marxer (vocals, whistling, guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin, ukulele, pennywhistle, accordion, congas, bodhran, shaker, percussion); Cathy Fink (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, bouzouki); Tommy Lepson Band, University Park Elementary School Ensemble, Katia Fallon, Rebecca Kruskal, Mirian Kerr, Amelia Theobold, Bridgette Brunck, Danny Puma, Maggie Abernathy, Kendall Irish, Yi Xia, Emily Moore, Spencer Perkins, Roseanna Martin, Tom Paxton (vocals); Rusty Bogart, Steve Abshire, Paul Bell (guitar); Bruno Nasta (violin); Ron Stewart (fiddle); Zolt n R cz (accordion); Pete Barrenbregge (saxophone); Charlie Hubet (tenor saxophone); Vince McCool, Graham Breedlove (trumpet); Matt Niess, Steve Shaw (trombone); Lenny Williams (piano, keyboards); Arthur Gerstein (piano); Tom Lepson (organ); Jeff Lodsun, Steve Loescher, Steve Fidyk (drums); Chris Biondo (programming).
Audio Mixers: Jim Robeson; Bob Dawson.
Recording information: Bias Recording; Chris Biondo's Studio, Kensington, MD; Community Music Studio, Kensington, MD.
Director: Betty Scott.
Ensembles: Arianna Arnold; Madeleine Rose Martin; Jackie Rieta; Danni Tang; Rebecca Kruskal; Mirian Kerr; Kate Franklin; Amelia Theobold; Bridgette Brunck; Hong Yi Xia; Danny Puma; Maggie Abernathy; Kendall Irish; Thomas Madzelan; Julia Ruth; Emily Moore; Allison Leonardi; Camila Pascual; Kathryn Corboy; Irving Delco; Samuel Holton Hinshaw; Rhaeza Bruce; Xie Fei.
As the title suggests, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer's Bon App‚tit! Musical Food Fun introduces kids to the world of food, exploring the different meals of the day, how you get your food, and how to eat right with a smorgasbord of musical styles. "Breakfast Power" emphasizes the importance of the first meal of the day with a '30s jazz-inspired beat and melody; "Big Strong Muscles" has an appropriately gutsy, honky tonk sound. Most of Bon App‚tit! features Fink and Marxer originals, such as the folky, sweetly silly "Water" and the swing-y "Hula Hoop," although there are a few musical nods, such as "The Garden Song" and "Potato," a song about spuds set to the melody of "The Mexican Hat Dance." Other highlights include "A Little Taste of This, a Little Taste of That," "Five a Day," and "The Food Pyramid." A cute, quirky album, Bon App‚tit! offers children an education in nutrition and different kinds of music at the same time. ~ Heather Phares