Little Nut Tree

Dan Zanes & Friends (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Festival Five Rec.
• ASIN: B005EYP96W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,604 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. In The Basement

2. Jim Along Josie

3. Summer Trains

4. Wake Up Baby!

5. John Kanakanaka

6. Little Nut Tree

7. I Don't Need Sunny Skies

8. Saro Jane

9. La Siren

10. Everybody's Gonna Be Happy

11. The Farmer Is The One

12. Thank You

13. Hill And Gully Rider

14. Red Tail Hawk

15. Salaam

16. Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere

Editorial Reviews

Little Nut Tree is a return to the age-desegregated mixed musical bag approach that has earned Zanes his place at the forefront of the family music genre. Recorded at Zanes' new homespun studio at Festival Five Records in Brooklyn, where friends and guests could visit to hang around and collaborate, the album features the multi-talented singer/violinist/whistler Andrew Bird on the original song I Don't Need Sunny Skies; funk/soul singer Sharon Jones brought her powerful voice to play in a duet with Zanes on the Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto R&B classic Down in the Basement ; West African group the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars jam on the album s title track, a cover of the Melodians Little Nut Tree ; and Zanes long time friend Joan Osborne added her Kentucky voice to another original Everybody s Going to be Happy. Zanes also traveled to downtown L.A. for a very special recording with the scrappy and soulful youth orchestra of the nonprofit organization The Harmony Project. Additional performances come from Zanes band present and past. The CD is packaged in a child friendly board book with extra durable 16 pages for little hands.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic album December 1, 2011

By NH Mom

Format:Audio CD

Our family loves Dan Zanes' music, and we own all of his family music CDs. I think this might be my favorite of all of them. Each of the songs is memorable: catchy, fun to sing, and a standout all on its own. As others have mentioned, Dan Zanes' albums are terrific listening for kids and adults equally (I listen to his cds in the car even when my daughter is not with me). I'm very glad I bought this -- it would make a great Christmas gift, too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The whole family is addicted! October 20, 2011

By Stephanie A. Mayers

Format:Audio CD

We just can't get enough of Dan's new album- Little Nut Tree. It's the perfect mix for everyone in the family and thank goodness for that because our 2 year old won't let us listen to much else. Even the songs I think are more for us than her, we hear her walking around the house singing on her own. Dan really knocked it out of the park on this one. HIGHLY recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best DZ album yet February 20, 2012

By A reader

Format:Audio CD

I have several Dan Zanes and Friends CDs, and while they're all on my short list of best kids' albums, I think this is my favorite of all. "Jim Along Josie," "John Kanakanaka," "The Farmer is the One," and "Hill and Gully Rider" are all irresistibly danceable, and "Salaam" is beautiful and meditative. There are lots of influences here, but the complex, witty, and bouncy Afro-Caribbean tradition is a dominant thread, perhaps a bit more so than on earlier DZ albums, which is awesome since the Father Goose tracks have always been my favorites. This may be an illusion, but there seems to be something a little more "personal" and even elegiac for DZ about this album--the title track and "Summer Train" refer to memories of his own daughter's childhood, and "Thank You" is a prayer of gratitude. I hope the reflective feeling doesn't signal any impending end to DZ's awesome kids' oeuvre--I love that there's real music, with real roots and real musicianship, that I can enjoy alongside my preschooler.