Rhythmic Jubilee is quite a change from Ophelia’s previous releases. Big, bold, and jazzy, it is subtitled “An Eclectic Vision of Tropical Splendor.” All of the music was composed and produced by Ophelia Handberry, and she performs on acoustic piano and keyboards, joined by Paula Handberry on additional keyboards, JoTan Afanador on drums, Larry Deming on violin, and Stevestyles Rodriguez on bass guitar. This is Ophelia’s first release with “live” musicians, and the energy is infectious. Much more celebratory than soothing, this is music for fun times or just to feel good. On a couple of the tracks, the drums are a bit overbearing, but emphasize the party spirit of the music. “Island Beat” is listed as a piano duet, but percussion and synth strings accompany this lively, joyous bit of merriment. “Crossroads” is more of a ballad or even a slow dance with violin and drums backing up Ophelia’s melodic piano. “Travelin’” brings a bit of funk to the mix, adding to the fun. “Sun Screams” first appeared on Ophelia’s 1998 release, “Native Ground,” with keyboards. This “live” version really jumps, illustrating once again what a difference “real” musicians make over synthesizers. “Tropical Moon” begins as a gorgeous piano solo; about three minutes into it, the drums enter and the mood and tempo both change to a more upbeat and energetic jazz mode. As the piece evolves, the full band is onhand, having a blast making music together, with the various musicians taking solos.

For joyous tropically-influenced music, it doesn’t get much better than this! With Rhythmic Jubilee, Ophelia reveals another side of her very eclectic musical self, and it’s a joy to behold! This and Ophelia’s other recordings are available from ohklecticrecords.com.