Music of ACCENT
Arranged by Simon Åkesson
Simon Åkesson's arrangement of "Keep the Faith" for Accent was one of their early hits as an internationally beloved a cappella YouTube powerhouse. As the group has ultimately taken their act on the road and recorded incredible studio albums, this song remains a fan favorite in their set. In Kerry Marsh's edition for mixed vocal jazz ensembles, written up a whole-step from Accent's version, the uplifting lyric is largely carried by a female soloist, who will be given the opportunity to demonstrate her expressive R&B chops. Reharmonization brings this pop classic into the vocal jazz world, with lots of wonderfully rich chord voicings to surprise and inspire your listeners.
*A note included on the first page of the arrangement: "This edition of Simon Åkesson's arrangement is written up a whole step from the original version performed by Accent to better fit a mixed-voicing vocal group. Although it it visually notated here as SSAATB, the lower alto part can be effectively sung by a tenor comfortable singing regularly above middle C, and with a very few moments of Ab4 and A4, both of which can be sung in a "mixed" head-voice. The KMVJ demo is recorded in this way.
