It started at a funeral.  The piano master, Doug Tjapkes, was asked to render his unique stylings to some good old-fashioned hymns to celebrate the life of a dear saint.  Don had loved mountain hymns and trains, and wanted to capture that in the music for his memorial service.  Doug called his guitar-picking companion, John Mulder, to provide some instrumental and vocal support to the hymns, and the two gathered a few minutes prior to the service to work out the details.  While nothing could top the tribute to our friend Don, the hymns proved to be inspirational and enjoyable to many in attendance. 

That prompted one of the attendees, a friend of Humanity For Prisoners, to suggest that Doug and John put together a full concert of their music, and that it could be done as a benefit for HFP.  Intrigued by the concept, they assembled other musicians and on a warm summer night in August 2011, this group of five musical vagabonds started playing at Covenant Life Church in Grand Haven, Michigan.  Doug and John were joined by Cal Olson who played bass, a variety of whistles, and added his beautiful tenor voice; Lee Ingersoll, created incredible sounds with a cajone drum and a variety of percussion instruments, all the while lending his rich baritone to the mix; and David Mulder, trumpeter supreme, who not only raised the ceiling with his brass, but also provided some beautiful vocal harmony.  Anticipating a mingling crowd that would come and go through the evening, the audience actually came and grew through the night.  Exhausting their repertoire, the band played on, taking requests from the audience, and spontaneously generating arrangements of their own favorite hymns.  And all without a note of music in front of any of them.  

Nearly 2-1/2 hours later, voices hoarse, fingers sore and numb, they finally stopped.  It was by all accounts a magical evening, with unique touches of beautiful old hymns, tight harmonies, and musical creativity from all.  The response from the audience was insistent: "We want more!"  It seemed that all who came stayed until the last chord faded, growing well beyond the capacity expected for that evening. 

Another thought entered into the conversation during the afterglow:  Could it be possible to capture the feeling, energy, and meaning of this evening in a way that could be preserved and shared with others to hear?  That tiny nugget of an idea germinated and quickly took root, and three weeks later, these men gathered around a piano at the Ferrysburg Community Church and performed their songs once again in front of recording microphones.  During a long Saturday recording session they laid down their instrumental tracks with Cal's wife, Vicki, managing the recording process.  A couple weeks later, John, Lee, and Cal found themselves in Nashville, Tennessee, in the recording studio of Brian Speer recording the vocal tracks for this project.  And thus, Sweet Freedom was born. 

While paying homage to the book of the same name that Doug authored, recounting the life and journey of Maurice Carter, this name also reflected our own individual journeys: We have found the freedom that comes from our trust and faith in God, the grace, and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the impact of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  These songs, likewise, reflect that freedom.  We invite you to enjoy the music, absorb the meaning of the words, and if you feel inspired, any donations generated by this project will go directly to the benefit of Humanity For Prisoners, as they work to bring the reality of this sweet freedom to those in prison, desperate for the touch of God in their lives.