Garden City resident Tom Humbert has many reasons to celebrate these days. His wife Lisa gave birth to the couple's beautiful baby girl, Joanna Marie, on March 13, and the beginning of May will bring the release of his brand new and first-ever CD in The Wiz, Tower Records, Barnes & Noble, and religious goods stores throughout the country, as well as several live performances here in the NY Metropolitan area. The CD, entitled The Way of Life, is the product of talent, hard work, and a strong spirituality.

"God gave me certain gifts and I need to take care of them and use them to bring people to an understanding of God," he explained in an interview with Garden City Life. He added, "I don't care what people call God by. My aim is to work to create a society that's loving. I have respect for every culture and beliefs and I believe that The Way of Life will touch everyone regardless of a belief in God or not. It's about feelings and spirituality and who you are."

The cover on the CD features art by Dominican Nun Maureen Carey. Humbert says that songs like Sensations are about being in touch with nature and appreciating the beauty of the world around us all. He adds that the album is aimed not only at kids with its rock and roll sounds, but people of all cultures and musical interests. Each song on the album is unique and has different influences. Some songs have African rhythms, some are jazz inspired, and there's even a bit of Broadway. The CD as a whole is not easily categorized, but features something for everyone.

Humbert commented, "The music is energetic and rhythmic. I was backed by a full orchestra for some of the songs and I got to perform with the Beach Boys' brass. I also had the amazing opportunity to sing with Richie Cannata, Billy Joel's saxophonist, on We Will Change the World With Love." He added, "We recorded at Manhattan Beach and Cove City Studios in Glen Cove. It was overwhelming walking into the same studio where artists like Mariah Carey have recorded. There were gold records all over the walls. It was a little intimidating at first."

Five of the songs on the album were written by Humbert himself, including the title song, The Way of Life, which has a sound similar to that of the performer Seal. We Will Change the World With Love has a sexy jazz sound thanks to Humbert's vocal performance and Cannata's saxaphone. Other songwriters who contributed to the album include Wally Harper, Jonathan Schwartz, David Haas, and Paul Trueblood. One fan commented that Tom Humbert's voice is, "like a male Linda Eder."

Kathleen McVetty of JSC Productions was the executive producer of the album and has planned several upcoming performances for Humbert. On May 1 and 2 Humbert will be performing at the Siena Spirituality Center at Villa Maria, 615 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY. (Take any major highway east to Route 27, Sunrise Highway. Go through Southampton and at Windmill in Water Mill, make a right onto the property.) The concert is part of an art exhibit and celebration of Catherine of Siena. The event will take place from 1:30 until 4:30 p.m.

Humbert will also be performing at the Church of St. Gregory the Great in Bellerose on May 23. For more information about this concert, call the church at 718-347-3707. He will be performing on Block Island over the Fourth of July Week. In late September/early October he will be in Manhattan at Merkin Hall, a 600-seat theater near Lincoln Center, where he will perform with a nine-piece band. For more information about these shows, call JSC Productions at 520-5520.

Humbert performed for George and Barbara Bush at the Hofstra University Bush Conference in 1997, which was his second presidential performance, having performed at the White House for President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton. He's performed the national anthem at Shea Stadium and he's also performed at games for the Yankees and Jets. He's appeared in Queens' Theater in the Park in a lead role in the musical New Girl in Town. Humbert has also appeared in cabaret shows on Block Island.

He's the director of music and music ministry at the Church of St. Gregory the Great in Bellerose where he directs five groups: the 40-kid strong Children's Choir; The Madrigal Group, a group of chamber singers; the Contemporary Ensemble; the Folk Group; and the 35-member strong Adult Choir. He offers private lessons in voice, piano, and guitar from his home in Garden City.

He has also sung jingles for commercials, including Genovese, Chevy, Buick, Geo, AT&T and 1-800 Flowers. He was in a national tour of Shining Time Station and has had leading roles in over 50 Long Island theatrical productions. He's performed with Hofstra USA, Cultural Arts Playhouse in Plainview, Plaza Productions, ASCIA formerly of Glen Cove and now at NYIT, and Goodspeed Opera house in Connecticut.

He graduated from the Hartt School of Music, a conservatory in Connecticut, where he studied vocal performance. His studies there afforded him the opportunity to sing in all styles of music, which proved invaluable practice for his diverse musical performances and laid the groundwork for his rich and varied vocals on his debut album.

The producer/arranger for the CD, Brian D. Taylor, said of his work on the album, "When I was asked to be a part of Tom Humbert's debut album, I wanted to bring something unique to this exciting project. Here was an opportunity to blend traditional Christian music with a combination of classical influence, world-beat rhythms and elements of rock and jazz." He continued, "Now more than ever, music is becoming a fusion of styles and nationalities as our world draws closer together. By layering various sonorities of traditional western instruments with exotic flutes and percussion, we have created a multi-cultural 'world' experience." He concluded, "My hope is that in combining all these different elements together, we have created a powerful spiritual journey that will speak to both young and old everywhere."

Humbert shared his comments in the CD insert, "Well... it's taken me a long time to make my first CD, but I finally did it. I hope it's worth the wait!" He talked about his career in rock and roll bands and cabaret and noted that "nothing has ever meant more to me or has had a more profound effect on my life than God. Whether I was in Kentucky, California, Cleveland, Connecticut, or New York, one thing was for certain, come Sunday morning you would find me in the local church singing God's praise and giving thanks. This faith inspired me to create this collection of songs." He concluded, "A spiritual awakening is upon us. It is my hope that these songs will help you on your journey as we all prepare for the new millennium and beyond. Peace!"