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Espen Overgaard, originally from Norway, served as the Worship Leader at my church from 1999-2002. I can honestly say that I have never played with another musician who brought out the best in all the musicians around him as well as Espen does. I'm truly thankful for the times Espen and I had together. We formed a lasting friendship that has endured the years and the distance since he and his family returned to Norway in 2003.

During his time at our church, Espen was asked to sing the old classic hymn, "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" for a choir concert. Rather than accompany himself at the piano, he asked me to accompany him so that he could focus on his voice. During rehearsals for it, we both expressed a desire to do something a little more radical with the arrangement. I don't recall whose idea it initially was, but we both quickly agreed to it and had a lot fun with it, which comes through quite clearly on this recording.

Last year, Espen and his family visited us for a few weeks around the Easter holiday. It was during this time that I decided to try to properly record our arrangement of it. Espen remembered it well, and sang it exactly as I remembered it, as if he'd never left. On the recording, Espen is singing the lead vocal, and I'm singing the backgrounds and playing the instruments.

Enjoy!

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