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| Artist: | "VARIOUS" |
| Title: | "WINTER SOLSTICE VI" |
| Label: | Windham Hill |
| Reivewed By: | Colette Engel |
| Rating: |  |
| If you're looking for some new music to truly bring out the mood this
season, then go to your closest music store and find this CD. When I say
"season" I don't mean the Christmas season in the traditional
sense. I'm talking about the winter season. This is music to listen to while
the wind beats a path to your door. It will keep you warm inside despite
the changing weather that may be going on outside. "A Winter's Solstice VI" is the latest release in Windham Hill's ongoing holiday tradition. They have collected here an assortment of beautiful, original instrumental compositions which were created and performed by some of their premier artists. Included on this CD are Windham Hill veterans Michael Hedges, George Winston, Will Ackerman, and Liz Story along with many new and exciting artists such as Todd Cochran, Sean Harkness, and Lisa Lynne. "A Winter's Solstice VI" was produced by guitarist/composer Brian Keane, who produced last year's highly successful "The Carols of Christmas" for Windham Hill. He had a clear vision of what he wanted himself and each artist to achieve for this album. "The "Winter Solstice" series has a history I felt compelled to pay homage to," says Keane. "The series has always been consistent when it came to setting a mood and delivering great acoustic performances from the core Windham Hill artists. I set out to make a mood record focused on the emotion and quietness of winter." He accomplishes this and more. Marion Meadow's "Joyful Times," was co-written with Keane and manages to convey the mood of the season and the holiday season at the same time. Meadow's delightful saxophone playing coupled with the acoustic guitar of Sean Harkness has created a tune that is uplifting as well as relaxing for a quiet winter's evening. Sean Harkness is one of Windham Hill's new artists. He was featured on "Summer Solstice" earlier this year and his "Winkus McGinkus" is a light composition that really showcases his skill in classical guitar. I loved this breezy trip across the strings. It was wonderful to listen to and got better and better each time I heard it. The only thing more enjoyable than hearing this song would be to watch him perform it live. I found myself picturing his fingers picking each note to create this fabulous tune. "Ursa Major," a piece created by Michael Hedges, has a more isolated feel to it. This song has an atmosphere of solitude, a sitting alone while the wind whips at your windows mood. It is a gorgeous piece of music with guitars, recorder and synthesizer all played by Hedges himself. I could go on and on about each and every song on this record - W.G. Snuffy Walden's "Yesterday's Rain," George Winston's "January Stars," Liz Story's "Snowfall" - but I don't think that my words could possibly do justice to this music. Try as I might, this record is something that must be listened to and experienced, not read about. You will be doing yourself a favor this season if you pick up "A Winter's Solstice VI." The music is classic and will delight for many seasons beyond this one, and the "Solstice" series is one that I hope continues for years to come. |
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| Artist: | "CRAIG CHAQUICO" |
| Title: | "ONCE IN A BLUE UNIVERSE " |
| Label: | Higher Octave |
| Available: | Any Major Music Store |
| Reivewed By: | Donn Jehs |
| Rating: |  |
| In 1990 the lead guitarist for "Jefferson Starship" left after
16 years of hard rocking pop music and picked up the acoustic guitar. Three
albums, a Grammy nomination, and 500,000 records later comes this album.
Says Craig, "The new CD. . .builds on the first three releases, combining
their themes into a more global perspective. This CD is more reflective,
both in tems of the planet and our lives. If you jeopardize a relationship
- or the planet - you don't always get a second chance." The opening song "Midnight Swim" with its playful mix of Craig's guitar and Dave Koz's sax play suggests the intimate yet playful picture of young lovers enjoying a magic moment. It is followed by a reflective cover of "Simply Red's" "Holding Back The Years." "Dreamcatcher" flashes across the sky like a shooting star, leaivng a brilliant trail as Craig is joined by another Sax master, Richard Elliot. For some reason this reminded me of that old Perry Como song, "Catch a Falling Star." The title track follows and it, along with the following tune, "Trade Wind," are perfect examples of the clean light sound that makes this album so appealing. Peter White joins Craig in a jazzy, latin flavored guitar duet for "Lights Out San Francisco." And the funky feel continues with "Dipsea Trail." These two tunes were almost enough to conivnce me that the album belonged on the Jazz page. Craig calls "Oceans Apart" a melancholy sort of romantic song about being separated from a loved one, feeling like you're oceans apart. Yet it is hopeful because that distance will be bridged. The cover of the classic Dave Mason song "Feelin Alright" is exactly what this makes you think of. "Indian Spring" is the final and best cut on the album. Craig says, "I had this ivsion of this guy riding across America and stopping at a place somewhere, anywhere out in the old west, and it's the only waterhole for a day's ride in any direction. So this guy takes a rest and he and his horse are just drinking water and relaxing next to the fire. Well this guy looks across the fire and sees this band of Indians have snuck up on him, and one of the Indians has his bow and arrow aimed right at him. And the cowboy can see all the hatred in the Indian's eyes - the hatred of broken promises, invasions , and slaughtering of his people. The white man can't explain himself because he can't speak the language of the Indian and pretty much knows he's about to die. So rather than going for his gun , he slowly reaches for his guitar. He then closes his eyes, ready for the arrow to fly, and starts playing. The Indian, however, puts the bow and arrow down and picks up a flute and starts playing too." The Indian is Douglas Spotted Eagle and I could picture this scene in my mind just as Craig described it. Such is the power and grace of the music on this cut. Craig's approach to this ablum is like he would like the Earth to be - light,clear, and above all, clean. Much of the appeal of acoustic play is just that, the simple beauty of a single note. Put enough of them together and you get Craig's music. And that's just what you should do - get Craig's music. |
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| Artist: | "YANNI" |
| Title: | "DEVOTION" |
| Label: | Private Music |
| Available: | Any Major Music Store |
| Reivewed By: | Donn Jehs |
| Rating: | |
| Like the preceding release, "Man In the Mirror," this album
is a compilation of 15 of the best cuts from eight of Yanni's albums over
the years, as his Windham Hill relationship draws to a close. Five of those
cuts come from what I have always considered his best single album, "Dare
To Dream." From the opening cut "Once Upon a Time" to the
final cut "A Night To Remember" it is a perfect description of
his years making music as one of WH's finest New Age artists. The beautiful "Aria" is here along with "Flight of Fantasy" from "Reflections of Passion." The lush, full expression of his musical style is well represented by the choices here. My personal favorite, "To The One Who Knows," is here also. A song that has soothed my soul on many a lonely night. So even if it is "Marching Season" (to Virgin records), and soon you will be "Only A Memory," it was "Nice To Meet You." END |