New Age Instrumental Review: Steven Chesne and the Luminous World Orchestra-Moments from the Life Stories of Strangers - Pt. 1

Release Date: 2013
Label: Independent

Website

Steven Chesne and the Luminous World Orchestra have emerged from four years of silence with a new album titled Moments from the Life Stories of Strangers - Pt. 1. Chesne has a reputation for creating scores for TV series and to date has contributed over 300 episodes of various prime time network shows. The list is long and impressive and his music is as well.

Chesne is not the easiest artist to put in a category as he touches upon several genres with elements of symphonic, world and overall difficult to describe ethereal music that is both relaxing and challenging at the same time. To be more specific coming from the challenging point of view, I mean in regards to enlightening or an awakening within for a perhaps the tired and dulled spirit one may have after a difficult time in life or just a hard day at the office. The music is beautiful, serene and picturesque and you as the listener write the story to all the instrumental tracks.

The lead off track “Invocation” sets the tone for the entire recording. It runs over 5 minutes and brings a sense of calm to the soul. I can see after listening to just one track why Chesne is so adept at creating various soundtracks for any mood or occasion. The symphonic and orchestral movements found on this release are truly a slice of heaven that you can assimilate easily through your speakers. There is a lot going on in each and every song and they somehow are able to mesh all the sounds into one living breathing entity that just sweeps you away to another place, perhaps a spiritual plane you have struggled to reach in the past. It becomes a one way non-stop trip with all the benefits awaiting your mind, body and spirit to renew.

While “Invocation” initiates the sequence of events about to unfold before you, tracks like “Flicker of the Glistening” take a journey through the clouds and beyond the stratosphere and then lets you down easy before the next track begins. “Lumiere Du Soleil” closes out this spiritual journey with a different twist allowing some nice acoustic guitar to lead the way. As Steven’s guitar takes you down yet another path of soul searching and bliss, many other instruments become part of the mix to make it all complete. Actually the only thing that is decidedly different in this track is the prominent acoustic guitar, which is just as beautiful as everything else that was presented prior on the recording.

They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, while that is true; in this case it is the ears followed by the mind to the inner spirit that becomes the all-inclusive keys to the kingdom. If you are into practicing Yoga or just like to meditate or relax Moments from the Life Stories of Strangers - Pt. 1 will get you there in a matter of minutes. As a listener and lover of music I could appreciate all the time and effort that went into making such a complex project. I do not think it would be any different than creating a movie score or writing a full scale opera. All the elements and most important factors are in place to make this a new age release that will be appreciated for years to come. This is ear candy that transforms into chicken soup for the soul.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Invocation, Flicker of the Glistening, Lumiere Du Soleil

Tracks: 
1. Invocation        
2. For When the Love Will Rain Down Upon You   
3. Yorkietown        
4. Flicker of the Glistening        
5. Glory Story #2        
6. Coaxed to Grow        
7. Morning Hocket        
8. Change, Your Oldest Friend        
9. Lumiere Du Soleil
 

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder

June 29, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

New Age Music Feature: Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman-Winds of Samsara

Beautiful sounds and music to soothe and heal the soul. Your inner being will be smiling!

The ZMR Music Award Winners

Click to see the results from Saturday’s ZMR Music Award Winners in New Orleans. Congratulations to all!

Album Of The Year
Scotland: Grace of the Wild      

Artist: Bill Leslie

Label: Capitol Broadcasting Company

 Best New Artist

 Masako    

 Artist: Masako

 Label: Self Released

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Dreaming of Now
Artist: Shambhu
Label: Acoustic Shine

Best Instrumental Album – Acoustic
Perfect Imperfection
Artist: Tom Carleno
Label: Barking Cat Records

Best Instrumental Album – Piano
600 Years in a Moment
Artist: Fiona Joy
Label: Little Hartley Music

Best Vocal Album
Dancer And The Moon
Artist: Blackmore’s Night
Label: Frontiers Records

Best Electronic Album
Found
Artist: David Helpling / Jon Jenkins
Label: Spotted Peccary Music

Best Ambient Album
The Shimmering Land
Artist: Meg Bowles
Label: Kumatone Records

Best Neo-Classical Album

In a Time Lapse    

Artist: Ludovico Einaudi

Label: Ponderosa Music & Art

Best Relaxation/Meditation Album

Deep Theta 2.0
Artist: Steven Halpern
Label: Inner Peace Music

Best Chill/Groove Album
Below Zero
Artist: Bryan Carrigan
Label: Peonies Music

Best World Album
The Maiden of Stonehenge
Artist: Michael Brant DeMaria
Label: Ontos Music

Best Native American Album
Hidden Journey
Artist: Scott August
Label: Cedar Mesa Music


Best Holiday Album
What the Winter Said
Artist: Katheryn Kaye
Label: Overland Mountain Music

Lifetime Acheivement Award
Steven Halpern

New Age Instrumental Review: Jennifer DeFrayne-By a Wire

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Label: Little Hartley Music

Website

By a Wire is Jennifer DeFrayne’s debut album, but not the first time she has embraced the call of music in her life. A self-taught pianist, she was urged on by friends and neighbors to pursue her dream. Inspired early on by the natural landscape of her home in Laurium, Michigan she began the love affair with music that has carried her through thick and thin. Produced by Fiona Joy Hawkins and Will Ackerman at his Imaginary Road Studios, this first step to living her passion finds DeFrayne more than shining through a cloud covered sky. She is the silver lining and a ray of sunshine for so many. This album is a jewel for any connoisseur of New Age instrumental music. 

 “Hope Floats” is a melodious vision of the inner light that shines within us all. It illuminates our hearts in the darkest nights of the soul. Hope helps us turn from the shadows and bear up in the face of despair. As I listened to this piece, I couldn’t help but think of what it must have been like to have the ability to play music taken away by a stroke and have to learn the basic living functions all over again. The force of will and sheer determination to embrace the world and turn her skill into helping others is a lighthouse in the storm for not just her, but anyone who has suffered a trauma as DeFrayne has. Do hard things. Make a difference. Each note is a victory. Each finger stroke a poke in the eye to giving up. 

“By a Wire” is a journey from the bottom of a dark well. Melodious and inspiring, this piece illustrates the will to prevail over some of life’s toughest situations. Indeed, sometimes we are only hanging on by a wire, swinging in the wind with nothing to catch us if we fall. DeFrayne hung on Tarzan style and came out swinging. Her music became the route she had taken most of her life-she used it to bring herself back from the brink of despair and uses it to help others do the same. This piece is artful and the composition one of beauty and substance.

“Sunrise to Sunset” is a walk on the beach. It is lifting your face to the sky, heart joyful just to be alive and here. Right now. It is letting your toes squish in the wet sand and letting the tide rush over your ankles. Golden rays of sunshine warm your cheeks as the waves of piano music drift over you like water. Elements of French horn add eloquence to the piece that makes it resonate. The dusk comes but you are no longer afraid of the night. You walk on into whatever will come, secure in your place in this world. The music tapers to a close and you smile.

DeFrayne spans the emotional range with By a Wire. Her music speaks of the deepest parts of our souls as human beings. After suffering the loss of family members and a debilitating stroke while she was a young mother, DeFrayne lost the ability to coordinate her fingers with the music in her mind. She was determined to grab onto her life’s blood and reclaim it as her own and now with By a Wire she has done just that. This debut album is one that shows just what a person can do if they believe enough. Love really can set you free.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Hope Floats, By a Wire, Sunrise to Sunset

Dana Wright, Sr. Staff Writer New Age Music Reviews

May 22, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

New Age Instrumental Review: Peter Calandra-Inner Circle

Release Date: May 1, 2014

Label: pcm

Website

Peter Calandra is a New York based keyboardist, composer and producer. His talents range from soundtracks in film, television and several Broadway productions, teaching Masters level music classes in music technology and he has several albums to his credit. Inner Circle is a tribute to the fans and family that have been with Calandra through his long and highly successful musical career. Contributing artists on the album include: Joy Askew (vocals and vocal sampling), Tom Barney (acoustic bass), Ralph Farris (violin, viola), Kathy Halvorson (oboe), Kathleen Nester (flute and piccolo), Peter Prosser (cello), Stomu Takeishi (fretless electric bass) and Peter Calandra (piano, electric keyboards, percussion, as well as all digital sequencing, composition and programming).

 “Inner Circle” is the title track to the album. Working with the son montuno and tumbao rhythms of Cuban music, Calandra combines them with String Quartet writing, using the harmonic language of Debussy to paint a timeless tapestry of sound. I could not have picked a clearer example of this artist’s stellar musical vision and application. The light and airy quality of the textured layers is a phenomenal mix of whimsy and resolute beauty.

“Nightwatch” is a piece drafted from memories of Calandra’s job as a night watchman at the small village public marina near his home in Long Island when he was a teenager. Playing his Fender Rhodes in the booth in between his duties, he was able to get hours of practice, managing his time and pushing toward his goals. As he made his rounds, he left the classical or jazz music playing and loved to hear the sounds of the docks intermingling with the music. It is a sound he has captured in this piece. Piano, percussion elements, a feeling of walking a beat with purpose all come to life in this glimpse into the window of Calandra’s past.

“Chorale” has inflections of baroque and sacred music. Vocals wrap themselves around you in a rapture of angelic proportions. This is the picture you see in the fine art galleries of angels reaching into cloudless climbs. The first time I heard this piece I had to close my eyes and just experience the grand visualizations it brought out. Voices of loved ones greeting you after your earthly toiling is done combined with light multi-instrumentation to craft a masterpiece fitting to be the last song on this monumental album.

Peter Calandra is a composer, teacher, keyboardist and producer. His music was in large part inspired by jazz greats from the 1960’s like Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett. Inner Circle was started in 2013 in the Catskills studio and completed in 2014 in the NYC studio with live players, mixes and sound engineering. The album ranges from classic, jazz, Cuban and more. Calandra improvises, he composes and he finds the best medium for his musical voice whether that is a fellow artist or his own tremendous talent at the keyboard. For any fans out there, this album is worth the wait. (And on a personal note, the best birthday present a girl could have. So, I am going back to listen and find myself a cupcake.) Peter Calandra is an artist seen and unseen. You have probably heard his work in film, on television or if you take in a Broadway show. Just make sure you check out this album. It is worth every star in the sky and more…

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Inner Circle, Nightwatch, Chorale

Dana Wright

April 28, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

Tracks: 
01. Clyde and the Pearl
02. Dine's Waltz          
03.The Wayfarer          
04. Better Angels         
05. Inner Circle
06. Faith
07. So Much to Say     
08. A Quiet Spark        
09. Nightwatch
10. The Dreamer
11. Whispers in the Dark          
12. Reflections
13. Chorale

 

New Age Instrumental Review: Louis Colainnia-Closer

Release Date: May 13, 2014

Label: Independent

Website

Louis Colaiannia has pursued music his entire life. A master pianist, composer, songwriter and performer, he works in and out of the studio to perfect his craft. His newest album, Closer will release in 2014 and shows a simpler side to Louis’s work. A resonating album of classical piano sequences with an occasional appearance of multi-instrumentation, this album is pure Louis all the way. Guest musicians include Jeff Oster, Noah Wilding, Jeff Haynes, Jill Haley, Tony Levin, Will Ackerman and Eugene Friesen.

The album opens up with “Aurora.” It is the coming of the dawn. Trembling and sweet the day breaks through the confines of night, a blend of deliberate finger strokes that plod and accentuate the tender mercies of the golden morning. A light breeze shifts and plays amongst the dew covered daisies shivering in the field. A  Flugelhorn  presents a rainbow of light, intertwined with melodic female vocalizations. It is pure. It is beauty. An awakening to a fresh new day. The story behind this beautiful and haunting piece is as inspiring as the music itself. It was written just after the horrific shooting in the Aurora Theaters in July 2012. It is dedicated to all the victims, families and those impacted by the terrible event. All proceeds from this song with be donated to COVA (Colorado Organization for Victims Assistance). The piece features Jeff Oster with the Flugelhorn and Noah Wilding.

“Breathing” is a walk in the park in the middle of the afternoon. Thoughts of the day accumulate. The freedom to embrace nature and spend some time among the trees is a breath of fresh air. Piano sequences well thought out in their complexity and pensiveness play out as you work out the tangled thoughts in your mind. Stop and start. Press fingers to keys. Let go. Press down again. Release. Yes. It is about the tender release o/f pent up things. Thoughts and feelings that hold you down. Breathe as you let go. This piece is solo piano with Louis painting the entire piece key stroke by key stroke.

“Tears” grabbed me right away. It is a study of contrasts. Light and dark fight for dominance. Strings take flight over the masterful piano playing, marrying into one beautiful tapestry of sound. This is what emotive music sounds like. The melodies rising from the speakers do indeed bring tears. Happy ones as the tumultuous thoughts of the day bubble up and out in a frenzy of expression. Music is freedom.  The very breath of the soul as it takes flight. The guest artist on this work is Eugene Friesen.

Closer was produced by Will Ackerman at Imaginary Road Studio in Vermont. Releasing in May 2014, listeners will love this album. It is a blend of solo piano and guest artists that blend together to craft an album well worth waiting for. Thought provoking in its simplicity, the compositions are artful and made me close my eyes for a welcome respite from the busy vortex of the working day world.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Aurora, Breathing, Tears

Dana Wright

April 14, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

New Age Instrumental Review: Peter Kater & R. Carlos Nakai-Ritual

Release Date: April 1, 2014

Label: Mysterium Music

Peter Kater's Website
R. Carlos Nakai's Website

Nine time Grammy nominee and platinum artist Peter Kater and renowned flutist and multi-platinum selling artist R. Carlos Nakai has 10 Grammy Award nominations to date. They have joined forces for the first time in ten years to bring us Ritual, an album of introspection. The musical talent in this transformative journey is Peter Kater (piano), R. Carlos Nakai (Native American flute, Eagle Bone Whistle, Chanting), Paul McCandless (Soprano Saxophone, Oboe, English horn), Jaques Morelenbaum (Cello) and Trisha Bowden (vocals).

Opening up with “A Meeting at Twilight,” I sat back and closed my eyes, letting the peaceful ebb and flow of the piano and flute lull my senses into a relaxed state. Some days that is hard to come by. Balancing a day job and a full time writing career can make a girl tense. Schedules, life obligations…we all have them. Sometimes it just takes an album like Ritual to break the chains and refocus your energy on the inner workings that really matter. Piano and flute lead the way to the metaphorical bonfire in the middle of the field. The epic meeting of the soul with the creator.  Nothing is between you and the night sky, the stars winking down and the music flowing from the buds in your ears. Nirvana. 

Earthy flutes take flight in “Invoking the Elements.” Piano treads on the light as air landscape. Trees sway in the distance as you call the quarters. North, South, East and West. All four elements accounted for. Each sentiment brought to life with the subtle notes of music so artfully composed and rendered into living, breathing art. Jazzy elements infuse the moment, gauzy clouds of bright energy. The elements combine and bring you back to yourself. You are the earth, the air, the sea and the fire. You. Are.

“Dream Dances” is the last piece on the album. It bubbles to life with elements of air and fire, the trickle of water weaving through the heat. Piano sequences in the midst of whispers. Horn and flute meld together with ethereal sounds, giving voice to the longing in the soul. Peace. I have found my place of tranquility. Breathe in. Breathe out. Cello and flute. Voice and key. The harmonies roll over you like a wave. Haunting chants bring the language of my ancestors to life as arms reach up to embrace the infinite. This piece is the crowning achievement of an album crafted for greatness at the onset.

Ritual is a walk into the heart of what instrumental music should be. Kater and Nakai, combined with McCandless, Morelenbaum and Bowden have crafted an album of transformative joy. Elemental in nature, it invokes peace no matter how busy you are. Take a moment. Just listen. Just be. From the haunting vocals to the ancestral chants and Native American flute rendered so artfully, it resonates. Side by side with piano sequences and multi-instrumentation, this is an album you will come to treasure. Make it your cup of tea after a long day and you find your center. 

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Dream Dances, Invoking the Elements, a Meeting at Twilight

Dana Wright

April 6, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

Tracks: 
1. Meeting At Twilight   
2. Standing as One       
3. Invoking the Elements        
4. Offering        
5. Space Within        
6. Envisioning   
7. Dream Dances
 

New Age Instrumental Review: Ann Sweeten-Tapestries of Time

Release Date: February 14, 2014

Label: Orange Band Records

Website

Ann Sweeten has been delighting audiences for seventeen years with her exquisite performances. In her newest album Tapestries of Time, Sweeten is even more focused than ever, providing a musical experience like no other. An activist, actress and environmentalist, Sweeten is dedicated to using her music as a healing tool. A breast cancer survivor, she is active in programs that promote artist and patient interaction. This new album is Sweeten’s tenth and is co-produced with the legendary Will Ackerman.

A blend of classical style with improvisational flair, this album comes to life with “Afterglow.” A melodious experience, the music just flutters there, hovering like a butterfly on the wing.  

“Cavu” is a term in aviation that describes ceiling and visibility unlimited. This song was written and dedicated to Sweeten’s father, a Navy Pilot in WWII. The piece floats and twists smooth as a plane drifting through the clouds. Elements of string instruments delight and summon memories and a moment in time that will be held deep in my heart forever. The plodding rhythm carries you along as you experience the cohesive nature of this piece.

“Send Me An Angel” is a proclamation against animal testing. Sit there and look out through the bars. Someone in a white coat comes and opens your cage. A hand reaches inside and something is plunged into your flesh. It burns and hurts, but there is nothing you can do. The hand puts you back in the cage, leaving you there in pain. What have they injected into you? Will it cause cancer? There is no way to know. The endless hours of staring out and watching the world go by never cease. Sweeten captures this hopeless feeling in poignant detail with a composition that will bring tears to your eyes. Eloquent piano strains fill your eyes as the hope of these little animals reaches out like an infinite prayer. Animal testing, no matter the good it may do is still an atrocity and that will never change.

“Riversong” is dedicated to a space dear to Sweeten’s heart. The river travels far and wide, but this place stays the same. The lull of tempered melodies and the majesty of  the Oboe, English Horn and a small part for the French Horn within the piece bring the listener to that tranquil place where nothing matters but where you are. The river is there and you hear its song.
 

“The Great Divide” brings to life a poem Sweeten composed about the gap between adults and their inner child. Keep the magic alive and reach inside yourself to find that elusive light. Never forget the magic. Sweeten’s talented fingers lead you through an inner journey; a reawakening of the spirit.

Each piece in Tapestries of Time is in some way a reflection of a special memory held by the artist. Whether it is her father and his experiences in WWII in “Cavu” or an awakening of the spirit in “The Great Divide,” Sweeten’s hypnotic compositions relax and restore. Her plea to stop animal cruelty in “Send Me An Angel” is vitally important. As someone who lives with rescue dogs, it warms my heart to see her fighting for the rights of animals everywhere. Each and every track is special and spending a week listening to it is not nearly enough time. This album has earned a long time presence in my library. Ms. Sweeten has the fingers of an angel and the heart of a warrior. She has won her own personal fight with cancer and helps others to do the same all the while trying to protect the animals that get thrown in the middle. Some people are heroes. They don’t wear capes but they do fly. Ann Sweeten is one of those. Music is her super power and she uses it with dead on laser accuracy. Beauty, grace and selflessness come out of every note. 

If you want an album that will take your breath away, you won’t want to miss Tapestries of Time.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Afterglow, Cavu, Send Me an Angel, Riversong

Dana Wright

March 6, 2014

Tracks:

01. Afterglow

02. Cavu (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited)

03. Endless Sky

04. Hypnotique

05. Ventanas Al Mar (Windows to the Sea)

06. Of Clouds and Dreams

07. Send Me an Angel

08. Tapestries of Time

09.The Great Divide

10.The Hourglass

11.Riversong

Review Provided By Write a Music Review

Kitaro: Nature and Sound Dream As One

By Jeff Kaliss

Source Link 

 

Kitaro

His reputation as a founding father of New Age music is something Kitaro accepts, and arguably cashes in on, but really doesn’t have much use for as a creative artist. In fact, it’s something of a relief, at age 61, to be blurring genre boundaries with his first-ever Symphonic World Tour, launching on Valentine’s Day with the help of the Santa Rosa Symphony, at Weill Hall, a short drive from the home and studio he shares in Sebastopol with his musician wife, Keiko Takahashi. The concert is a benefit for the Sonoma Land Trust, the Symphony’s educational programs, the Everybody Is a Star Foundation, which links special-needs kids to entertainment professionals. 

Born Masanori Takahashi in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan, Kitaro left home in his teens to become a songwriter, guitarist, and keyboard player with rock sensibilities. While touring with the Far East Family Band, he was introduced to an early synthesizer and German electronica by Tangerine Dream veteran Klaus Schulze. Kitaro launched his own career, and an important contribution to what would be called New Age, with a couple of solo albums and the soundtrack to an NHK Tokushu documentary series, The Silk Road. His global fame was furthered by a deal with Geffen Records and a collaboration with Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart. Kitaro’s soundtrack for Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War feature Heaven & Earth won a Golden Globe in 1993, just before his signing with Domo Records, based in Los Angeles and Sonoma. Since New Age became a Grammy Awards category in 1987, Kitaro received nominations a record-setting 15 times, and a win for Thinking of You in 2001. Two days after this year’s Grammys, where the tux-bedecked Kitaro was nominated yet again for Final Call (Domo Records, 2013), he shared a bento lunch and conversation still influenced by his native tongue, at Masa Sushi in Novato, with SFCV and his close friend and Domo Records executive Howard Sapper. (Eva Sapper, Howard’s daughter, is a singer diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child and the inspiration for the Everybody Is a Star Foundation.)

---

Tell me about the Santa Rosa program.
Harold Sapper: We’re doing 12 pieces of music.

Kitaro: We have from Kojiki, which was several weeks on the Billboard [pop] charts, in 1990 [unusual for a New Age album]. The theme is the genesis of the world, to remind us how the world should be. And we’ll do Thinking of You, which won a Grammy. And from Silk Road, the title song we’ll do. First part is with synthesizers, then change to the Symphony. We’ll have four keyboards; two are my signature sound, analog, and two are digital, but still old, not too fancy. [He notes that he favors Korg synthesizers, and that he advised Tustomo Kaito, Korg’s chairman, on modifications of the instrument.] 

HS: It’s been a long time since we played at home, so it’s a coming-out party for him, with all proceeds going back to the community. We’re protecting nature — Kitaro is a person whose life is really inspired by nature — and taking care of two forms of gifted youth: the classically trained, and those with development delays who are gifted in music. It’ll also be a baptism of fire, but [the Symphony players] have had the score for maybe three weeks, and should be well-prepared. We’re going to rehearse for three hours in the afternoon, perform at night, and then leave one day later for St. Petersburg. Then we’re going to Ukraine, Istanbul, Belarus, Poland, Romania, and a whole layover in Southeast Asia — each of those nights with a different orchestra.  

Kitaro, four of your Grammy nominations were for the first four albums in your series The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai. Please say more about that. 

Kitaro is a person whose life is really inspired by nature — and taking care of two forms of gifted youth: the classically trained, and those with development delays who are gifted in music. –Harold Sapper
 
K: Thirteen hundred years ago, a well-known monk called Kūkai, he created 88 temples. It’s all Buddhism, but a different type [Singon]. Right after 9/11, I went back to Japan and start to record the temple bells. I went wintertime, because it’s much colder and the sound is much clearer. Everything was eight-channel, multitrack. I try to use each temple’s bells for a song. It’s my most expensive sampling patch, 88 different bells. We released four albums, but there’s still four more. I was using analog in Colorado, then when I moved here I went to digital, now I’m analog again, two-inch machines. And we also have vinyl. Sebastopol has a nice cutting plant [Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab].
Are you Buddhist? Do you do zazen [meditation]? 
 
K: Yah. And also, I’m studying the tea ceremony. Every day, with my wife and me teaching each other. She’s a composer, too. After Thinking of You, we made Spiritual Garden [Domo Records, 2006]. That’s both Keiko and me. Also, at the September full moon, every year, I do drumming, almost 500 people, all night long. Kids and my parents came, the last years; my dad is 89 years old. We changed the place, from Mt. Fuji to Nagano, because we are counting [radioactivity] very high, and I am worrying about the kids. 

HS: [to Kitaro] Tell him a little more about [the latest album] Final Call, which just got nominated for the Grammy, and he’ll understand your elements.

At the September full moon, every year, I do drumming, almost 500 people, all night long. Kids and my parents came. –Kitaro

K: Before this one, The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, volume 4 [also Grammy-nominated] was from 9/11. This one is from Fukushima. I lost a couple of taiko drumming friends by the tsunami [which led to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima]. And right after that, we went to Asia and Japan and immediately we made a concert to send money to the Fukushima people. My words are not strong enough, but my sound will work something, and that’s what the Final Call is, it’s against the people who control the power. And it’s still going on. 

So it’s a wake-up call? 
 
K: Yes! [He notes that some of his older friends, including Korg’s Kaito, seemed to have “said goodbye” — that is, died — as a reaction to Fukushima.] And so I decided, this is the time for my dream, with the symphony and the [Korg] analog keyboard playing together. 

How did you end up in Sonoma County? 
 
K: I used to have a big place in Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains, where we did so many albums with nature. But the place was very isolated, which means I worked alone; it’s really more intense. Nine years ago, I had a really bad snowstorm, one night 12-foot snow, and right after that, me and my wife talk about, “let’s drive to California and take a look.” We drove from Los Angeles along the coast, and stayed and ate [at different sites]. Right at that time, Mickey [Hart] called me, he was rehearsing his band, and we stopped by [Sebastopol]. I thought, wow, this is nice! This is another journey with nature. And in the Bay Area, me and my wife have a lot of friends — woodcarvers, photographers, painters, lots of artists. That’s another reason. 

What engendered the New Age genre in the late ’70s and ’80s, and how has it changed over time? 
 
HS: There was a paradigm shift going on the world. There was a lot of anger coming out of England, and the punk movement was at its zenith, and disco. Instrumental music was nowhere. Jazz and classical were in a very flat period, commercially. We believe that we gave a huge break to all instrumentalists, because we “captured the ear” again. People took time to listen to music and to the instruments. There was Windham Hill and our company and others, and all of a sudden people started listening to jazz again, and classical. And most of the artists we were working with came from serious classical training.

I hope every country, they understand, world peace is the basic message. –Kitaro

That’s the part which is totally misunderstood [about New Age], how deep the schooling and background are. We weren’t calling it “New Age” in the beginning, we were just making Eastern and Western fusion classical music. Then The Wave came in — KKSF and other radio stations — as places for it to be heard. We were just gathering musical and spiritual elements from around the world and putting them in a beautiful musical format. People could call it whatever they wanted, and if you look at Kitaro’s music, or Vangelis’ or Jean Michel Jarre’s and put it next to George Winston’s solo piano, these are as different [kinds of New Age] as metal is from bluegrass. 

Who’s in the ensemble you’ll be pairing with the Santa Rosa Symphony? 

K: Stephen Small is the conductor/arranger and pianist. I have four keyboards — my wife, Keiko, has two of them. We also have an electric bass and electric drums and timpani.
HS: The musicians, except for Kitaro and his wife, are coming here from New Zealand. We searched for a long time for the right person to actualize a symphonic work. Stephen has quite a background in classical music, and also scoring for rock. Kitaro has the guitar experience, so you have to understand him and his music to bring it to life in a symphonic way. 

Do you have classical training, Kitaro? 
 
K: No, fortunately. [Laughs] 

Why is that fortunate? 
 
K: Because synthesizers do not write it down. My section is an open space. 

Like jazz? 
 
HS: Stereotyping [New Age] doesn’t understand either the improvisation or the composition involved. 

Are there Japanese elements in your music, Kitaro? I hear them in your scales, pentatonic and otherwise, and in your rhythms and tempos. 
 
K: Something there. But it’s not at the front; I think it’s behind, an invisible part of the music. It’s maybe spiritual. I was born in Buddhist country, and we grow up with rice paddies. 

Will the inspiration for your tour be understood abroad? 
 
K: I hope every country, they understand, world peace is the basic message. 

And will you be playing more gigs at the Green Center? 
 
It’s our local place, so maybe we can come back in the summertime, and they can open it up. I’d like to make something new.

Jeff Kaliss has written about opera and other classical forms for the Marin Independent-Journal and The Oakland Tribune. He is based in San Francisco, and also covers jazz, world music, country, rock, film, theater, and other entertainment. The second edition of his authorized biography of Sly & the Family Stone was published by Backbeat Books.

Event Information

New Music

Kitaro Symphonic World Tour 2014

• Organization: Green Music Center
• Venue:
• City:
• Date: Fri February 14, 2014 8:00pm
• Price Range: $40, $65, $80 for ticket only, $250 for concert & reception
• Tickets: 707-546-8742

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Success for Yanni Weeks on New Age Stars Radio

Over 5.000 listeners have so far joined us on New Age Stars Radio for our Yanni Weeks. There is now one week left of the special Yanni coverage, where our listeners can enjoy an extended playlist with songs from Yanni’s long career, from Optimystique (1984) to his most recent live album, Yanni – Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico. Yanni has always been among the most popular artists on New Age Stars radio, and it is so great to play even more songs by this incredible artists.

The show has been especially popular in Brazil, perhaps as a preparation to the upcoming Yanni tour. He is one of the very best live artist in New Age music, and you don’t want to miss this.

Go to Live365.com to listen to New Age Stars Radio.

Dates, cities and arenas:

Mar15 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena

Mar18 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Luna Park

Mar20 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Ginasio Do Ibirapuera

Mar21 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Ginasio Do Ibirapuera

Mar22 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Ginasio Do Ibirapuera

Mar23 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Ginasio Do Ibirapuera

Mar25 – Porto Alegre, Brazil – Teatro do Sesi

Mar27 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Vivorio

Apr23 – London, United Kingdom – Royal Albert Hall

Apr26 – Düsseldorf, Germany – Mitsubishi Elctric Hall

Apr28 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom

Apr30 – Munich, Germany – Circus Krone

See more dates and ticket information on Yanni.com

Above pictures copyright Yanni.com

February 21, 2014 by BT Fasmer Leave a Comment

Source Link: http://btfasmer.com/2014/02/21/success-for-yanni-weeks-on-new-age-stars-radio/
 

New Age Instrumental Review: Darlene Koldenhoven-Tranquil Times

Release Date: September 6, 2013

Label: Timeart Recordings

Website

Darlene Koldenhoven is a Grammy Award winning artist with three Grammy nominations. Her work has reached the top of the charts worldwide and the song “Lucid See” on her newest album Tranquil Times has been nominated for Best New Age Song in the Independent Music Awards. This new album is purely instrumental with original compositions and arrangements. 

“Lucid See” is the opening track on the album. A piano piece with some atmospheric background sounds at the onset, it marries with light percussion and a steady rhythm to keep the listener diving deeper into placid waters. This track will seduce the soul, bringing a much needed element of peace. It is easy to see why this is an award winning piece.

“Eternal Love” is an awakening. A warm touch of morning sun on the brow, this piece trickles over the listener in soothing waves. Multi-instrumentation blends string, percussion and thoughtful piano compositions, unleashing a bouquet of audible blooms to bolster the spirit. This piece is one of my favorites on the album. It is full of hope, fairy lights and infinite possibility. If you close your eyes, you can envisage a love so infinite it transforms all it touches, much like this music.  

“Surrender” winds its way around, leading the listener into the forests of the night. Sweet and succulent as a night blooming jasmine, the flute playing is full of harmony and as the title to the album suggests, tranquil. Beautiful and full of mystery, this piece is indeed a surrender. The music takes you by the hand, leading you into the paths less trodden, marking passage by wisps of sweet harmony and elegant composition.

Darlene Koldenhoven is an award winning vocalist, composer, lyricist, keyboardist, producer, actor, author, speaker and pianist. Her work can be found in hundreds of movies, commercials, recordings and television shows. Tranquil Times is her newest accomplishment and the purely instrumental elements of the album are refreshing, especially after a particularly stressful holiday season. Playing the album for a week practically non-stop, I find myself at loath to move on to the next project, having grown attached to this lovely body of work.  For any writer out there, this album is wonderful to write to, the flowing sounds crafting a marvelous backdrop in which to create. With original works and arrangements, this album is auditory nirvana. I highly recommend it.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Eternal Love, Lucid See, Surrender

Dana Wright

January 15, 2014

Tracks: 1.Lucid See 2. Eternal Love 3. Greensleeves 4. Hypogeum 5. Surrender 6.Drifting With Bach 7.A Walk in Paradise 8. Atmosphere