CD Review – Songs to the Earth, by Annette Cantor

The primal and tribal power of ancient chants and hymns live on in Annette Cantor’s Songs to the Earth.

The German-born and Vienna-trained Cantor combines her powerful and earthy vocalization of Gregorian chants with Native American flute, cello, didgeridoo, tribal drums, and other voices to create a formidable musical alchemy that perfectly symbolizes the raw energy of the planet.

The combination of Cantor’s voice and the other instruments and voices, especially the tribal drums, creates a ritualistic effect that’s almost hypnotic in its pulsating rhythmic beats.

The juxtaposition of the European traditions of chant and cello with the American Southwest sound of the Native American flute especially creates an interesting hybrid that at once conjures age-old mysticism while setting the stage for new realms of sonic experience.

This is a perfect CD for reflecting on your own connection with nature and terra firma.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – A Time of Innocence, by Keith Driskill

Keith Driskill is a simple man who lives a simple life with his four children in Spanish Fork, Utah, and that simplicity comes through on his latest album of solo acoustic guitar instrumentals.

The CD contains nine intricately crafted and lyrically beautiful compositions that, as the album title implies, will quietly whisk you away to a kinder, gentler, more peaceful and tranquil state of mind. Driskill’s complex finger-picking style yields sensitive lead lines, dynamic bass rhythms, and soothing arpeggios that slowly and softly work their way into your soul. Before you know it, you’re enveloped in a serene sanctuary of sound.

The recording impresses on a technical level as well. The audio quality is clear and crisp, and the mix is balanced well. The result is pure sonic heaven.

At just about 40 minutes in length, the album is short enough to enjoy several times over, especially if you have a long commute. And this is one of those albums that you won’t tire of listening to endlessly.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Music for Commuting, by Ken Elkinson

For years I have been searching for a perfect New Age album (besides Andy Summers’ 1988 guitar-and-synthesizer classic Mysterious Barricades), and I believe I have finally found one in the form of Ken Elkinson’s new release, Music for Commuting.

Music for Commuting is really a series of 6 CDs, most beautifully packaged as a compact and easily portable box set of 3 CDs with two albums each. To paraphrase Elkinson’s description of each two-album set, Disc 1: Monday/Tuesday is dark and edgy, Disc 2: Wednesday/Thursday is more buoyant and based on Elkinson’s love of 1980s synth pop, and Disc 3: Friday/Beyond is spacey and futuristic.

Regardless of these distinctions, the music on all six albums or three discs is really of one accord. Although there are latent guitar and percussion sounds on some tracks, the music is generated entirely with keyboards and synthesizers and sounds exactly like keyboards and synthesizers, and like Mysterious Barricades, the emphasis is on texture and sound, laced with beautiful melodies, tantalizing chord progressions, and ethereal chord washes.

Even with such a single style and sound, each of the 60 tracks in the box set is original and unique, setting it apart from most other instrumental albums that need to mix up styles and genres to maintain interest. This is quite an impressive feat on Elkinson’s part and speaks to his masterful compositional skills.

The music itself functions on several levels. As the title suggests, it’s perfect for commuting. It’s also ideal for meditation and relaxation. It’s intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually satisfying. It’s akin to a religious experience. It would be a great soundtrack for a science fiction or fantasy movie.

Listening to Music for Commuting is like swimming in an ocean of bliss. Its cascading layers of soothing sounds have the effect of mental therapy, like acupuncture for the mind. It is the epitome of pure New Age music and as a result is one of the best in the genre.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – First Melancholy, Then the Night Stretch, by Rick Cutler

Rick Cutler’s latest collection of piano instrumentals is a moody and evocative affair worthy of the album’s equally atmospheric title and cover.

The 18 tracks contained on the CD are very cinematic in feel, which should come as no surprise since Cutler writes and performs music for film and television. He also served as Gregory Hines’s keyboardist and musical director for 18 years and currently tours as Liza Minnelli’s drummer, and has also worked with scores of other notable artists in between, giving Cutler an edge as a brilliant composer and a seasoned musician.

Cutler is a crafty tunesmith, always drawing you in with captivating hooks, sometimes giving you what you anticipate, and other times taking you in unexpected directions, yet leaving you musically satisfied. The compositions, which include tips of the hat to such classical and jazz influences as Debussy and McCoy Tyner, are subtle and understated and function as a sort of tonic for the psyche.

Interspersed throughout the album are three “Alien Landscapes” that exemplify Cutler’s simultaneously adventurous and eerie sensibilities. With the CD as a whole, Cutler has definitely cultivated an artistically and intellectually stimulating sonic landscape for inner reflection and deep reverie.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Throughout the Autumn Light, by Robert Linton

Robert Linton is a man of deep thoughtfulness, and this sensitivity is evident on his latest recording of lyrical guitar instrumentals.

Linton plays finger-style nylon-string guitar on the ten tracks, which exude such tranquil beauty and peaceful solace that they work their way into your soul without you even realizing it. They become part of your being without any conscious effort or mood-setting required, which is the essence of true musical artistry.

While the compositions and the guitar-playing stand on their own, they are beautifully accented on various tracks by Stephen Katz on cello, Tracy Silverman on violin, Jill Haley on English horn, Jeff Oster on flugelhorn, and Jeff Pearce on e-bow guitar. The most affecting of these collaborations for me is “Glistening in the Mist,” with the gentle finger-picked strokes of Linton’s classical guitar and the drawn-out siren-like sustain of Pearce’s e-bow guitar creating a lingering, haunting eloquence. I hope that Linton and Pearce seriously consider recording an album of classical/e-bow guitar duets.

This is a fine guitar album and is highly recommended for guitar enthusiasts as well as anyone seeking a perfect soundtrack for relaxation and solitude.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – A Moment Between Eternities, by Louis Colaiannia

A Moment Between Eternities by Louis Colaiannia is one of the most original and unusual albums to be released in the last several years. Although it is marketed primarily as a New Age CD, it really features an amalgamation of styles that defies any category – and that’s a good thing.

Colaiannia’s keyboards and synthesizers are backed by a full lineup of musicians on guitars, bass, percussion, and flute, as well as a female vocalist whose angelic voice blends in perfectly with the rest of the instruments. The result is a full, rich, almost orchestral wall of sound.

Although Colaiannia is the composer and bandleader, he rarely if ever dominates or takes a solo, except on the primarily keyboard- or synthesizer-based tracks. For the most part, his instruments blend into the overall sound created by his backing band, creating the impression of a full group rather than a soloist with accompaniment.

Stylistically, the music ranges from jazz, New Age, and fusion to easy listening, with the cherubic vocals giving it the occasional tinge of medieval fantasy. And, on this album at least, Colaiannia doesn’t sound like a typical composer. The arrangement of notes, chords, and scales is far from conventional, sounding almost like English garden music.

As a result, the album is a refreshing change of pace from the usual mold and is well worth a listen.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – The Shape of Things, by Josh Johnston

If you’re looking for something to take you away, The Shape of Things by Josh Johnston provides a perfect escape. Consisting of gorgeous, arresting, and unobtrusive solo piano pieces, the album draws you into a relaxed and peaceful state of mind from beginning to end.

Much like the artwork on the CD jacket, Johnston’s understated piano playing wafts in like a dense fog, with the light of his beautiful original compositions piercing through the mist. Rather than overwhelm with a full-frontal assault, the music works its way into your psyche like gently rolling thunder and stays there like a persistent but calming rain.

The music is transformative and transports you to such idyllic locales as a lush green countryside, also depicted on the album cover. The chords and melodies roll off the ear as effortlessly as they seem to roll off Johnston’s fingers.

The result is music that is truly cathartic and therapeutic, perfect for solace, healing, and reflection.

--Raj Manoharan