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review by Bill Binkelman I was going to start this review by stating that whomever at Spring Hill Music was responsible for this compilation should get a raise, but now that I read the liner notes more thoroughly, I realize that Robert Gass, who compiled the superb fifteen tracks on this CD, is the founder of the label! Well, I suppose he could give himself a raise. The point is that, once again, this label has released a definitive compilation - one that is well-sequenced and uniquely cohesive yet diverse enough to produce a rewarding whole. In this case, the whole represents a collection of flute "family" instrumentals (including both solo and ensemble-based pieces) that showcase the wide variety of the instrument while also amply displaying the same instrument's inherent musical qualities as a vehicle for soothing, beautiful melodic music. In short, Instrumental Dreams is a superb new age music collection and, as cliché as it may sound, an essential recording for 2004 if you have a fondness for either the new age music genre or flute music in general. In fact, the only thing I would change is the CD's title, which is a tad uninspired. Otherwise, the liner notes, graphic design, and engineering are excellent. The music is even better; it features some of the best musicians in the field: Douglas Spotted Eagle, Richard Warner, R. Carlos Nakai, Joanie Madden, Kay Garnder, Riley Lee, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Steve Gorn, and Paul Horn (to name just some of the artists featured on this album). Tracks vary a lot, from a literal standpoint, although the vibe stays calm and reflective throughout the recording. Things start off with the Asian fusion group East Wind and their contemplative yet melodic "Wooden Ship" which combines Asian shakuhachi flute with guitar and wonderful synth strings. Next up is one of the true masters of the duduk (an Armenian wooden wind instrument with a warm rich resonance and a haunting melancholic tone), Djivan Gasparyan, and his solo selection, "Ask Me No Questions" a lonely forlorn number. Later on, Richard Warner's bamboo flute floats mystically over tuned wind chimes on "Tao," followed by one of the great Irish pennywhistle players, Joanie Madden, and her reading of the traditional "Women of Ireland." These are but a few of the highlights on this flawless collection. Others include Kay Gardner's lovely new age instrumental "Lydian Dreams" on which her silver flute lightly flits above the sound of waves, Riley Lee's hauntingly minimal shakuhachi flute on "Melting Snow," and the one of the great living bansuri flutists, Steve Gorn, accompanied by the East Indian drone instrument, the tamboura, on "Rag Shivaranjani." The album concludes with an excerpt from one of the landmarks of new age flute music, Paul Horn's Inside the Taj Mahal. While all of these songs are also on earlier recordings, the magic of Instrumental Dreams is how perfectly placed these particular tracks are on this compilation. Truly, the specific pieces selected by Gass and their order on the disc is a work of art. This is akin to taking a trip around the "world of the flute" in fifty-four minutes. It's simply one of the best compilations of new age music I have ever heard - bar none, which, given the track record of the label, should not be that big a surprise to me. Without a doubt, this receives my highest recommendation. |
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