Windham Hill Chill CD

Personnel: Samite (vocals, kalimba); S.P. Balasubramanian, Ravi Shankar, Bonnie Herman, Beverley Staunton (vocals); Mícheál O Domhnaill (whistling, guitar); David Arkenstone (guitar, bouzouki, flute, keyboards, percussion); Edgar Froese, Jerome Froese (guitar, keyboards); Vic Levak, Will Ackerman, Lakki Patey, W.G. Snuffy Walden, Alex de Grassi (guitar); Carol Tatum (acoustic guitar, bouzouki, hammer dulcimer, celtic harp, mandolin, bass synthesizer); Jeff Pevar (acoustic guitar); Sean Harkness (steel guitar, nylon-string guitar, fretless bass); Steve Erquiaga (nylon-string guitar); Liz Cifani (harp); Jamil Szmadzinski (violin); Johnny Cunningham (fiddle); Peggy Baldwin (cello); Don Markese (flute, alto flute, bass flute, pan flute, pennywhistle); Brian Dunning (flute, pennywhistle, Uilleann pipe, accordion); Gayle Levant, Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Mark Isham (soprano saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, synthesizer, EWI, electronic percussion); Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (piano, harmonium, synthesizer); Joanne Paratore (piano, keyboards); Jared Stewart (piano, synthesizer); Richard Schönerz (piano, Oberheim synthesizer); Philippe Saisse (piano, drums); George Winston, Liz Story, Phil Coulter, Philip Aaberg, Richard Dworsky (piano); Oystein Sevåg (keyboards, computer); Paul Haslinger, Paul Schwartz , Yanni (keyboards); Fred Simon (synthesizer, Synclavier); Mark Egan (fretless bass); Stuart Nevitt (drums, percussion); Daniel Chase (drums); Peter Vanhook (snare drum, electronic percussion); Don Alias (congas, percussion); Emil Richards (percussion).
The popular and pioneering new age label Windham Hill comes along to stake its claim in the somewhat hazy style known as chill-out, a stylistic trend that commonly goes hand in hand with slow hip-hop beats, breathy female vocals, and cozy atmospheric touches. Windham Hill Chill: Ambient Acoustic features material with a similar desired effect that doesn't have very much in common with chill-out. This is a two-disc set separated into ambient and acoustic sets and, surprisingly enough, the inclusions are presented in a continuous mix -- just like the hundreds of chill-out-themed compilation albums that were populating record store bins at the time of its release. The ambient disc features songs from Yanni ("To the One Who Knows"), Tangerine Dream ("Cool at Heart"), David Arkenstone ("Into the Dreamtime"), and Ravi Shakar's "Ragas in Minor Scale." On the acoustic disc, there's Michael Hedges ("Rickover's Dream"), Phil Coulter ("Sunlight on the Water"), Liz Story ("Wedding Rain"), George Winston ("Cloudburst"), and W.G. Snuffy Walden ("Alone"). If the concept of chill-out music appeals to you, and if the underfed models on the covers of many chill-out compilations signify that the music might not be up your alley, a compilation of relaxing music such as this will be more likely to suit you. ~ Andy Kellman