[Harp-L] Subject: Harp Music

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

The American Richard Smith writes to the "English Richard Smith:
 
 "Very nice music, Richard.
When I was a bit younger, I worked in  an office where the 
boss played Classical music over the PA system.   Some of 
us got tired of that very quickly, and asked if we could
play  some other music.  The boss said we could play whatever
we wanted, "as  long as there were no lyrics".  Will Ackerman
had just started Windham  Hill, and we bought all the New Age
(as it was called then) music we could  find.  Your three 
clips remind me of those days.  Kind of laid  back, calming, 
instrumental, "grown up" music, with Harp Content  added.
Beautiful.

Richard J. Smith
Wormleysburg, PA"
 
.....When I first heard the English Richard Smith's cuts from A Dream I had  
a similar response and wrote to tell him so.  But not about the Windham  Hill 
series -- I've moved on from those a long time ago.  I likened his to  Randy 
Singer's Harmonica Dreams and my favorite guitarist Peter White's  music.  Then 
I gave his music another listen -- and yet another.  And  then apologized to 
him for comparing him to anyone else...... 
 
 While I agree with you that the "flavour" (keeping it British  <g>) of the 
grown up instrumental music plus harp is there -- this guitar  and harmonica 
work is far beyond "New Age" stuff.  I absolutely love what  Randy's done on 
Harmonica Dreams and I get a similar sense from Richard's music  as I do from the 
sax and guitar work on Peter White's Endless Journey (from the  Confidential 
Album).....The Windham Hill stuff to me is just a bit too ethereal  -- 
 
this is:   a glass of good wine at the end of a Summer's Day in  the Hamptons 
(Osprey's Dominion where they have live music):  hazy  sunshine, the rows of 
vines stretching back as far as the eye can see...... a  tame sparrow taking 
crumbs from my outstretched palm while a girl singer's  softly hitting the last 
notes of Etta James "At Last" on the small patio next to  the Winery.......
 
(yes, I've ordered the CD <g>)
Elizabeth