Subject: RE: [Harp-L] harp music

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

The American Richard Smith writes: "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'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):  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