Back in the 80s, “New Age” music was the rage. Impressionistic, gentle, melodic with plenty of space, it captured the airwaves. Here, one of its leaders, guitarist and Grammy-winner Will Ackerman delivers 21st Century sounds from the Windham Hill crowd along with Lawrence Blatt/g, Fiona Joy/p-voc, Jeff Oster/tp-fh and guest which include Tony Levin/b, Eugen Friesen/cel and Marc Shyulman/g. The inclusion of Oster’s autumnal horn adds rich textures, glistening on the pastoral “Free Ascent” and floating with Ackerman’s folksy strings on “Waiting For Sunshine.” Joy and Ackerman create a cozy mood on the traditional sounding title track, while Joy creates rich spaces on the gracious “Arrival” and her voice is as fluffy as a cirrus cloud on “A Night in Nocelle.” Musical water lilies.
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