Conference napalm::guitar

    No surprise he's on Windham Hill, he owns the label.
    
    							Brian

    
    Isn't Windham Hill the "New Age" label?  The "haunting guitar"
    as well as the blowing wind sure give that sort of vibe.
    
    

	They have some "contemporary folk" artists too.

					--Doug

re: 2 - Well I guess you don't have to like it, or listen to it, but as an
alternative,  I liked it so have a few people I've played it for...... 
but hey, sure,  different strokes right...


re: 1 -  Didn't realize he 'owned' the Windhamhill Label.....
this true ???   Does sort of make for a pretty nice 'arrangement'
so to speak..

    When Windham Hill started, the type of music on the label was so hard to
    classify that it was referred to as "Windham Hill Music"
    
    When other labels started featuring similar music, the term " New Age"
    was applied as a descriptor, since the soothing nature of the stuff
    seemed to go hand in hand with the New Age movement.
    
    
    Danny W.

    RE: "New Age"
    
    Slightly off the beaten path anectdote, but circa 1989 I wrote to a
    certain record label (that shall go nameless), seeking permission to
    submit music for consideration/review.
    
    I received a letter back from them saying that I should send the music
    and who I should send it to. The letter included the following standard
    disclaimer:
    
    "If you send us any New Age music we will sue you for damages"
    
    Fortunately, my music is something that only Bobcat Goldthwaite could
    meditate to, so I didn't get sued! :-)
    
    Brian

    Ackerman was a carpenter who played guitar as a hobby.  Some friends
    suggested he was good enough to make a record, so he did, following in
    the grand tradition of DIY-ers like John Fahey, Robbie Basho and Leo
    Kottke before him.  That first LP was "In Search of the Turtle's Navel". 
    Windham Hill was named after an inn in VT that Ackerman had a hand in
    restoring.
    
    Anyway, WH became something of a West Coast phenomenon; Ackerman signed
    up Alex de Grassi (who was his cousin, I think) and then met his big
    cash cow: pianist George Winston.  The company became known for its
    audiophile recordings of semi-improvisational instrumental music. 
    Among its roster: pianist Scott Cossu, Michael Hedges,
    trumpeter/synthesist Mark Isham, Dawg disciples Mike Marshall and
    Darrol Anger, etc.  
    
    Over the years WH has branched out into jazz, rock and
    singer-songwriters through a series of side labels like High Street, WH
    Jazz and Dancing Cat.  Ackerman has continued to record for the label
    and shown an inclination to stretch the boundaries a bit; his last
    album featured bizarro shredder Buckethead as a sideman!
    
    							Brian

    
    
    speaking of buckethead, I saw a film (well, it was probably only a
    movie) in the theatre recently...no, well...now I'm not sure...boy, the
    alzheimer's is kickin' in good today...anyway, this movie list
    buckethead in the credits!  I think maybe it was Arnold's Last Action
    Hero...
    

>    Windham Hill was named after an inn in VT that Ackerman had a hand in
>    restoring.
    
    Hmmm... I just happened to find myself at that in a few years 
    ago - it's only a couple of miles away from the West River gorge
    which is the site of some of the best whitewater kayaking you can
    find in the summer around here.
    
    The people at the Windham Hill Inn in VT told me that it's named after
    some inn in California (I think) that held concerts and then move into
    the recording arena.
    
    I'm not sure what the right story is...
    
    	db

    re: .9
    
    Well, it was an inn SOMEWHERE  8^)  8^)  8^)
    
    
    							Brian

Ray,

if you like Ackerman you should give Michael Hedges a listen as well.
They certainly have different styles of playing, but both are excellent
guitarist. "Childhood and Memory" is my favorite Ackerman release and
Aerial Boundaries" is a good choice for Hedges.



As for the CA. or VT. Windam Hill Inn question, I think the California location
is correct, although WH has shot a good deal of video footage for their Laser
Disc productions in Windham Vermont it seems to be the only tie.

Bob

    Ackerman couldn't carry Hedges guitar pick!

    Perhaps not, but I hear he's got a couple dozen of Satriani's...
    

    I just bought Michael Hedges disk "Aerial Boundaries" yesterday.
    I listened to it once last night. My initial impression was
    ho-hum. I guess I'll have to listen to it some more before it
    grows on me. 
    
    Mark

    
    
    I think it's great music to listen to...especially on those long
    elevator rides...
    
    Actually, I own this disk and somtimes put it on when I'm doing
    technical writing, or some similar task that demands minimum
    interference with those word grouping functions.
    
    

    Gee, I agree that the album makes good background music, but I love
    that album and think it makes good foreground music as well.

    I agree with db.  Maybe you'd appreciate it more if you saw him play. 
    Rent the "Evening with Windham Hill" at your local Blockbuster. 
    There's 20 minutes of Hedges performing live on there, including the
    "Aerial Boundaries" title track.  Awesome stuff.
    
    Mike