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<title>Top New Age Artists on Rhapsody Online</title>
<dateCreated>Mon Dec 28 11:11:19 PST 2009</dateCreated>
<dateModified>Mon Dec 28 11:11:19 PST 2009</dateModified>
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<outline type="include" text="Enya" description="After leaving her siblings' outfit Clannad, Enya (born Eithne Ni Bhraonain) enjoyed a short stint of television and film score appearances before embarking on a solo career. Produced by Nicky Ryan to accentuate her angelic, atmospheric vocal style, lush, swelling synths and minimal rhythms accompany ever so delicately as her voice crests upon lush, tearful soundscapes with astounding grace. Not necessarily pop, nor decidedly its antithesis, Enya's intensely melodic, ethereal music is downright chilling.
- Kelly Bauman" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/enya/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Enigma" description="Enigma gift-wrapped Gregorian chant for the disco set on their undeniably catchy crossover hit &quot;Sadeness.&quot; Since then, they have followed a similar path by sampling different -- often uncredited -- aboriginal folk music and wrapping it in synthy dreamscapes and modern dance beats.
- Nick Dedina" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/enigma/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="George Winston" description="George Winston is a consummate Contemporary Instrumental composer and performer who's achieved both commercial and critical success. His lilting, lyrical piano style is perhaps the defining sound of the Windham Hill label, conjuring seasonal images in impressionist, musical paintings. Winston draws on jazz, blues, pop and folk for his compositions, creating a sparse, dynamic and moving blend. His music is so intensely personal and draining, it makes sense that so much time passes between each of his albums. Winston has also written emotive music for films such as &lt;i&gt;The Velveteen Rabbit&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes&lt;/i&gt;.
- Jeff K." category="New Age Acoustic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/george-winston/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Steven Halpern" description="New Age pioneer Steve Halpern was among the first musicians in the mid-'70s to delve into the notions of &quot;healing music&quot; that eventually came to typify the New Age movement. A multi-instrumentalist, Halpern explored ancient and sacred music of the Far East, became something of an expert on the actual effects music has on the human body, and has released over 50 albums of both instrumental music and guided meditation. At his best, Halpern creates deliberate, cloud-like pieces that make heavy use of synthesizers and wind instruments. Because of a true intent to relieve stress and inspire emotional healing through his music, backed up by his years of research on the matter, Halpern stands as a genuine article in a scene that is all too often clogged with half-baked &quot;mystics&quot; and ultimately superficial ideas.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/steven-halpern/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Sounds Of Nature" description="Nature has been playing live for the last 4.5 billion years, yet it wasn't until the Holocene Epoch that she first entered the studio. Critics have long debated why. Some argue that her preoccupation with chaos theory and synchronicity prevented submission to the studio's strict regimen. It's an interesting angle: for several millennia, Nature's unorthodox performance methods were heavily inspired by free jazz and guerilla events like Burning Man. Under myriad aliases (Gaia, Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Planet Earth, Terra), she'd pop up when you'd least expect it, sometimes chirping like a flock of birds, other times crashing like thunder. For others, however, there's a far simpler explanation. Nature, they claim, was jamming when humans were nothing more than unicellular eukaryotes. Thus, it wasn't possible to commit her music to wax before Thomas Edison's arrival just last century. Either way, once Nature did start to record she quickly became a...force of Nature. Over the last 40 years she's dropped more killer albums than there are karaoke cassettes, spawning more followers than the Dead. That said, Nature stills lags far behind Michael Jackson in terms of record sales.
- Justin Farrar" category="Nature" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/sounds-of-nature/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Yanni" description="Yanni is a gifted keyboardist who places melodramatic passion into a pioneering Adult Alternative/new age/Contemporary Instrumental hybrid of complex popular and classical styles. He updates the florid style of Roger Williams, the crossover ivory-tinkler of the Eisenhower years, with an impressive combination of acoustic and electric orchestrations. Draped in silky duds and an even silkier mustache, Yanni was already wildly successful when he became the &quot;Great Greek Hope&quot; of aging female baby boomers everywhere after marrying the ever stylish, but older, Linda Evans.
It is unfair to blame him for either PBS placing &lt;i&gt;Yanni Live at the Acropolis&lt;/i&gt; on heavier rotation than &lt;i&gt;Sesame Street&lt;/i&gt; or for the symphonic overstatement of John Tesh -- Yanni's number one disciple.
- Nick Dedina" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/yanni/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Jim Brickman" description="The classically trained Jim Brickman has a firm grasp of pop songcraft and an understanding of various genres of music. Instead of working in expansive soundscapes, Brickman's piano structures his emotional tunes in bite-size chunks, which allows him to collaborate with everybody from Carly Simon to Herb Alpert. Since debuting on Windham Hill in 1994 with &lt;I&gt;No Words&lt;/I&gt;, Brickman has released 16 albums of original material (including two Christmas records and an album of Christian music) and a greatest hits collection. He continues to tour, record and appear on both the adult contemporary and country charts today.
- Nick Dedina" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/jim-brickman/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Acoustic Alchemy" description="Since its inception as a duo in the '80s, the jazz-heavy, new age-focused act Acoustic Alchemy has undergone a number of lineup changes. Based in the U.K., Acoustic Alchemy is an Adult Contemporary favorite celebrated for making casually sophisticated tunes with a pleasing organic feel.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/acoustic-alchemy/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ottmar Liebert" description="By softening up the edges and adding a Latin-influenced bed of tropical percussion, Liebert has turned Flamenco into a widely appealing genre that has topped the new age charts on multiple occasions. His fleet-fingered picking may not put him in the same echelon as guitarists such as Paco De Lucia, but Liebert's music is designed to please the audience with a sprinkling of exotic flavors. Songs such as &quot;Ballad for Santana&quot; showcase the bittersweet side of his playing, while the hit &quot;Barcelona Nights&quot; is as attractive as a starry night on a Mediterranean cruise. A variety of styles make up Liebert's sound: Rumba, Merengue, classical, dance, jazz and rock all help to make his music the accessibly exciting aural opiate that it is.
- Jeff K." category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ottmar-liebert/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="David Lanz" description="David Lanz is a superior keyboard player and a pioneering new age superstar. With a technique that's flawless and easy on the ears, his lyrical ballads have the advantage over his more upbeat, vibe-positive numbers. If much of his work now resembles music for pharmaceutical commercials and TV dramas, it's because TV producers use the the Lanz template to paint by numbers.
- Jeff K." category="Solo Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/david-lanz/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Jesse Cook" description="Cook weaves his agile Flamenco guitar chops amidst subdued backdrops that blend electronic beats with elements of Pop-Jazz and domesticated world music. An atmosphere of low-key romanticism prevails in much of his work, whether he's playing instrumentals or vocal-oriented pop songs.
- Will York" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/jesse-cook/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Kitaro" description="There's a majestic feeling to Kitaro's synthesizer compositions, echoing the music from many cultures with a primal, direct melodic style. Though Kitaro began as a guitarist, he was drawn to the keyboard and proceeded to master its complexities, creating lavish arrangements in a lush, orchestral style. Kitaro's melodies have a deceptive simplicity to them; he can take just a few notes and turn them into a thing of monumental grandeur. One reason Kitaro has succeeded is his openness to other forms of music, which is evident in the diversity of his collaborations. He's worked with musicians such as the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart and even Megadeth's Marty Friedman.
- Jessy Terry" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/kitaro/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="David Arkenstone" description="Arkenstone's engaging sonic tapestries rely heavily upon synthesizers to create lush, otherworldly moods. Originally inspired by Kitaro, this Chicago transplant migrated to California to compose music. These transporting, highly textured electro-acoustic instrumentals mix elements of rock and world music with a few filmic atmospherics.
- Jeff K." category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/david-arkenstone/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Vangelis" description="Born in 1943, Greek composer Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Vangelis for short) is celebrated for his memorable cinematic scores, the most famous of which are for the 1981 film &lt;i&gt;Chariots of Fire&lt;/i&gt; and 1982's &lt;i&gt;Blade Runner&lt;/i&gt;. His numerous solo and studio albums date back to 1972's &lt;i&gt;Fais que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long que la Nuit&lt;/i&gt;.
- Nate Cavalieri" category="New Age Electronic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/vangelis/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Llewellyn" description="Based in the U.K., Llewellyn and Juliana record ethereal New Age music that's perfect for relaxing. That's no accident: both are active students and practitioners of various healing therapies, as titles like &lt;I&gt;Shiatsu Gold&lt;/I&gt; and &lt;I&gt;Music for Reiki Attunement&lt;/I&gt; attest. Drawing from both Asian music and his native Celtic traditions, Llewellyn's music proposes a spiritual unity floating free of time and location.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Meditation" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/llewellyn/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Deuter" description="Combining acoustic instruments with synthesizers, Germany-born Deuter composes highly serene soundscapes that skillfully blend both eastern and western music elements. Spiritually sensitive and rejuvenating, his light-hearted style provides an ideal background for any meditative moment.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Meditation" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/deuter/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Delerium" description="Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, formerly of such Industrial dance acts as Frontline Assembly, Noise Unit, Intermix and Synaesthesia, take a stylistic leap into more accessible dance tracks under the guise of Delerium. Originally included on a variety of electronic remix albums such as Emd/Nettwerk's &lt;I&gt;Plastic Compilation&lt;/I&gt;, Delerium's ambient-pop mixes shed all industrial elements in favor of radio-friendly club rhythms laced with dark, esoteric flavors. The silky vocal stylings of such female guest artists as Sarah McLachlan, Camille Henderson, Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance, Kristy Thirsk of the Rose Chronicles and Single Gun Theory's Jacqui Hunt lift up Delerium's mysterious blend of haunting melodies and tribal percussion.
- Eric Shea" category="New Age Electronic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/delerium/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Cirque du Soleil" description="Canada-based modern-day circus troupe has taken its theatric pan-culturalisms everywhere from Japan to Las Vegas. They combine hypnotic rhythms and dramatic vocals with a mix of instruments both traditional and electronic.
- Will York" category="World Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/cirque-du-soleil/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Dean Evenson" description="Evenson is something of a new age legend for his own music, as well as the support and production he offers other musicians. His work often combines natural sounds (whales, wind) with ethnic instruments and haunting flutes.
- Jessy Terry" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dean-evenson/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Secret Garden" description="" category="Adult Alternative" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/secret-garden/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="R. Carlos Nakai" description="R. Carlos Nakai is undoubtedly the most important Native American flute player in the world. His powerful solo work helped define the genre, and collaborations with international artists and high-profile composers such as Philip Glass have brought the flute to concert halls around the world. Born in Flagstaff, Ariz., to Navajo-Ute parents, Nakai began his musical career on the trumpet. He had the makings of a seriously talented classical player, but instead of enrolling at Juilliard he ended up in the Navy, where a 1970 car accident permanently damaged his embouchure. Though he continued to play trumpet, Nakai knew he'd never regain his former skills, and in 1982 he took up the Native American flute after meeting a flute maker. At the time, few musicians (native or non-) played the flute, and Nakai investigated both the instrument's history and traditional songs. His first self-produced release attracted the attention of Canyon Records, and within a few years he had become the label's star performer. Over the years Nakai has experimented with jazz and fusion, but his flute is always front and center.
- Sarah Bardeen" category="Native American" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/r-carlos-nakai/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="John Tesh" description="Every jealous critic's favorite whipping boy, John Tesh worked on his Yanni-style orchestral new age music long before he co-anchored &lt;i&gt;Entertainment Tonight&lt;/i&gt; with Mary Hart. His Emmy-winning sports themes for CBS in the mid-1980s set the stage for his later recordings. Like U2, a live album from Red Rocks helped cross Tesh over to mainstream success, allowing him to ditch Hart's leggy company to exclusively chase his musical muse. His filmed special of that Red Rocks concert is currently battling it out with &lt;i&gt;Yanni Live at the Acropolis&lt;/i&gt; as PBS' most frequently aired program.
- Nick Dedina" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/john-tesh/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Tim Janis" description="" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/tim-janis/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Clannad" description="Clannad are ground zero for the hybrid of Celtic Folk, new age synths and pop music that gets piped into seaside gift shops and relaxation seminars. But just because they helped create a genre as starched and bland as a boiled spud doesn't mean that their own music is lifeless. Clannad have been around for thirty years now and have created barrel-loads of beautiful traditional Celtic Folk music, as well as shimmering pop songs and dreamy clover-scapes. The band is actually a family affair -- like a Gaelic, straight-haired, Caucasoid version of the Jackson 5, with Janet and LaToya thrown in for spice. The related Brennan and Duggan broods got together to celebrate their shared heritage. Enya, the beautiful multi-tracked enchantress, was onboard for a short while during the early 1980s when the band was experiencing a surge in popularity in Europe. Since that time, the changes in their sound have more to do with trends in production and technology than artistic shifts. The Corrs have also stolen some of their feathery thunder by bringing even more pop and rock into their mix. Nevertheless, playing a Clannad CD remains a key part of any ponytailed man's plan to seduce his yoga instructor or herbologist.
- Nick Dedina" category="Celtic Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/clannad/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="William Ackerman" description="Founder and CEO (for a time) of Windham Hill, acoustic multi-instrumentalist/ expert producer William Ackerman claims responsibility for launching the gentle style of music into the mainstream in the 1970s and '80s. Ackerman is lauded for his simple yet sophisticated acoustic stylings that excel in creating the ultimate relaxed atmospheres.
- Melissa Piazza" category="New Age Acoustic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/william-ackerman/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Marshall Styler" description="" category="New Age" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/marshall-styler/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="2002" description="" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/2002/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Richard Clayderman" description="" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/richard-clayderman/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="James Galway" description="James Galway has been hitting the charts for decades with the kind of Celt-ified new age instrumentals that are now so in vogue in the USA. He is the Irish king of woodwinds and his straight classical recordings can be enjoyed even by those not searching for that aural shamrock to clear the soul.
- Nick Dedina" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/james-galway/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Dead Can Dance" description="It took Dead Can Dance to find the common ground between black-clad gloom rockers and Birkenstock-sporting new agers. They accomplished this by emphasizing the melancholia in their mix of mesmerizing vocals, catchy drum beats, synthy world music, European Renaissance folk and modern studio wizardry. Wrapping it all in Joy Division-style album covers helped lure in the alternative rock crowd. The amazing part was that they never watered any element down, but created a world and a sound all their own. They plunge you into a Technicolor &lt;i&gt;Seventh Seal&lt;/i&gt; that shows the beauty in death and disease while keeping the chess-playing grim reapers at a safe distance. For those who love Siouxsie Sioux &lt;i&gt;and&lt;/i&gt; herbal tea -- Dead Can Dance are the Tuck and Patti for the Anne Rice set.
- Nick Dedina" category="Goth" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dead-can-dance/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Deep Forest" description="Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez are Deep Forest, the French new age/dance crossover act who performed the 1993 international hit &quot;Sweet Lullaby.&quot; Skilled at composing futuristic tracks layered with samples of traditional world music from places like Africa, Mongolia, India and Hungary, this duo create glossy atmospheres infused with an air of mystery and fantasy.
- Jeff K." category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/deep-forest/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Liquid Mind" description="" category="New Age" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/liquid-mind/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Craig Chaquico" description="As the erstwhile lead guitarist for Jefferson Starship, Chaquico is responsible for such gems as &quot;Find Your Way Back.&quot; On the solo tip, the guitarist leans towards softly inspirational instrumentals that incorporate pasty-faced imitations of world music.
- Sarah Bardeen" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/craig-chaquico/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Karunesh" description="" category="Meditation" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/karunesh/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Keiko Matsui" description="Popular with both New Age and smooth jazz fans, keyboardist Keiko Matsui is one of the few Japanese jazz artists to make a significant impression on a mass American audience. All of her albums have sold exceptionally well in the U.S., particularly 2001's &lt;I&gt;Deep Blue&lt;/I&gt;, which topped the contemporary jazz charts and also scored with pop audiences. Matsui's alternately dreamy and dramatic soundscapes touch upon Asian motifs, but European film soundtracks seem to be her heavier influence. She's married to Kazu Matsui, who has a rewarding New Age career of his own.
- Nick Dedina" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/keiko-matsui/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="David Benoit" description="Though David Benoit is a master at warm, friendly, jazz-tinged new age piano, he is also one of the few Contemporary Instrumental chart toppers to constantly change his musical setting to challenge his blissed-out listeners. He has recorded everything from lush Orchestral Pop to stripped down lite jazz, and even new agey Americana. While much of this material is in questionable taste, like Bob James, Benoit has the ability to pull out the stops when he wants to -- he just rarely does. He will never be as hip as Vince Guaraldi, even though he's taken over for the sorely missed Fu Manchu'd one on more recent &lt;i&gt;Peanuts&lt;/i&gt; cartoon specials.
- Nick Dedina" category="Jazz Instrumental Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/david-benoit/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Harold Budd" description="Along with Brian Eno, with whom he has collaborated on several projects including &lt;I&gt;Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirrors&lt;/I&gt;, Harold Budd stands as one of the definitive composers of the ambient style. A giant of the Southern California avant-garde, his expansive works explore silence with as much poignancy as the notes themselves, painting reverberating desert landscapes with sparse, meditative piano and keyboards. His impressive body of work has garnered him a broad fan base made up of New Age yuppies, hard-lined experimentalists and an increasing number of Indie types, due in part from his work with the Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie.
- Doug Russell" category="Ambient" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/harold-budd/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Medwyn Goodall" description="" category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/medwyn-goodall/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Michael Hedges" description="It's almost a shame to label him a new age artist, for Michael Hedges' guitar playing was so incredible, it transcended countless stylistic boundaries. Hedges referred to his style as &quot;heavy mental&quot; and &quot;new edge,&quot; among other names, with the ability to range from soft and self-absorbed to as aggressive as acoustic playing gets. On the albums &lt;I&gt;Aerial Boundaries&lt;/I&gt; and &lt;I&gt;Live On the Double Planet&lt;/I&gt;, he invented, perfected or reinvigorated many extended techniques on the guitar, from his violent two-handed tapping and frenzied Ritchie Havens strumming to bright percussive harmonics and deep, contemplative drones. His guitars were often tuned in a manner to allow rich, open-sounding harmonies and multiple intertwining melodies -- most prominently on his large combination harp-guitar. He died in late 1997 following an automobile accident on the Northern California coast.
- Jessy Terry" category="New Age Acoustic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/michael-hedges/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Deepak Chopra" description="" category="Self-Help" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/deepak-chopra/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="David and Steve Gordon" description="Boasting one of the best-selling Nature albums in history, Sequoia Records co-founders David and Steve Gordon are masters of the art of relaxation. In addition to gracefully capturing the music made by streams, swaying branches and birds (as typified on &lt;I&gt;Garden of Serenity&lt;/I&gt;), this brotherly Southern California-based duo also successfully demonstrated on &lt;I&gt;Sacred Earth Drums&lt;/I&gt; how tribal drumming and world instruments can soothe the troubled mind.
- Melissa Piazza" category="New Age Electronic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/david-and-steve-gordon/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Liz Story" description="A Southern California native and a classically-trained pianist, Story is renowned for her inventive, precise compositions. Her touching melodies and bold form first won over the Windham Hill crowd in the early '80s, and continues to do so today.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Solo Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/liz-story/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Paul Horn" description="" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/paul-horn/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Loreena McKennitt" description="Canadian Loreena McKennitt has always played with one eye on her harp and one eye squinting towards Ireland. Her early albums served as platforms for her delicate harp playing and equally delicate vocals, but she's undertaken ambitious concept albums on more recent efforts that travel the globe stylistically and traverse centuries lyrically. &lt;I&gt;The Book of Secrets&lt;/I&gt; (1997) seemed patterned after the travels of the roving monks described in Thomas Cahill's &lt;I&gt;How the Irish Saved the World&lt;/I&gt;. Standout tracks such as &quot;The Mummer's Dance&quot; and &quot;Dante's Prayer&quot; explore traditional music forms from around the European continent, while other songs entirely erase the lines dividing occidental and oriental music. Literate, adventurous and truly gifted, McKennitt is a rare performer whose music adamantly refuses to recognize stylistic and geographic boundaries. If it's strong tranquilizer you'd have in the ear, stick with Enya. McKennitt is a modern-day bard who whispers ancient wisdoms and dazzles with tales of travel.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Ethnic Fusion" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/loreena-mckennitt/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mark Isham" description="Mark Isham's versatility has earned him a place as one of Hollywood's finest film composers, as well as keeper of the Cool Jazz flame. He plays trumpet in the muted, introspective style of '50s-era Miles Davis, he's been an innovator in the use of electronics in jazz, and he's handled arrangements for cult stars Scott Walker and David Sylvian. His straight jazz, Chamber Music, or electronica-based soundtracks are excellent, and he has forged working relationships with such iconoclastic directors as Alan Rudolph, Robert Redford, Carroll Ballard, and Robert Altman. For jazz buffs, Isham is a top improviser &lt;I&gt;and&lt;/I&gt; a first rate tunesmith (a rare combination -- refer to Gerry Mulligan and Horace Silver). During live performances, his tunes often depart wildly from their recorded versions, yet he never loses his West Coast cool.
- Nick Dedina" category="Non-Orchestral" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mark-isham/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Maurice Horne" description="" category="Atmospheres" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/maurice-horne/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="3rd Force" description="This three-piece instrumental group specializes in what most would call smooth jazz. The difference is that 3rd Force incorporate a number of outside styles, giving them a little more credibility than the usual pop radio smooth jazz act. New Age sounds, world music and acid jazz are never far from the surface of their music.
- Robyn W." category="Contemporary Instrumental" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/3rd-force/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Peter Kater" description="Kater is a stylish pianist and synthmeister who combines new age, jazz, folk, and world styles but with a different emphasis on each project.
- Nick Dedina" category="New Age Acoustic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/peter-kater/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ed Van Fleet" description="" category="New Age" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ed-van-fleet/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Steve Roach" description="Perhaps more concerned with creating sonic space than filling it, Steve Roach is one of those purposeful noise innovators who set out to construct expansive, wobbling fortresses of slowly built sound -- and succeeds.
- Nick Dedina" category="Ambient" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/steve-roach/data.opml?rws=%2Fnew-age%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
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