MARA PURL & MARILYN HARRIS: A Koto Keys Christmas

Mara Purl & Marilyn Harris

A Koto Keys Christmas

© 2003 Wrightwood Records (761701152527)

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Japanese harp & acoustic piano join together for holiday meditation/relaxation - a soothing combination of Eastern & Western modalities - perfect for massage and unwinding during the holidays - MAKES A GREAT GIFT....

notes

Renaissance woman MARA PURL pioneered the koto in contemporary music, recording with jazz greats Bill Dixon and Charles Lloyd, as well as with R&B band Mandrill and World Music Ensemble Mokurai. She performed with the Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem and the NY City Ballet, where she premiered Jerome Robbins' WATERMILL. See more about her myriad talents @ her website: www.marapurl.com

This is the third in a series of meditation/relaxation music CDs that pianist MARILYN HARRIS has recorded for Wrightwood Records. Her talents encompass songwriting, arranging and production for such artists as Bette Midler, Jim Brickman, jazz luminaries and cabaret acts. Read about and hear more of her music at ther website: www.marilynharris.com.

Friends since their early twenties, Mara and Marilyn have created a musical world of tranquility in this improvised hour+ of beautiful renderings of traditional holiday carols. Producer MARK WOLFRAM completes the picture, tastefully adding special touches - subtle Christmas bells, flute, pan flute, French horn, EVI, vocal chorales, solo strings, sound effects and a Renaissance consort - to transport the listener to a holiday place of Peace.

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  • the most serene yet positive album of holiday music out there!
    author: Bill Binkelman

    As on their previous collaboration (Koto Keys), pianist Marilyn Harris and koto (Japanese harp) player, Mara Purl, exhibit grace, beauty, and an amazing sense of symmetry when they combine their considerable talents on this delightful and soothing holiday music album that, in all honesty, is already one of my all-time favorites. A Koto Keys Christmas can easily sit beside other Yuletide new age music classics, such as George Winston's December, Tingstad and Rumbel's The Gift, and many others. In addition, because of the unusual instrumental duo (assisted, as previously, by producer Mark Wolfram's excellent sampled instrument keyboard accompaniment) the album is also a fresh and unique take on the well-worn, but still welcome, classic carols that everyone knows...one of the things Harris and Purl excel at is allowing their songs to evolve slowly, with almost Zen-like patience and a deep sense of serenity...Somehow, Harris and Purl have found a way of playing the carols in an obviously improvisational manner, yet without a trace of "jazziness," instead almost creating an ambient "feel" to the songs...a carol's recognizable refrain emerges from within the improvisation, then re-submerges underneath a soothing blend of piano, gently plucked koto, and Wolfram's skillful keyboards (encompassing instruments such as strings, bells, flutes, woodwinds and percussion)...you will certainly be able to tell that you are listening to [holiday] classics...expect to be charmed by the unadorned simplicity of a recording that flows so soothingly out of your stereo system, layering the room's atmosphere with gentle refrains, delightful improvisation, and a deep sense of peace. I don't think there is a more serene yet "positive" album of holiday music out there...Harris and Purl (along with Wolfram) expertly guide the listener down paths that are both familiar and refreshingly new. So, take some time over the holidays to pause, reflect, and bask in the beautiful music from this wonderful album. I cannot recommend it highly enough to those who are looking for new treatments of old carols, but who also desire a peaceful ambiance...A Koto Keys Christmas is soft as gently falling snow, and every bit as lovely

  • Absolutely beautiful!
    author: Valerie Jones

    "I'm normally not a big fan of Christmas music but you really have a winner here. It's Great!!! It's the perfect of blending of old classic standards but with a totally new and updated sound. I love it! I don't even celebrate Christmas as such (I'm a solstice celebrator myself), but I'm a sucker for beautiful music and this CD is somethin' else!"  - Valerie Jones, Music Publisher - Sound Oasis Productions

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