George Winston - Summer (1991)

Note: the CD I listened to was the original 1991 release.

Just what you would expect from a George Winston album: lots of peaceful, slow, relaxing New Age solo acoustic piano noodling. Like most New Age music, this is one of those albums that's perfect when I'm in a New Age-y mood and irritating as hell when I'm not. Also, there's nothing here that is very summerish to me, unlike previous albums December or Autumn, which somehow perfectly capture those times of year.

Billboard, October 19, 1991, p. 76
I think the "Winter" album the
reviewer refers to is December.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #55
• Billboard New Age: #1

Tracks: Of the 15 tracks here, Winston wrote 7. The rest are arrangements of pieces by other jazz musicians, film composers, public domain, etc. It all goes down easy, but I'll pick out Winston's arrangements of Randy Newman's Living Without You and Carmine Coppola's music from the 1979 film The Black Stallion as my top cuts. Then there's the traditional tune Corrina Corrina as a track that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the album. Of the original pieces here, I prefer track 7, simply titled Lullaby.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I picked this up last year for $1 out of a used bin.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi (1996)
The Velveteen Rabbit (1985)
December (1981)

Meryl Streep and George Winston - The Velveteen Rabbit (1985)

One of the more unusual CDs in the collection, this is simply Meryl Streep reading Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit over Winston's new age piano noodling. Both artists contribute their usual solid work. Much of Winston's work on this CD can also be heard on his December album. (In other words, he plagiarized himself.) I haven't listened to this album in many, many years. I could never get my boys to listen to it and have the book read to them via CD. It's a good book to hear this time of year.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #180

George Winston - Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi (1996)

This solo piano CD is a tribute from one great pianist to another. It does a great job capturing the musical essence of both men. While I was familiar with Guaraldi's work from the Peanuts cartoons, this CD introduced me to more his compositions. Guaraldi usually performed with a trio (piano, bass, drums), so these solo piano recordings sometimes seem like they're missing a little something, but Winston's style and virtuosic playing often makes up for it. Every now and then, I'll notice Winston throwing in some embellishment or passing tones and it always works; it sounds like it's always been there. Winston, however, never sacrifices Guaraldi's characteristic piano voicing. Classic. Winston recorded and released a second volume of Guaraldi tunes in 2010, entitled Love Will Come, but I haven't heard any of that music yet.

Billboard, October 12, 1996

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #55
• CashBox Jazz: #1

Tracks: Linus & Lucy is classic, of course, as is any of the music from the 16(!) Peanuts cartoons that Guaraldi scored before his death in 1976. The CD starts off with one of my fav Guaraldi compositions, Cast Your Fate to the Wind, which I think you would probably recognize even though it was never in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In the late '90s, my friend Scott introduced me to this CD, which he couldn't praise enough. When I finally picked up a used copy, I was upset that I hadn't purchased it earlier.

George Winston - December (1982)

Note: this 20th Anniversary edition contains 2 bonus tracks.

The emerging genre of New Age music might have gone unnoticed by me if a friend of the family hadn't given this album to my father as a Christmas gift around the time of release. I had never heard anything like it and it was certainly different than anything else I was listening to at the time. The music is haunting and mesmerizing. Listening to it while looking at the album cover art (I wish I still had the 12" album cover) always transports me.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #54
• Billboard Pop CD: #15
• Billboard Jazz: #2
• CashBox: #81
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• CashBox CD: #17

Tracks: Thanksgiving, Joy, Some Children See Him, The Holly & the Ivy, and Peace are all good solos. I could do without his take on Pachelbel's Canon, but that's probably because it is an overplayed work. The two bonus tracks fit nicely on the disc; my guess is they were omitted originally because an LP can only hold so much music without distorting the sound quality.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This album makes me fondly remember Christmases in Bay City during my high school years. This release, along with a church choir Christmas cantata introduced me to the carols of Alfred Burt, which are worth seeking out.