Rabshakeh Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 The recent discussion on Smooth Jazz made me realize that we have no Windham Hill thread. I've scanned through the mentions of the label on this forum and most of them are... less than complementary. On the other hand, some members do occasionally post WH records on the Listening To... page. So... Any favourites? Windham Hill or adjacent. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) I don’t know if this is complete (maybe it just goes up to 1988, but the label went further?)… https://windhamhillrecords.com/windham-hill-discography-100/ The “roster” section of their Wikipedia page looks to be a good starting point too… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windham_Hill_Records Edited July 27, 2022 by Rooster_Ties Quote
felser Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 My wife and I love the first three Tuck & Patti albums, "Tears of Joy", "Love Warriors", and "Dream". Not typical Windham Hill territory, but quite beautiful. . Quote
Rabshakeh Posted July 27, 2022 Author Report Posted July 27, 2022 10 minutes ago, felser said: My wife and I love the first three Tuck & Patti albums, "Tears of Joy", "Love Warriors", and "Dream". Not typical Windham Hill territory, but quite beautiful. She was a Bride of Funkenstein! Quote
colinmce Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 Not sure I could endorse anything in the jazz realm (I have not heard the Denny Zeitlin or Richie Beirach albums they released; I don't find the Braxton ones very compelling and the recording is ghastly), but there are some good records in there. Some favorites: Daniel Hecht - Willow Bola Sete - Ocean George Cromarty - Wind In The Heather Interiors - Design Tim Story - Glass Green Ira Stein/Russel Walder - Elements Bill Quist - Piano Solos of Erik Satie They also reissued some good Cesaria Evora and Hawaiian albums. And there is of course, somehow, one of the finest albums ever made by anyone: Robbie Basho's Visions of the Country Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 I remember liking however many of Michael Hedges albums I heard back in college (had a girlfriend who liked him). Acoustic guitar, with wild all-custom tunings, iirc -- some of it pretty high energy. Haven't heard any since back then, though. Still, good stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hedges Quote
mjzee Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 I liked George Winston's "Autumn." I think it holds up as music; whether it holds up as jazz is a different conversation. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, mjzee said: I liked George Winston's "Autumn." I think it holds up as music; whether it holds up as jazz is a different conversation. Yeah, a girlfriend I had back in college liked George Winton too, circa 1988. I hadn't actually gotten into jazz at that point yet (so I guess I can argue "I didn't know any better!" ) -- but I remember liking the 2 or 3 Winston albums she/we had, as far as it goes. I think my wife (not the gal I dated in college) had and still has 4-5 Windham Hill discs around here, a couple of them Holiday (xmas) music, iirc. Nothing we've listened to in 15+ years, but since they were hers, I didn't think it was a good idea to get rid of them myself. ("Yes, honey, I know I have 8,000+ CD's -- but maybe you should think about getting rid of 2 or 3 of the 15 you had when we met." ) Edited July 27, 2022 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Kevin Bresnahan Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 I still listen to George Winston's solo piano CDs. I saw him live about 2 years ago. I wouldn't call them Jazz but they are very good dinner music and my wife enjoys them so they get played every now & then. Quote
clifford_thornton Posted July 27, 2022 Report Posted July 27, 2022 4 hours ago, colinmce said: Not sure I could endorse anything in the jazz realm (I have not heard the Denny Zeitlin or Richie Beirach albums they released; I don't find the Braxton ones very compelling and the recording is ghastly), but there are some good records in there. Some favorites: Daniel Hecht - Willow Bola Sete - Ocean George Cromarty - Wind In The Heather Interiors - Design Tim Story - Glass Green Ira Stein/Russel Walder - Elements Bill Quist - Piano Solos of Erik Satie They also reissued some good Cesaria Evora and Hawaiian albums. And there is of course, somehow, one of the finest albums ever made by anyone: Robbie Basho's Visions of the Country Ocean was originally issued by Takoma and is great. Windham Hill also reissued the George Winston album on Takoma, which is quite nice as well. I really like William Ackerman and before selling the label, he modeled it after Takoma (even starting the catalog at C-1001). Quote
Ken Dryden Posted July 28, 2022 Report Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) My Windham Hill collection leans to their jazz sublabel: Tuck Andress Reckless Precision Windham Hill Jazz 0124 Tuck Andress Hymns, Carols & Songs About Snow Windham Hill Jazz 10135 Billy Childs Take For Example This Windham Hill Jazz 0113 Billy Childs His April Touch Windham Hill Jazz 0131 Billy Childs Portrait Of A Player Windham Hill Jazz 10144 Billy Childs Take For Example This Windham Hill Jazz 0113 Billy Childs His April Touch Windham Hill Jazz 0131 Billy Childs Portrait Of A Player Windham Hill Jazz 10144 Turtle Island String Quartet Windham Hill Jazz 110 Turtle Island String Quartet Metropolis Windham Hill Jazz 114 Turtle Island String Quartet A Shock To The System (Soundtrack) Windham Hill Jazz 123 Turtle Island String Quartet Skylife Windham Hill Jazz 126 Turtle Island String Quartet On The Town Windham Hill Jazz 10132 Turtle Island String Quartet Spider Dreams Windham Hill Jazz 10141 Turtle Island String Quartet Who Do We Think We Are? Windham Hill Jazz 10146 Turtle Island String Quartet By The Fireside Windham Hill Jazz 11175 Denny Zeitlin Trio Windham Hill Jazz 112 Denny Zeitlin In the Moment Windham Hill Jazz 121 While I don't own a Tuck & Patti CDs, they have a remarkable chemistry and they are very enjoyable in a live setting. As far as George Winston, I feel about the same about George Winston as the late critic Martin Williams, as he noted in the article "This Fellow, George Winston," which appeared in one of his last books, Jazz In Its Time (Oxford University Press). Or you can check out this piece: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dirty-dirty-dirty-george-plays-jelly-roll-george-winston-stomp-out-review-by-ken-dryden.php Edited July 28, 2022 by Ken Dryden Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted July 28, 2022 Report Posted July 28, 2022 I have a Professor Longhair album on a Wndham sub that I quite like. IIRC, Winston produced it and Gatemouth Brown is the guitar player. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted July 28, 2022 Report Posted July 28, 2022 Speaking of WH subs, there sure were/are a lot of them! https://www.discogs.com/label/23112-Windham-Hill-Records Sublabels Dancing Cat Records, High Street Records, Lost Lake Arts, Open Air Records, Pure (17), Select Sounds, Sounds of Wood & Steel, Windham Hill Classics, Windham Hill Jazz, Windham Hill Records CD Collection Quote
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