Windham Hill A Winter's Solstice

The music on A Quiet Revolution is sorted by general style, not chronologically. Discs 1 and 2, Elements and Peace, focus more on the label's pastoral textures, and disc 3 (Artistry) explores more ambitious or ensemble pieces. Disc 4 (Excursions) might be viewed by some long-time fans as "Wayward Hill," with its assortment of latter-day vocal stylings and traces of smooth jazz.

On its debut album, Shadowfax was a contemporary instrumental quartet led by guitarist G. E. Stinson and Lyricon/sax player Chuck Greenberg, its mostly calm pieces full of carefully placed riffs played by clearly delineated instruments. A true ensemble, Shadowfax can be listened to with pleasure for its individual players and its group sound on this and several subsequent Windham Hill albums.

Windham Hill's eagerness to become one of smooth jazz's top labels has led them to sign a handful of influential masters of the form. They couldn't have placed a surer bet than on Earl Klugh, whose snappy acoustic style first hit the airwaves in the mid-'70s. While he's experimented a few times in recent years with orchestral projects, his Peculiar Situation finds him for the most part mining familiar and friendly territory. The sharp crisp melody over a thick, rolling bass groove on the title cut (with the occasional synth flourish at the end of the chorus part) characterizes his overall funk approach, while the graceful high-toned melody that leads "Southern Dog" is classic Klugh balladry. One of his more unique traits is how he modulates his strings; the melody line on the title track features a high tone, and his solo improvisation delves into the lower registers.

oo Far To Whisper is the fifth studio album by new-age group Shadowfax, the third for Windham Hill Records. In this album Greenberg brings is Lyricon back to the soundbooth. Along with Charlie Bisharat on his electric violin for one cut, remaining original member, Phil Maggini on his bass, Stewart Nevitt and G.E. Stinson, Too Far to Whisper is more than a whisper of an album.

1999 marked 20 years since the band's unique combination of distinctively Japanese elements – June Kuramoto's classical-flavored koto, Johnny Mori's booming Taiko drum – with funky pop, urban, and jazz sensibilities first hit the instrumental music charts, and 25 years since saxophonist and East L.A. native Dan Kuramoto first formed the ensemble. Their Windham Hill Jazz debut (and 11th release overall) Between Black and White finds them once again blending contemporary root music, mystical Eastern exotica, and melodically rich smooth jazz that further deepens their larger commitment to global unity on the cusp of the new millennium. Hiroshima once again dares to push the envelope and engage diversity from track to track.

A compilation from these three albums: The Golden Wire 1989, Charming Snakes 1990, World Gone Strange 1991.
While Andy Summers is best known as the guitarist in the Police, he has since forged a successful and acclaimed solo career with new age-influenced contemporary instrumental music that, like his work with Sting and company, draws on his love for jazz and his fascination with creating instrumental textures.