【專輯藝人】: Omar Akram
【專輯名稱】: Echoes Of Love
【發行日期】: 2012-06-05
【發行公司】:REAL MUSIC
【專輯類型】: New Age
【專輯介绍】:
格莱美奖得主奥马尔·阿克拉姆的钢琴演奏器乐录音。
When Omar Akram is composing at the piano, he has a unique criteria for determining whether a song is worthy of developing further. During those initial bursts of inspiration, instead of recording what he’s just played, he lets the melody go and moves on to something else. Later, if it starts jangling over and over in his mind, he knows he’s onto something special. With the release of his fourth c...ollection on Real Music, three words perfectly reflect this intuitive, heartfelt process: Echoes of Love.
Akram sweeps the listener into the rich experience of Echoes of Love with the seductive and sweeping title track, whose lush piano melody, ambience and gentle percussion are complemented by Hollingsworth organic flute harmonies and Bisharat’s swaying violin. The sensual invitation to “Take My Hand” begins with Akram’s sweet, easy rolling piano before gliding into a tender piano-violin duet with Stagnaro’s beautiful guitar harmonies. “Lovely Day” starts mystically, with flute and exotic sampled male and female voices, then soars with a mix of those voices, piano and violin. Akram came up with the title of “Miracle” on the day he found out that his wife was expecting their first child; like the innocence of a sleeping baby, the tune is graceful and gentle, as Bisharat’s elegant violin rises over the soft guitar and piano melody and harmony lines. The same piano-violin-guitar dynamic infuses the powerful, Latin flavored “Finally Home,” only the soft and lush gives way to fiery and jamming, complete with dramatic soundscapes.
After the playful, easy loping violin and piano jaunt “Draw Me Close,” Akram and his band continue to share the sense of “Free Spirit” that drives the whole album, building emotional intensity with Hollingsworth’s dynamic flute playing off the piano and acoustic guitar melodies and counterpoints. Although Akram intends the theme of Echoes of Love to apply to a spirit of unity and cultural connection, his graceful references to interpersonal love on the unabashedly romantic “My Hope Is You” are inspiring and undeniable. Although the pianist feels that “looking around the world, things are upside down and challenging” these days, there are always things to “Rejoice” about—as he finds on this joyful splash of new age-pop fusion featuring a dancing violin and piano duet.
A world in turmoil will always have many people who “Cry For Love” (a dreamy, plaintive prayer for better days) as they look to the “Open Skies” for hope and healing. With its swirl of dusty and cool piano and guitar and dramatic flamenco flourishes, “Open Skies” is an adventurous romp that rolls like a film score to a dramatic Western. Akram’s final echo is a tribute to his wife Merry that marks his first ever-recorded solo piano composition.
Life is just like a river originated from God, beginning with a tiny wandering stream, very thin flow but full of pure droplets, following with faster move, splashing over rocks, making big waves, washing the sands, and merging with other flows. Along the way, it carrys the essence of time and space, absorbs spirit in sky and earth. Eventually, the river will enbrace the vastitude of ocean, rejoice in the arm of God's sea of love. that's Echoes of Love.
【專輯曲目】:
01 Echoes of Love 4:46
02 Take My Hand 4:52
03 Lovely Day 4:43
04 Miracle 4:11
05 Finally Home 4:14
06 Draw Me Close 3:48
07 Free Spirit 3:42
08 My Hope is You 3:32
09 Rejoice 2:42
10 Cry For Love 4:41
11 Open Skies 4:56
12 Merry 2:37