Showing posts with label Jill Haley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jill Haley. Show all posts

8/07/2019

Instrumental New Age Review: Jill Haley-The Winds of Badlands

Release Date: May 17, 2019
Label: Coranglais

Jill Haley and I go back to 2014 and her Mesa Verde Soundscapes recording. She is a sought-after musician and can be found on many other recordings from similar artists as well in the new age genre.

Fast forward to 2019 and her continuing series on National Parks leads you to The Winds of Badlands. Jill’s expertise with the English Horn, oboe and piano lends itself well with the sights and sounds of every track that mirror the winds and their effect on the badlands.

Once again, the CD is packaged beautifully in tri-fold cardboard book format that includes various pictures of the landscape with comments from the artist. What you get is the complete experience and hopefully engaged enough to follow the photos and musical passages to make you feel like you were with Jill experiencing every day she spent there at of one our national treasures.

Each track is a special tribute to the badlands and every mood, time of day and night, and color comes through her music. I wonder how one person can experience the magnificence of nature and all its gifts and translate it through a chosen instrument. Jill has that gift and she presents everything so perfectly in sync with her surroundings.

I choseCliff Shelf Breeze” to add to my New Age Music Reviews Spotify Playlist and once I made that selection I realized if I had to pick again, I would be quite perplexed. Every track is so beautiful and each one has its individuality, sound, pace, texture, mood, and color.

What Jill Haley accomplishes is two-fold. Her innate sense of musicality and how it relates to the music and nature then the gift of conveying her spirituality through the instruments she plays. It is a powerful message to each listener, particularly those that believe our environment is so important and to invest in protecting our Mother Earth for future generations. These parks should be held with the highest respect and love. Those of you that are here to provide the teachings and stewardship to the current generations and beyond are essential to moving forward in this process.

Artists like Jill Haley and projects like The Winds of Badlands carry a very strong message and lesson to us all. Stop, look, listen, and appreciate the environment around you, that is what this poignant artist has accomplished with all of her recordings. It is a great way to enjoy music and also give some thought to what this is all about.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
August 4, 2019

Founder of:

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

Tracks:
01. Whirlwind
02. Wind Hymn
03. Cliff Shelf Breeze
04. Silhouettes at Dusk
05. Western Meadowlark Call
06. Sculpted by Water
07. Floor of the Sky
08. Rustles of Green and Gold
09. Moon Over Badlands
10. Uplift
11. Sage Creek Basin
12. Prairie Grass Dance

 

7/26/2016

New Age Instrumental Review: Jill Haley-National Park Soundscapes

Release Date: April 12, 2016
Label: Independent

Jill Haley is an oboist, English horn player, pianist, and composer who has written and released 4 recordings about the National Parks in the United States. Her most recent release National Park Soundscapes is a reflection of the beauty in nature that surrounds us and can be found all over the U.S. The album which is a digipack, features all 12 parks pictured with photos by the artist as well, all encapsulated into new age and classical instrumental pieces.

Music is the eternal communicator and something all of us can understand and interpret in our own way. The beauty of the instrumental album creates and continually supports that thought process.

Jill’s oboe playing is soothing and flowing much like the way nature takes its course on a daily basis. “Prairie Grass Dance” is like the heartbeat of the prairie as the grass dances in the wind. The strumming rhythmic guitar lays the groundwork for Jill’s work to take hold, courtesy of husband David Cullen. The ear catching toe tapping track gets your attention immediately and keeps you. It easily became one of my favorite songs on the album. 

Dana Cullen, the couple’s daughter also lends her talents to the recording with the horn and son Graham with the cello, making it a true family affair.
“Shenandoah Stillness” offers a soft piano to invite you in to another world that is quite different than the previous one you just visited. And as the acoustic guitar is introduced the colors and textures change and become fuller of life and energy. This is the theme that carries you through this recording, all the varying degrees of sights and sounds each National Park can offer.

The following track “Towers and Kivas” really caught my ear as well. The husband and wife chemistry is quite evident as David’s fine strumming acoustic guitar sets the rhythm and pace then as Jill adds her lovely oboe to the mix, well it’s like magic. I appreciated the energy right from the start with the guitar and the way the oboe balanced everything out so nicely with its warm textures.

Each track paints a different picture on the musical canvas offering the same diversity each National Park does allowing the project to focus on a true feeling of synchronicity or oneness with nature if you will.

I not only appreciate expressive instrumental new age music I honestly respect and admire our surroundings. Mother Earth needs our care and protection and perhaps this project will serve a gentle reminder of that.

I would not change a thing about National Park Soundscapes it is simply beautiful and picturesque just like its namesake. It doesn’t hurt to have an appreciation for new age classically influenced music either. Any way you look at it this one is a keeper and although I chose three keys tracks as I always do, I think the entire album was an absolute joy for the senses.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Prairie Grass Dance, Towers and Kivas, Shenandoah Stillness

Tracks:

01. The Ledges
02. Prairie Grass Dance
03. Waters of Acadia
04. Shenandoah Stillness
05. Towers and Kivas
06. Mariposa Sanctuary
07. Kaibab Trail
08. Waves of Wind
09. Sunrift Gorge
10. Sunflower Cantilena
11. Ten Thousand Islands
12. A Soldier's Sacrifice
 
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
Founder of:

July 26, 2016
Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews



9/23/2014

New Age Instrumental Review: Jill Haley-Mesa Verde Soundscapes

Release Date: May 4, 2014
Label: Independent

Jill Haley is an artist devoted to the expression of art through nature…or is it nature through art? She is known worldwide on radio and air play for her work as a solo artist and through her work with Windham Hill Records. Mesa Verde Soundscapes is her third foray into an album with a national park theme and is dedicated to the personnel that devote their lives to the upkeep of the park. 

In each of these fourteen original tracks inspired by her trip to the Mesa Verde National Park, elements of the landscape can be found echoing through every note. Joining her in this epic journey are Graham Cullen (cello), Risa Cullen (viola), Dana Cullen (horn), and David Cullen (guitar).With the album, there is a booklet that describes each song and the place it was derived from.

“Curves of Burnt Orange” begins with tender piano movements reminiscent of the sun peaking over a large body of rock. It is a peaceful awakening by horn and tender keystrokes. A stretch after a long sleep, or a restful nap in the calm of the afternoon. A cool breeze wafts over you and you look out over nature’s majesty. The curves of the rock are like the sweetly sloping curves of a hip with just a hint of what lies beneath its mysteries. Just when you think it will be a sedate journey, the track flares up with a rousing burst of energy and then is tranquil once more. Nature…ever changing…ever there.

Air kissed notes greet us with “Sandstone Angels.” Horn blends with piano, seamlessly capturing the essence of towering spires of nature’s bounty. Miraculous formations rise from the earth, reaching for the glory of the heavens. The sweeping grace of this piece denotes the awe and wonder as you walk through the valley of the artist’s mind marveling at the wonders this song is dedicated to. Beauty walks the land in stone angels and natural wonder.

“Mesa Nightfall” is the last track on the album. If you close your eyes, you can see the vast expanse of stars winking in the wide western skies. The landscape fades to shadow and the light sinks low on the horizon. Peace after a day spent among nature’s children, it is now time to rest and await the break of day. Piano movements drift you into slumber, sweet dreams cresting on the wings of night. 

Jill Haley has a beautiful talent for capturing nature with every note. She and her contributing artists have created a soundscape dedicated to Mesa Verde National Park. We may not get to personally see the wonders of this spectacular locale but the musical descriptions help me to see the magic behind the pictures and the love she has for the land. Mesa Verde Soundscapes is an audible journey via New Age style instrumentals. A palate rich in color and substance, this is an album that should not be missed.

4.5/5 Stars

Tracks: 
01. Chapin Daybreak
02. Curves of Burnt Orange
03. Thread of Continuity
04. Seep Spring Song
05. Sandstone Angles
06. Towers and Kivas
07. Sleeping Ute Mountain
08. Sipapu Emergence
09. Vibrant Mesa Blossoms
10. Living Walls
11. Metate Conversations
12. Far View
13. Spruce Canyon
14. Mesa Nightfall


Key Tracks: Curves of Burnt Orange, Sandstone Angels, Mesa Nightfall

Dana Wright, Sr. Staff Writer

September 23, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews