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Track Listing WINDHAM HILL PRESENTS: MARK ISHAM: 1. Seeing Isaiah 2. Raffles in Rio 3. Lazy Afternoon 4. Thumbelina 5. On the Threshold of Liberty 6. Pittsburgh 1901 7. And Miles to Go Before He Sleeps 8. Azael 9. Spangled Heart-Belonging to All Time and Earth, A 10. Men Before the Mirror 11. Tale of Two Cities, A 12. Tibet Pat II 13. In the Blue Distance 14. All Blues - (Isak Rahm remix, Bonus Track)
Album Notes Personnel include: Mark Isham (saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, synthesizer, percussion, programming); Paul McCandless (various instruments); Peter Maunu (guitar); Lyle Mays (piano); Charlie Haden (upright bass); Peter Van Hooke (electronic percussion); David Torn (loops). Mark Isham's releases on Windham Hill are only part of his variegated discography (he is also a highly acclaimed composer for film and television), but even so they represent the sophisticated, ambitious aesthetic that characterizes all the composer/instrumentalist's work. The Windham Hill sampler PURE MARK ISHAM collects tracks from the artist's output for the label, focusing on compositions that soothe, relax, and induce meditative states of mind. Isham's penchant for blurring genre distinctions--mixing world music, jazz, ambient, and other styles--is evident on tracks such as "Raffles in Rio" and the shifting, evocative "On the Threshold of Liberty." The artist's trumpet adds subtle color to many of the tracks, but it is his skill as a composer of lush, complex soundscapes that really stands out here, making this 13-track collection a fine introduction to his work, and a sure bet for fans of inviting, ambitious new age.
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