One of the spiritual minded, jazz meets mystical keyboardist's best early efforts, helping her bridge from pure Eastern tinged new age music into gently funky smooth jazz.
With styles ranging from R&B (the Eric Marienthal punched "Light in the Rain") and fusion, to Medieval Folk music ("In the Mist," "Three Silhouettes"), and her trademark new age ("The Wind and the Wolf"), there are certainly no borders on this collection.
Matsui's sense of melody keeps on growing, her improvisational soloing is spectacular (especially on "Kappa"), yet doesn't alienate her powerful core of backing musicians, including guitarist Robben Ford and violinist Subramanium.
Husband Kazu Matsui's production is once again impeccable, as is his playful and wistful shakuhachi flute playing.
Phil Ayling's recorder and oboe on the medieval tunes are also highlights.
Keiko's beautiful writing however, is what holds the marvelous collection together.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The First Four YearsKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | Light in the RainKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | The Wind and the WolfKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 4 | In the MistKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 5 | Three SilhouettesKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Kappa (Water Elf)Keiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 7 | SouvenirKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | BelieverKeiko Matsui | Keiko Matsui | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | The White Corridor Listen | Keiko Matsui | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 41 mins | 95 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 250 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Adamoff | Art Direction |
| 2 | Maxi Anderson | Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Bill Armstrong | Trumpet |
| 4 | Phil Ayling | Horn (English), Oboe, Recorder |
| 5 | Craig Burbidge | Mixing |
| 6 | Lenny Castro | Percussion |
| 7 | Rob Chiarelli | Engineer |
| 8 | Vinnie Colaiuta | Drums |
| 9 | Jeff Day | Composer |
| 10 | Michael Diehl | Design |
| 11 | Nathan East | Bass |
| 12 | Terence Finnigan | Hair Stylist, Make-Up |
| 13 | Michael Fisher | Percussion |
| 14 | Robben Ford | Guitar |
| 15 | Grant Geissman | Guitar |
| 16 | Alan Hirshberg | Engineer |
| 17 | Steven Holtman | Trombone |
| 18 | Paul Jackson, Jr. | Guitar |
| 19 | Clay Jenkins | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 20 | Jimmy Johnson | Bass |
| 21 | Suzie Katayama | Accordion, Cello |
| 22 | Pat Kelly | Guitar |
| 23 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 24 | Eric Marienthal | Flute, Saxophone |
| 25 | Kazu Matsui | Producer, Shakuhachi |
| 26 | Keiko Matsui | Composer, Keyboards, Primary Artist |
| 27 | Dave McNair | Mixing |
| 28 | Gary Meek | Saxophone |
| 29 | Joe Meyer | French Horn |
| 30 | Bill Meyers | Arranger, Synthesizer |
| 31 | Derek Nakamoto | Arranger, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Strings |
| 32 | Phil Perry | Vocals |
| 33 | Joel Peskin | Saxophone |
| 34 | Randee Saint Nicholas | Photography |
| 35 | Ricky Schultz | Executive Producer |
| 36 | Rob Seifert | Engineer |
| 37 | Leland Sklar | Bass |
| 38 | Gary Stockdale | Arranger, Synthesizer |
| 39 | Neil Stubenhaus | Bass |
| 40 | L. Subramaniam | Violin |
| 41 | Carlos Vega | Drums |
| 42 | Deborah Waknin | Stylist |
| 43 | Greg Walker | Vocals |
| 44 | Tom Walsh | Drums |
| 45 | "Ready" Freddie Washington | Bass |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |