Archive for the ‘ music for relaxation ’ Category

Performance for Arts At St Johns- Nov 25, 2012 2 -4 PM

Oct 17, 2012 acoustic music, ambient music, electric violin, global fusion music, healing music, music for relaxation, new music, News, relaxing music, She Vanishes, violin guitar music, violin music, world fusion

Vicki Richards, Mitch Kopp & Jeff Deen- 4th CHAKRA

 

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Classical Music…Temporal Ethnic Sound

Sep 6, 2012 acoustic music, Music business, music for relaxation, relaxing music

Coining the term Temporal Ethnic Sound (TM) as I wrote a response to the list of orchestras that will not be opening this season.
Classical music shaped so much of what we hear today. Those  I, IV, V I progressions, including  the Blues, Jazz which are American Music.

(Yes there are roots from Africa , British Isles  as well) We are Global, we are transient and have to maintain our  rich and diverse Ethnic Music. I’m starting to think of Classical Music as a type of Temporal Ethnic Sound. (TM-VR)

 

I see (hear) Classical as “The Oldies” and see the  need to maintain this genre as it’s scope is vast. If we took down the paintings and works of art from the same Classical , Baroque, Impressionist etc eras..we’d have so much less to offer our people. Lack of exposure to this variety would be a shame.

 

That the brain scan images (SPECT) prove that classical music makes us function better may be a fact not known to many. Daniel Levine has written books such as “The World in 6 Songs”, Oliver Sacks has a few important volumes as well. There is proof that we thrive with exposure to these instruments and music.  If you want to help your child with homework play a little Mozart in the background. It may help organize the brain so as to make the processing go more smoothly. The music by Bach is so well organized.

If we only offer compressed MP3s, lo fi headphones and no live music, all will be electronic. What we miss in terms of timbre or colors, will go undetected and it’s like taking a chunk of colors out of the rainbow.

 

Baskin Robins with just one boring flavor? America with only what we are hearing on the radio these days? The formulaic rehashing of brashness? It’s like having a stick of jerky for a meal instead of a  plentiful Thanksgiving repast..

Fortunately some European countries continue to support Classical Music. It’ going to be a heft ticket price to have to go there to witness the grand scale in person. And there is just no other way to fully experience this music-

Live and in Person.

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History in Music

Jul 23, 2012 acoustic music, electric violin, global fusion music, healing music, Music business, music for relaxation, new music, News, violin guitar music, violin music, world fusion

.. .. .. .. At the age of nine, she began playing in her public school’s instrumental program. Her musical father noticed her passion for music and encouraged her to continue. By the time she turned fourteen, Vicki Richards decided that being a professional musician was her life’s calling. A unique talent, Vicki has developed a distinctive new style of playing the violin, taking bowing and articulation from her “western” classical training, smooth vocal style glissandos from her North Indian classical music immersion and combining these with the driving hand drum rhythms of contemporary and ancient world music.

 

At the age of nineteen, Vicki was well on her way to establishing her professional status as a classical violinist. She had toured Europe, taken master classes with Joseph Gingold at Indiana University and become the youngest member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. Curious and restless, she listened intently to jazz contemporaries including Jan Hammer, John McLaughlin, Airto, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock.

Her love for the avant guarde scene continued to blossom and in 1976 she commissioned a custom-built, solid body electric violin with quadraphonic pick-ups and plugged it into a wah-wah pedal and a Fender amp. Uncomfortable with jazz’s approach to harmonic improvisation, she became intrigued with the rhythmical and classical improvisational methods of the Banaras tabla tradition.

 

Vicki was awarded a Professional Development Grant from the America Institute of Indian Studies (Univ of Chicago) in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution which enabled her to spend many months in Banaras, India where she experienced total immersion in the culture and classical traditions of the Hindustani violin under the guidance of violin master Smt. Dr. N. Rajam and sitar virtuoso Sri Amar Nath Misra.

 

Upon her return from the East, she re-settled in New York City for a short time, sharing the stage with improvisers such as Paul McCandless of Oregon and Dave Samuels of Spyro Gyra and working as a full time member of the American Jewish Congress’ New Music Ensemble. She also appeared as a soloist playing Indian classical violin at Carnegie Recital Hall, catching the attention of a world-renowned New York Times critic and establishing herself as one of the few Westerners recognized as legitimate exponents of pure Indian classical tradition.

 

In 1981, her intense interest in rhythm led to a close collaboration with Robert Thomas Jr. of Weather Report  the Zawinul Syndicate) fame. She also began melodic and harmonic collaboration with Amitava Chatterjee, an electric guitarist and sitarist with a shared vision of improvisation using both Eastern and Western elements. Bobby’s compelling hand drumming and Amit’s melodic and harmonic concepts form the perfect grid over which Vicki works her technical and melodic wizardry. Vicki’s association with Bobby and Amit continues to this day.

 

In South Florida collaborations have included Frank Carmelitano, Statoshi Takeishi, Jean Balduc & many more players.

Currently her music colleagues also include Jeff Deen (tabla & percussion), Mitch Kopp (guitars), Layne Redmond, Jorge Alfano (multiinstrumentalist) & Sean Dibble (djembe, electric and acoustic drums)

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Playing and speaking on Radio WVUM Sat 6/23/12 3-4PM

Jun 21, 2012 acoustic music, ambient music, global fusion music, healing music, healing visualization, music for relaxation, new music, News, relaxing music, She Vanishes, violin music, world fusion

Join in, online or on radio, with Jeff Deen and me this Saturday afternoon. We’ll be playing live, playing some tracks from She Vanishes and chatting with the host during this hour of World Music.
90.5 FM

Click or copy this link- http://wvum.org/index.php/blog/article/saturday_23rd_june_on_caravan_3-5_pm_ragas_and_rhythms_by_vicky_richar/

 

 

 

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Vote for She Vanishes…enter to win music/CD of the Month on Echoes

Dec 7, 2011 acoustic music, ambient music, electric violin, global fusion music, music for relaxation, new music, relaxing music, She Vanishes, violin guitar music, violin music, world fusion

My Recording, She Vanishes, is # 24 on this list. If you feel so moved, please go to this link and vote for She Vanishes. You’ll find some other great music on that list to consider but try not to get too distracted.: )  By voting you enter a contest to win …more music!
Feeling Grateful for being on this list. Thanks to the Staff at ECHOES!

Link here…http://echoesblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/25-essential-echoes-cds-for-2011/

WELCOME TO THE BEST OF ECHOES 2011 POLL.
WIN a One Year Membership to the Echoes CD of the Month Club
A One Year Subscription to Echoes On-Line
or a copy of
Echo Location – The Echoes Living Room Concerts V.17

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Raga on Radio for Earthdance 9/18/2011

Sep 22, 2011 ambient music, healing music, music for relaxation

http://www.youtube.com/user/folkna1234#p/u/0/ePuFAracgLM

Raga demo on WLRN Sept 18, 2011 Vick & jeff

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She Vanishes CD featured & launched on Echoes April 4th, 10 PM

Apr 15, 2011 acoustic music, ambient music, global fusion music, healing music, Music business, music for relaxation, musicians getting the music out, She Vanishes, violin guitar music, violin music

April 4th, Monday…She Vanishes will be featured CD of the Month on Echoes radio with host John Diliberto 10PM

The interview will broadcast sometime this month. Check back for updates.

1.Here is where to find local stations:    http://www.echoes.org/stattime.html

2.You can also listen to those stations streams when they air the show

3.Listeners can hear it on-line anytime but they have to be subscribers:  http://echoes.org/online-oneweektrial.html

 

 

On the Day of She Vanishes Review by John Diliberto (((Echoes))) radio

Apr 15, 2011 acoustic music, ambient music, electric violin, global fusion music, healing music, Music business, music for relaxation

Getting all this support feels wonderful! You know that the life of a musician is limitless in some ways and very limited in others.

When we receive Recognition, we’ve been heard.

When we receive Respect, we have been Heard!

When we connect to others via these vibrations, called notes and tones, we have shared Love.

And that’s what’s most important.  Especially in these tumultuous times.

“Echoes” Interview with John Diliberto April 4th

Mar 29, 2011 acoustic music, electric violin, global fusion music, healing music, music for relaxation, new music, relaxing music, She Vanishes, violin guitar music, violin music, world fusion

Exciting News:  April 4th. It’s the kick off  to launch  my latest recording She Vanishes.  Jeff Deen &* Mitch Kopp complete the trio . This is great exposure to many followers of this long running show.  Hope you’ll tune in!

The time varies from station to station.   Here is where to find local stations: http://www.echoes.org/stattime.html

You can also listen to those stations streams when they air the show.

Also, listeners can hear it on-line anytime but you  have to be subscribers:  http://echoes.org/online-oneweektrial.html

 

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She Vanishes Review

Feb 13, 2011 chemo, electric violin, music for relaxation, new music, relaxing music, She Vanishes, violin guitar music, violin music, world fusion

Review: “She Vanishes” by Vicki Richards

released Jan 31, 2011 by Temple Street Music, Inc.

Vicki Richards very generously credits her co-musicians, Mitch Kopp and Jeff Dean, as co-composers of the music on “She Vanishes;” but make no mistake, this is almost entirely her effort. She is best known in the music world as an Indian violinist who has fused her Indian skills with her knowledge of Western music to produce a unique fusion. Misters Kopp and Dean are fine composers in their own right; but anyone who Know Ms Richards’ work will recognize this offering as primarily hers.

Her four earlier CDs were unfortunately buried in the pigeonhole of “new age music,” as this one is probably doomed to be as well. It isn’t that there aren’t some other fine composers who are also mistakenly put in this category, since they too don’t easily fit into any other. It’s just that there are so many other CDs which are labeled “new age” that are nothing more than someone who knows virtually nothing at all about music, who noodles about on his electric organ playing with the special effects buttons, and then gives his meandering nonsense quasi-mystical titles that are supposed to aid the listener in their meditation practice, or provide appropriate background music for a massage. I can’t imagine such works of so-called “music” helping me do much of anything except maybe get rid of some unwanted food.

The point is, Ms Richards’ new release is a unique masterpiece. It does not easily fall into any category, but if I were to place it in one, it would be jazz. It is cool, relaxing jazz to be sure; but it is also sensual, sultry and subtly stimulating—even healing. The harmonic structures are often modal, like Indian music, and some of the melodies are also derived from Indian melodies; but most are not readily recognizable as Indian. They are truly original.

From the point of view of Western classical music, it is romantic, in that it is mostly programmatic, and attempts to describe either the beauty of nature (e.g. “Trail Head (Berkshires”)), or to describe an inner state, or even inner journey (e.g. “Driving Till Dawn”), much like a Chopin Ballade. From the point of view of Indian music, on the other hand, these are Ragas, in that they all intend to color the emotions, and succeed magnificently in doing so.

It is a shame that releases like this don’t receive adequate airplay in virtually any market anywhere. The fact that they don’t fit neatly into one of the recording industry’s prescribed pigeonholes, means that the radio stations that specialize in those pigeonholes rarely get to even hear such recordings, much less give them any air time. If there are any program directors out there reading this, perhaps at a university radio station, or jazz station, I would strongly encourage you to give this CD a listen. It fits in that most rare and wonderful of all pigeonholes: beautiful.

R.R.

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copyright 2011 Vicki Richards