Kold9.com - Music for your soul

Mrvica was born in Šibenik, a town on the Adriatic coast in Croatia. He started taking up piano lessons at the age of nine from Marija Sekso and gave his first public performance in the same year. Just three years later he gave his first concert performance of Haydn’s Piano Concerto in C major. When war broke out in 1990, both Mrvica and his professor were determined that this would not disrupt his music studies. In spite of the war and surrounding turbulence, Mrvica entered in, and won, his first major competition in Zagreb in 1993.

Mrvica went on to study at the Music Academy in Zagreb where he spent five years under Professor Vladimir Krpan, who himself was a pupil of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. He then spent a year at the Franz Liszt Conservatoire in Budapest and during this year he won first prize at the Nicolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition. In 2000, he moved to Paris to study with Igor Lazko and gained first prize in the Pontoise Piano Competition in 2001.

When he returned to Croatia he found himself to be the focus of intense media interest and he made frequent television appearances as well as giving a great number of interviews. He soon found himself recording his first CD, Gestures, an album of contemporary Croatian piano pieces. Gestures became one of the fastest-selling classical recordings to be released in Croatia, and Mrvica was even invited to officiate the Porin award ceremony, an honour not usually granted to a classical artist.

International appeal

Soon after this launch Mrvica was spotted by the musician, author and manager Tonči Huljić, who composed several tracks for the crossover string quartet, Bond, and it was Tonči who put Mrvica in touch with British impresario Mel Bush. Mel had, by chance, been looking for a new pianist for some time and he recognised Maksim's potential to appeal to a wide range of audiences. EMI Classics was also interested in Mrvica and soon a new album was underway. This album was The Piano Player, which gave a new spin to compositions by Handel and Chopin. Since its release in 2003 it has been very successful, particularly in Asia, where it has achieved Gold status in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, Platinum in Taiwan and Croatia and Double Platinum in Hong Kong. It was also in the number 1 slot in the HMV international pop chart in Hong Kong for twelve consecutive weeks.

Mrvica has performed in a couple of international beauty pageants and MTV awards. His image and charisma also attracted the interest of global brands such as American Express, who sponsored him in Singapore, and automobile giants Chevrolet and BMW, for whom he performed at their respective Colombian and Malaysian car launches.

The world premiere performance of Maksim at the Roundhouse in London. The tracklist includes: 'The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee', 'Chopin: Nocturne In D Flat Major', 'Chopin: Etude In C Minor and 'Handel: Sarabande'.

Mrvica was born in Šibenik, a town on the Adriatic coast in Croatia. He started taking up piano lessons at the age of nine from Marija Sekso and gave his first public performance in the same year. Just three years later he gave his first concert performance of Haydn’s Piano Concerto in C major. When war broke out in 1990, both Mrvica and his professor were determined that this would not disrupt his music studies. In spite of the war and surrounding turbulence, Mrvica entered in, and won, his first major competition in Zagreb in 1993.

Mrvica went on to study at the Music Academy in Zagreb where he spent five years under Professor Vladimir Krpan, who himself was a pupil of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. He then spent a year at the Franz Liszt Conservatoire in Budapest and during this year he won first prize at the Nicolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition. In 2000, he moved to Paris to study with Igor Lazko and gained first prize in the Pontoise Piano Competition in 2001.

When he returned to Croatia he found himself to be the focus of intense media interest and he made frequent television appearances as well as giving a great number of interviews. He soon found himself recording his first CD, Gestures, an album of contemporary Croatian piano pieces. Gestures became one of the fastest-selling classical recordings to be released in Croatia, and Mrvica was even invited to officiate the Porin award ceremony, an honour not usually granted to a classical artist.

International appeal

Soon after this launch Mrvica was spotted by the musician, author and manager Tonči Huljić, who composed several tracks for the crossover string quartet, Bond, and it was Tonči who put Mrvica in touch with British impresario Mel Bush. Mel had, by chance, been looking for a new pianist for some time and he recognised Maksim's potential to appeal to a wide range of audiences. EMI Classics was also interested in Mrvica and soon a new album was underway. This album was The Piano Player, which gave a new spin to compositions by Handel and Chopin. Since its release in 2003 it has been very successful, particularly in Asia, where it has achieved Gold status in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, Platinum in Taiwan and Croatia and Double Platinum in Hong Kong. It was also in the number 1 slot in the HMV international pop chart in Hong Kong for twelve consecutive weeks.

Mrvica has performed in a couple of international beauty pageants and MTV awards. His image and charisma also attracted the interest of global brands such as American Express, who sponsored him in Singapore, and automobile giants Chevrolet and BMW, for whom he performed at their respective Colombian and Malaysian car launches.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Should one judge an album by its cover? Not artistic design, but by what seems to be promised by the art and copy? Zen Breakfast, the title, the distinctly Asian painting, and the classic Zen overflowing-teacup story all point to music offering empty-mind austerity, the stuff of wind cutting through bamboo on a moonless night. Karunesh tosses a bamboo bone in that direction with occasional Asian melodies using sampled shakuhachi flute and accents of gongs and chimes. On the whole his music is reflective, but, simplistic though it may seem, zen experiences necessitate a stillness, a grating between the impermanance of sound and the everything/nothing of the void. Zen Breakfast is not that, but the album does offer a serene, meditative -at times even blissful -- musical experience. Karunesh does not stray far from beautiful, lush pads of resonant synth strings and Western-friendly scales, melodic lines, chord fills, and harmonies. The music pulses with a relaxed reflective breathing cadence tinged with a mystical melancholy. A few surprises -- the spooky whish of a bullroarer and the silken blusy guitar played by <&Govi> -- waken the senses, but you won't feel like punishing your knees with a severe round of zazen meditation. <^Zen Breakfast> offers music to get lost in dreamy reveries, not to "just observe" the mind.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Karunesh took an active interest in music during his youth in Germany, back when he was still known as Bruno Reuter. But it wasn't until he was 23 and took a mean spill off his motorbike that Reuter received his epiphany in the form of new age spiritualism. A pilgrimage to India followed, where he reemerged as Karunesh (Sanskrit for "compassion"). He issued his debut LP, Sounds of the Heart, in 1984, and never looked back. Karunesh was remarkably consistent over the next 20 years, releasing numerous albums influenced by the windy landscape of world music and punctuated with breathy flutes, introspective guitars, and hints of vocal and electronics. He worked with the Nightingale, Oreade, Etherean, and Real Music imprints, among others; album highlights include Heart Chakra Meditation (1992), Secrets of Life (first issued in 1996), and 2001's Zen Breakfast, which leaned toward the new age subgenre of music for massage/relaxation.

Though best-known as a contemporary jazz performer, trumpeter Chris Botti made his initial splash on the pop music scene. A native of Oregon, he started playing at the age of ten, and while still in high school began performing professionally. After studying in the prestigious Indiana University music program under the noted jazz educator David Baker, Botti relocated to New York, where he served with saxophonist George Coleman and trumpet great Woody Shaw; under the guidance of producers including Hugh Padgham and Arif Mardin, he swiftly emerged as a highly regarded pop session player, lending his trumpet to recordings from figures including Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Thomas Dolby. In 1990, Botti was asked to join Paul Simon's band, where he remained for the next five years. Finally, in 1995, he recorded his solo debut, First Wish, a record combining the sounds of contemporary pop-jazz with the textures of art rock. After scoring the 1996 film Caught, Botti resurfaced in 1997 with his second LP, Midnight Without You, which was followed by Slowing Down the World in 1999. Two years later, he was a featured soloist on Sting's Brand New Day world tour, and that time allowed Botti to rediscover old musical passions and create new ones. Night Sessions (2001), which was recorded in Los Angeles, captured such jazzy pop. That muse was explored further in 2003 with A Thousand Kisses Deep, and to a lesser extent on the more tradtional orchestral jazz of 2004's When I Fall in Love. That record was his first Top 40 entry, and it was followed by the number 18 hit To Love Again: The Duets in 2005. Another Top 40 placement, Italia, followed in 2007.

The story about there being more suicides around the holidays turns out to be a myth, but like all urban legends, it caught on among the populace (or at least among lazy journalists) because it sounds like it should be true; as trumpeter Chris Botti writes in a sleeve note to his seasonal collection, December, "At no other time of the year is there a wider array of emotions than the month of December." This is a clue that Botti, in acceding to his record company's request that he undertake a Christmas album, was not interested in simply celebrating the season in his interpretations of holiday standards. There have been other such contemplative Christmas records: George Winston's album, also called December, is calm rather than celebratory, and Barbra Streisand's Christmas Memories, released in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, is another collection that takes in the season's complexities. Add Botti's album to that list. The approach, of course, fits in with the trumpeter's overall musical style. Often heard through a mute, his playing usually has an intimate, low-key character, and that is true here, too. Critics have compared him to Miles Davis, and to that one easily may add Chet Baker, especially because like Baker, Botti has chosen to sing here, applying an adequate tenor to Richard Marx's "Perfect Day" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (the latter one of the more troubled of lyrics to become a Christmas standard). It isn't all doom and gloom, of course; there's a playful reading of "Winter Wonderland," for instance. But this is still an album to be put on in the shank of the evening when the Christmas festivities have subsided, not at the height of the celebrations.

Though best-known as a contemporary jazz performer, trumpeter Chris Botti made his initial splash on the pop music scene. A native of Oregon, he started playing at the age of ten, and while still in high school began performing professionally. After studying in the prestigious Indiana University music program under the noted jazz educator David Baker, Botti relocated to New York, where he served with saxophonist George Coleman and trumpet great Woody Shaw; under the guidance of producers including Hugh Padgham and Arif Mardin, he swiftly emerged as a highly regarded pop session player, lending his trumpet to recordings from figures including Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Thomas Dolby. In 1990, Botti was asked to join Paul Simon's band, where he remained for the next five years. Finally, in 1995, he recorded his solo debut, First Wish, a record combining the sounds of contemporary pop-jazz with the textures of art rock. After scoring the 1996 film Caught, Botti resurfaced in 1997 with his second LP, Midnight Without You, which was followed by Slowing Down the World in 1999. Two years later, he was a featured soloist on Sting's Brand New Day world tour, and that time allowed Botti to rediscover old musical passions and create new ones. Night Sessions (2001), which was recorded in Los Angeles, captured such jazzy pop. That muse was explored further in 2003 with A Thousand Kisses Deep, and to a lesser extent on the more tradtional orchestral jazz of 2004's When I Fall in Love. That record was his first Top 40 entry, and it was followed by the number 18 hit To Love Again: The Duets in 2005. Another Top 40 placement, Italia, followed in 2007.

Though best-known as a contemporary jazz performer, trumpeter Chris Botti made his initial splash on the pop music scene. A native of Oregon, he started playing at the age of ten, and while still in high school began performing professionally. After studying in the prestigious Indiana University music program under the noted jazz educator David Baker, Botti relocated to New York, where he served with saxophonist George Coleman and trumpet great Woody Shaw; under the guidance of producers including Hugh Padgham and Arif Mardin, he swiftly emerged as a highly regarded pop session player, lending his trumpet to recordings from figures including Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Thomas Dolby. In 1990, Botti was asked to join Paul Simon's band, where he remained for the next five years. Finally, in 1995, he recorded his solo debut, First Wish, a record combining the sounds of contemporary pop-jazz with the textures of art rock. After scoring the 1996 film Caught, Botti resurfaced in 1997 with his second LP, Midnight Without You, which was followed by Slowing Down the World in 1999. Two years later, he was a featured soloist on Sting's Brand New Day world tour, and that time allowed Botti to rediscover old musical passions and create new ones. Night Sessions (2001), which was recorded in Los Angeles, captured such jazzy pop. That muse was explored further in 2003 with A Thousand Kisses Deep, and to a lesser extent on the more tradtional orchestral jazz of 2004's When I Fall in Love. That record was his first Top 40 entry, and it was followed by the number 18 hit To Love Again: The Duets in 2005. Another Top 40 placement, Italia, followed in 2007.

There may be hope for jazz fusion after all. If there were no other evidence, trumpeter Chris Botti's terrific album would be enough to give hope to even the most jaded bebop snob. This is that rarest of things: a completely unchallenging record that is also richly rewarding. Botti's approach is lyrical but spare; the production is dark, warm, and rich. A sense of deep and quiet romanticism pervades everything, and while Botti never really lets loose and wails, he manages to make his chops obvious on tunes like "Cubism" and the funky "On the Night Ride." Most of the songs are powered by a gentle funk groove, and one even features a vocal cameo by Gen-X poster girl Edie Brickell. Jazz snobs will get sucked into this delicious music despite themselves; fans of Kenny G and Najee will think it's "real" jazz and consider themselves sophisticated for liking it so much. The bottom line is that there's no reason to do anything but abandon yourself to this album.

Self-described "rural folk piano" player George Winston was among the earliest and most successful proponents of the genre of contemporary instrumental music later dubbed new age. Although born in Michigan in 1949, he was raised primarily in Montana, the extreme seasonal changes he experienced there later greatly influencing the pastoral feel of his music. Even as a child, Winston preferred instrumental music over vocal performances, counting among his early heroes Booker T. & the MG's, Floyd Cramer, and the Ventures; he did not take up music until after high school, however, beginning with organ and electric piano but moving to acoustic piano by 1971. Influenced by the stride piano of Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson, Winston turned from rock and R&B to jazz, and soon released his first solo piano effort, Ballads and Blues 1972, after which he mysteriously retired from music for the next several years.

Discovering the music of the legendary New Orleans R&B pianist Professor Longhair in 1979 was the epiphany Winston was seeking to inspire a return to performing; signing to the Windham Hill label, between 1980 and 1982 he recorded a trilogy of albums -- Autumn, December, and Winter Into Spring -- of impressionistic, seasonal-themed piano musings which laid much of the groundwork for the new age boom to follow. Winston's music continued to grow in popularity and influence in the years to follow, but in typically enigmatic fashion, he virtually dropped from sight for the remainder of the 1980s, resurfacing only in 1986 to score a reading of The Velveteen Rabbit by actress Meryl Streep.

Finally, in 1991, Winston returned to action, completing his seasonal cycle with Summer; Forest followed three years later. In 1996, he paid tribute to another of his greatest influences with Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi. A compilation album, All the Seasons of George Winston, was released in the spring of 1998, followed a year later by Plains. The new millennium brought anniversary editions of several of his landmark albums, including Autumn, December, and Winter Into Spring, as well as the 2001 album Remembrance: A Memorial Benefit, which was Winston's response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. His 2002 release, Night Div