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Album Details

• Artist: Yochanan Sebastian Winston
• Album: The Kabbalah Suite
• Label:
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2012-11-30

Those who remember the early days of CDs will likely remember that the crispness and clarity of the digital recording medium seemed to go hand in hand with the rise of “new age” music. Perhaps no label better represented the concept of New Age music than Windham Hill. Indeed, the label seemed to grow as the musical genre, turning it into its own sort of cottage industry. It’s really difficult to hear this set and not be reminded of that label and that time. Certainly this would have been featured prominently in the catalog of Windham Hill if this were 1984. For those who missed the whole New Age movement, the musical style was designed to be restful (and some would say “healing”). In terms of actual musical references, classical, jazz and world music were generally the source code of most New Age. Those are clearly the most common influences on this set.

Like most New Age music, this isn’t really designed to be something one would sit down and really give intense scrutiny. It’s more appropriate for atmosphere during quite times. It can be restful and soothing. Of course, if one does explore at a deeper level, there are quite a few interesting things going on within the arrangements here. While on the surface everything may seem similar, delving into the details can reveal considerably different arrangements, progressions and sonic tapestries. If one pays attention, there is no way any song here could be mistaken for any other song on the set.

The Kabbalah Suite is restful. It’s pretty. There is a sort of world music meets mellow jazz universal texture to it. It’s the kind of thing that will feel somehow familiar to most listeners. While it works well in the background, it also does have plenty of variation for further scrutiny and study. Winston is a well-educated musician who is also a music educator. That kind of knowledge and understanding is clear when listening to this set. It is probably not right for everyone, but on the other hand it’s unlikely there is a listener out there who would be “turned off” by this release. There is a certain universal charm to it.

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