The Whole Music Experience

Aine Minogue Celtic Pilgrimage Sounds True Mesmerizing soprano vocals and shimmering notes of a Celtic harp float off of Aine Minogue's lastest recording, Celtic Pilgrimage. The contemporary Celtic harp and vocals find themselves embedded in a lush sound scape of cello, bansuri flute, drum & percussion, guitar, keyboards, bass, piano, overtone singing and chanting. And the main focus is the process of a spiritual pilgrimage starting with the call to the quest, the home sickness one feels on route, blistered feet, and the redemption at the end of the journey. All of this captured in compelling music. I have taken inner pilgrimages, but never one in the physical world. Yet, thousands of people each year embark on one spiritual pilgrimage or another in various parts of the world. Most of the major religions, if not all of them, have some sort of pilgrimage. These can be found in Europe, Asia, the Americas and beyond with each pilgrimage testing the body, mind, and soul.

International Guitar Night Lincoln Theatre Mount Vernon, Washington February 3, 2008 I thought of including a short review for the International Guitar Night concert, led by San Francisco based guitarist Brian Gore with flamenco guitarist Miguel de la Bastide, Malagasy guitarist D'Gary and English folk-blues guitarist Clive Carroll. The 4 extremely talented guitarists found the perfect venue to share their diverse guitar styles in the historic Lincoln Theatre's intimate setting. Brian had mentioned that he enjoyed returning to the theatre and felt that the audience was like a family. Indeed, it did feel cozy throughout the length of the concert. And the musicians comradery and playful humor contributed to the light atmosphere. Each guitarist performed solo work before teaming up in duets, trios and an amazing quartet. I almost fell out of my chair a few times due to the dazzling digital dexterity of these guitarists, who made playing guitar look like a cake walk--wh