From Meditative to Majestic: 8 New Works Explore David Darling’s Other Worlds

Other Worlds Shines a Light on David Darling’s Gift for Genre-Bending Mastery

Celebrated cellist has created a legacy David Darling of easy soaring, relaxing, dreaming, floating-upon-clouds musical delight. Although he has in recent years been claimed as a New Age artist, this album reminds us of his musical diversity, enhanced by mixes that cross over into Lounge, Jazz, and Classical, with his distinct pizzicato, vocalizations, solo and choir cello expressions. This album is a departure from his original New Age focus, expanding into new canvases of piano, electronic music and percussion, expanded with additional soloists, including virtuosos Jiebing Chen (Erhu, Zhonghu) and Lili Haydn (Violin).

The album opens with a slow and languorous dialog between piano and electronics, “Amelia” (6:07), with meditative long slow arcs that warm and relax the ears, telling this story with no words. Now imagine hands on drums creating a soaring palm pulse, “Voyager” (5:12) bringing a passionate story at a solid pace, a running soaring luminant easy feeling with complex hand drums at a bright and breezy pace.

The title track, “Other Worlds” (6:10), combines electronics with cello, is the treasure. A sly beat that perks up, a soaring cello giving the listener something special with the percussion and string bass, at times almost a rasta groove. The piano provides a subtle delight, coaxing a melody from another place, bringing the sound of wonderment slowing down happily with a coasting  rippling complex beat while the cello continues the flow.

YouTube player

 

On the sixth track, the piano is joined by strings for a sad and solemn melody, the sound is sometimes dark with candles, “The Benedictine” (4:50), features a male chorus that casts a somber mood, the cello often pizzicato and sometimes bowed, the feeling is uplifting as it goes along. Continuing in darkness but not carrying a heavy feeling, “The Walk Home” (1:56) features a solo cello that expresses the spirit of this fine music very directly.

David Darling (1941 – 2021) was a cello player who brought together a wide range of styles, including classical, jazz, Brazilian, African, and Indian music with a holistic and intercultural approach to healing with music. In 2010, he won the GRAMMY Award for Best New Age Album with Prayer for Compassion. He performed and recorded with Bobby McFerrin, Paul Winter Consort, Ralph Towner and Spyro Gyra and released 15 recordings for ECM. Other Worlds showcases Darling’s path from the New Age Instrumental, crossing over into Jazz, Lounge, Electronic and Percussion. 

Other Worlds brings together rare and amazing tracks that give us deeply spiritual and uplifting sources of inspiration and connections with the eternal life force remaining from the hand of David Darling, transcending his traditional sound and bringing alive some of his more cosmic, romantic lamentations to nourish our thirsty ears.

TRACKS

  1. Amelia (6:07)
  2. Voyager (5:12)
  3. Other Worlds (6:10)
  4. Rendezvous (5:34)
  5. The Pilgrimage (6:50)
  6. The Benedictine (4:50)
  7. Lament of the Fallen (3:32)
  8. The Walk Home (1:56)

GUEST PERFORMERS:

Jiebing Chen (Erhu, Zhonghu, Electric Erhu)

Lili Haydn (Violin)

Ty Burhoe (Tabla)

John Marshall (Percussion)

Janet Feder (Nylon String Guitar)

Carolyn Fazio (Bass)
 

RECORDING CREDITS:

Recorded, Mixed and Produced by Michael Verdick

Additional Production by Mickey Houlihan

Additional Production and Recording by Joe Shepard

Atmos Mixing was done at Electric Audio Inc (Jason McDaniel) and Saturn Sound

COVER ART:

Drawing of David Darling by Kaitlyn Tucek

Cover Design by Michael Verdick

Related Articles

Latest Articles