Search - George Winston :: Complete Solo Piano Recordings 1972-2004

In the early 1980s, early adopters of contemporary instrumental music (later tagged "new age") could drop a needle anywhere on the LPs Autumn or December and within minutes nearly silence a room. Who, it was inevitably asked, is that? That would be George Winston, an unassuming Montana native whose pastoral, unpretentious, deeply evocative solo piano works helped launch a genre and elevate him as one of the category's most recognized artists. This 10-CD box set includes both of those seminal recordings as well as his eight other principal releases for the lamentably defunct Windham Hill label. The five earliest discs--Autumn, Winter into Spring, December, Summer, and Ballads and Blues 1972--are all offered in their "special edition" versions, which is a plus. Each includes at least one bonus track not found on the original release, and the sound quality usually receives a detectable upgrade. Like the artist it celebrates, the packaging is quite modest--a simple, beige, flip-top box with a 12-page, text-only booklet of commentary that focuses mostly on Winston's musical influences (instrumental music, New Orleans R&B, stride piano). Along with Forest and Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, three discs not included in Winston's previous box set (1972-1996) are also found here: Plains, Night Divides the Day: The Music of the Doors, and Montana: A Love Story. (None of his benefit projects or soundtracks are included.) Winston's far-flung tastes make some of his latter recordings uneven, not-always-blissful affairs, but if a complete career overview (through 2006, at least) is your priority, then this is your package. --Terry Wood