Dancing Cat Records | |
---|---|
Founded | 1983 |
Founder | George Winston |
Distributor(s) | RCA Records |
Genre | Hawaiian music |
Country of origin | United States |
Official website | www |
Dancing Cat Records is a record label founded in 1983 by pianist George Winston to publish both his music and music in the Hawaiian slack-key guitar style. Its mission later expanded to cover other Hawaiian musicians. Dancing Cat's albums were originally distributed by Windham Hill Records. Since Windham Hill's buyout by Sony Music Entertainment in 2008, the label receives distribution from RCA Victor, but is not owned by Windham Hill or Sony Music.
Slack-key guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiians did not embrace the tuning of the traditional Spanish guitars they encountered. They re-tuned the guitars to sound a chord and developed their own style of playing, not using a flat pick, but plucking the strings. Most slack-key tunings can be achieved by starting with a guitar in standard tuning and detuning or "slacking" one or more of the strings until the six strings form a single chord, frequently G major.
New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than trance, or to create a peaceful atmosphere in homes or other environments. It is sometimes associated with environmentalism and New Age spirituality., however, most of its artists have nothing to do with "New age spirituality", and some even reject the term.
Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former bandmates, Tangerine Dream. The label specialized in New age music but made a sharp turn to the mainstream by signing Taj Mahal, Ringo Starr, Etta James, and A. J. Croce. Its albums were distributed by BMG, which bought Private Music in 1996.
George Winston is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana, as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known for his solo piano recordings. Each of several of his albums from the early 1980s have sold millions of copies. He plays in three styles: the melodic approach he developed that he calls "rural folk piano"; stride piano, primarily inspired by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Teddy Wilson; and his primary interest, New Orleans R&B piano, influenced by James Booker, Professor Longhair, and Henry Butler.
William Ackerman is an American guitarist and record producer who founded Windham Hill Records.
BMG Heritage Records was the record label of the BMG Strategic Marketing Group reissue division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment which handled the reissue of recordings first issued on the RCA Victor, Arista, Buddah, Windham Hill and Jive Records, as well as other labels BMG or predecessor companies acquired over the years. It was founded on November 2001 and formally established on January 1, 2002 as the successor company to the Buddha Records reissue label. In 2005, Sony BMG folded BMG Heritage into Legacy Recordings.
Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 2004, under the Sony BMG joint venture, the label began to manage the archives of RCA Records, J Records, Windham Hill Records, Arista, LaFace, Jive, and Buddah Records. Legacy Recordings also distributes Philadelphia International Records and the catalog of recordings produced by Phil Spector. It is not related to the defunct British independent label Legacy Records.
Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi was a Hawaiian slack key guitarist, recording artist, music composer, and Christian minister. He was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
Leonard Keala Kwan Sr (1931-2000) was one of the most influential Hawaiian slack-key guitarists to emerge in the period immediately preceding the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance of the 1970s. He made the first LP of slack key instrumentals, co-wrote the second slack key instruction book, and composed a number of pieces that have become part of the standard repertory. Most players will include Kwan, along with Gabby Pahinui, Sonny Chillingworth, and Atta Isaacs, on a list of the most significant players of the older generation.
Pure John Gorka is a "best of" collection of John Gorka's work selected from the five albums Gorka released on the Windham Hill/High Street label between 1990 and 1996. This collection was released on June 27, 2006, by Windham Hill as part of a series of "Pure" albums by former Windham Hill artists; other titles cover the careers of diverse musicians such as Jim Brickman, Mark Isham, Shadowfax, Tuck & Patti, and Will Ackerman.
Piano Solos is the debut album of American pianist George Winston. It features his first compositions and covers. American guitarist John Fahey co-produced the album with Doug Decker, who engineered it.
December is the fourth solo piano album from George Winston. It was recorded during the fall of 1982 and was released at the end of the year. It is a Christmas album, and more generally a tribute to the winter season. The album is a follow up to Winter into Spring from earlier in 1982.
John Marshall is an American percussionist. He has worked with many musicians including David Darling, George Benson, Benjamin Verdery, and the Paul Winter Consort.
Gulf Coast Blues and Impressions: A Hurricane Relief Benefit is the 15th album of pianist George Winston, and eleventh solo piano album, released in 2006. It is his last record with Windham Hill before the label's closure in 2007. It is his second benefit, recorded to raise funds to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Steven Miller is an American record producer and executive. He is best known for his association with Windham Hill Records, where his ambient sound helped create notable instrumental recordings such as Michael Hedges’ Aerial Boundaries, Mark Isham’s Vapor Drawings and George Winston’s December.
This is a list of record labels owned by Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Valley Entertainment is an American independent record label and music distributor based in New York City, United States. The company was founded in 1994 by Barney Cohen and Jon Birge. In 2001, it acquired the prestigious back catalogue of space, ambient, and new-age music from Hearts of Space Records. As of 2017, it has a catalogue of about 375 releases.
Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
Peanuts Portraits is the fifth compilation album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released by Fantasy/Concord Records on April 20, 2010. The album contains a mix of previously released material plus alternate and extended versions of songs featured in prime-time animated television specials based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz.