Recording history
Chappell's first album, Tender Ritual, was a collection of piano solos released in 1985 on his own Unspeakable Freedom label. In 1986, Chappell was signed with the newly formed Music West Records. [2] That same year, Chappell released Dusk, another collection of piano solos. It would be the first of Chappell's albums to appear on a Billboard chart, peaking at No. 19 on its Top New Age Albums chart.
Music West Records was an independent record company founded by Allan Kaplan on December 1985 in San Rafael, California. The company was initially formed to promote Ray Lynch, their first artist. During its run, artists released under the record company included Jim Chappell, Kenneth Nash, Chris Spheeris, and Øystein Sevåg. According to Gary Chappell, the manufacturer for Music West, the artists originated independently, claiming that the company's idea "has a statement that comes directly from the artist with no interference."
With his third album, Chappell's records started to include small-ensemble accompaniment and (on 1990s Saturday's Rhapsody) full orchestration. His three albums in this style—1989's Living in the Northern Summer, Saturday's Rhapsody, and 1991's Nightsongs and Lullabies—all appeared on the Billboard Top New Age Albums chart.
In 1992, Chappell switched to the Real Music label, where his music became more jazz-oriented. There were four such albums—In Search of the Magic (1992), Over the Top (1993), Manila Nights (1994) and The Earthsea Series, Volume 1 (1994). On the latter three, Chappell was backed by HearSay, a jazz quartet. [3] The first of them, 1993's Over the Top, appeared on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. This album was also successful in the Philippines, enough such that Chappell booked a three-date concert hall tour of the islands in the summer of 1993 and sold out all of the shows. [4]
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east, and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.
Chappell's final album with Real Music was 1994's Laughter at Dawn. It saw Chappell returning to his original style of solo piano and was the last of his albums to appear on a Billboard chart.
Chappell moved to Gallery Records in 1996 and recorded one album there. He released nothing further until 2002, when he began releasing albums on his own Unspeakable Freedom label. None of them have appeared on any Billboard charts. [5]
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