Windows: Windham Hill 25 Years of Piano
This tribute disc to the 25-year piano legacy of Windham Hill  was assembled during a time of administrative reorganization for the  label, which may explain why a showcase for such an influential catalog  of music has been compressed into a single 54-minute disc. Such  relative brevity does not negatively impact its quality or appeal,  though label founder Will Ackerman, who sold the label in the 1990s,  penned the liner notes and apparently chose the tracks. Label legendsGeorge Winston,Jim Brickman,  andLiz Storyare each represented by two tracks, though nothing from Winston's  genre-definingAutumnrelease is  found here. However, Story's superbSolid Colors("Wedding  Rain") is represented, a nod to a grand 1982 release that ranks as the  label's finest moment. Among the less familiar names here (five tracks  are lifted from past new-artist samplers),Richard Dworsky("A  Morning with the Roses") and soulful 16-year-old Taylor Eigsti ("Past  Voices") merit special notice. Back in the early 1970s, every Windham  Hill recording merited special notice. Each new release was a  revelation to rock- and pop-rooted listeners, presenting a startling  mix of new-acoustic purity, intelligence, and emotional expansiveness.  Here's hoping the next 25 years generate some similar sparks.--Terry Wood