Elements Series: Air
Pianist Peter Kater has orchestrated a gentle, introspective series of ambient chamber works that stays just the right side of sentimentality and, at times, attains the sublime. Each disc is dedicated to one of the elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Of the four,Airis the most contemplative and ambient, with a quartet of extended compositions, each riding atop synthesizer ambiences and pads. The CD has a hymn-like feel, a style that Kater frequently plays in church concerts. The synthesizers double as atmospherics and spacey church organ, but Richard Hardy's serene bamboo flute on tracks like "Wings of Sound" gives them a more plaintive sound, like wind blown across a desert floor. Kater eschews dynamics and overt melodies, and some of the tracks recallBrian Eno'sMusic for Airports--especially "Flying Dream," with Kater's layered, wordless choral vocals. He plays the textural alchemist onAir, an album that quietly exults in sonic interactions.--John Diliberto