Tribute (Yanni album)
Encyclopedia
Tribute, recorded live at the Taj Mahal
, India, and the Forbidden City
, Beijing, China from March to May, 1997. (see 1997 in music
). This album peaked at #1 on "Billboard's "Top New Age Album" chart at #21 on the "Billboard 200
" chart in the same year.
and keyboardist
Yanni
describes the album as a tribute to the builders of the Taj
and the Forbidden City
, as well as to the people of India and China. Yanni
's ethereal keyboard work is backed by orchestra
, vocalist
s, a choir
, and various world instruments including didgeridoo
, duduk
, charango
, and bamboo saxophone.
Yanni hired Armen Anassian
as Conductor "on faith" --- as he had never watched him conduct an orchestra. "That's how Yanni does many things," Anassian said in a 1998 interview with the Toledo Blade. Anassian concedes that he had some doubts about the artist's plans to perform at India's Taj Mahal and China's Forbidden City, for Tribute. "To be honest, a few years ago when he was talking about it, the idea was so amazing. I myself was very skeptical, understandably so. But the truth is, it happened. We did it." Anassian said the Tribute video looks great but watching it on film cannot compare to actually being at the Taj Mahal and Forbidden City concerts. "It doesn't feel the same. It doesn't smell the same," he said with a laugh. "It's hard to put it in a nutshell. It was a life-changing experience."
RIAA certification
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and Platinum
database entries:
RIAA certification
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and Platinum
database entries:
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
, India, and the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
, Beijing, China from March to May, 1997. (see 1997 in music
1997 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
). This album peaked at #1 on "Billboard's "Top New Age Album" chart at #21 on the "Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
" chart in the same year.
History
Tribute pays musical homage to India on several songs; Greek-born composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Yanni
Yanni
Yanni , born Yiannis Hrysomallis is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has spent most of his life in the United States.He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time...
describes the album as a tribute to the builders of the Taj
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
and the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
, as well as to the people of India and China. Yanni
Yanni
Yanni , born Yiannis Hrysomallis is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has spent most of his life in the United States.He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time...
's ethereal keyboard work is backed by orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
s, a choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, and various world instruments including didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
, duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
, charango
Charango
The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo. Primarily played in traditional Andean music, and is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. Many contemporary charangos are now made with...
, and bamboo saxophone.
Yanni hired Armen Anassian
Armen Anassian
Armen Anassian is an Armenian violinist who has played with the Los Angeles Opera and is concertmaster of the Santa Clarita Symphony, in Santa Clarita, California. He has performed in hundreds of concerts around the world with many notable symphony orchestras...
as Conductor "on faith" --- as he had never watched him conduct an orchestra. "That's how Yanni does many things," Anassian said in a 1998 interview with the Toledo Blade. Anassian concedes that he had some doubts about the artist's plans to perform at India's Taj Mahal and China's Forbidden City, for Tribute. "To be honest, a few years ago when he was talking about it, the idea was so amazing. I myself was very skeptical, understandably so. But the truth is, it happened. We did it." Anassian said the Tribute video looks great but watching it on film cannot compare to actually being at the Taj Mahal and Forbidden City concerts. "It doesn't feel the same. It doesn't smell the same," he said with a laugh. "It's hard to put it in a nutshell. It was a life-changing experience."
Track listing
- "Deliverance" – 8:33
- "Adagio in C Minor" – 3:50
- "Renegade" – 7:14
- "Dance With a Stranger" – 6:45
- "Tribute" – 6:40
- "Prelude" – 2:27
- "Love Is All" (writers Pamela Lynn, McNeillPamela McNeillPamela NcNeill is an American singer-songwriter. She grew up in Winona, Minnesota. She studied classical music for 16 years and formed her first rock and roll band playing throughout the Midwest at the age of 16...
, Yanni; and performed by Vann JohnsonVann JohnsonVann Johnson, is an American singer who has toured or recorded with artists such as Michael Bolton, Neil Young, The Temptations, and Yanni. She appears as a featured vocalist in Yanni's live concert album and video, Tribute, in which she sang his first-ever song with lyrics, "Love Is All"...
) – 5:25 - "Southern Exposure" – 6:48
- "Waltz in 7/8" – 5:32
- "Nightingale" – 5:44
- "Niki Nana (We're One)" (Sterling, Yanni) – 8:15
RIAA certificationRIAA certificationIn the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and PlatinumMusic recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
database entries:
- (G=Gold, P=Platinum, M=Multi-Platinum)
- YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN P ALBUM SOLO Std
- YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN G ALBUM SOLO Std
Track listing
- "Deliverance"
- "Adagio In C Minor"
- "Renegade"
- "Waltz In 7/8"
- "Tribute"
- "Dance With A Stranger"
- "Nightingale"
- "Southern Exposure"
- "Prelude"
- "Love Is All"
- "Niki Nana (We're One)"
- "Santorini"
RIAA certificationRIAA certificationIn the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and PlatinumMusic recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
database entries:
- (G=Gold, P=Platinum, M=Multi-Platinum)
- YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN M (2) VIDEO LONGFORM SOLO Std
- YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN P VIDEO LONGFORM SOLO Std
- YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN G VIDEO LONGFORM SOLO
Sound
Band
- Karen BriggsKaren BriggsKaren Briggs, is an American violinist. She was born in New York City and grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia. Taking violin lessons from an early age, Briggs attended Norfolk State University after graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1981. There, she majored in music education and mass media...
(violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
) - Daniel de los ReyesDaniel de los ReyesDaniel de los Reyes, is a percussionist born in New York City and raised in Puerto Rico and Las Vegas. He is of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent and a third generation musician. He received his early drum instruction from his father, Walfredo de los Reyes Sr.. His grandfather, Walfredo de los...
(percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
) - Pedro EustachePedro EustachePedro Eustache , is a creative solo flautist - "World Music" woodwinds-reeds-wind synthesizers and composer with extensive academic studies and more than 35 years of professional experience...
(fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, bamboo saxophone, dudukDudukThe duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
, quenaQuenaThe quena is the traditional flute of the Andes. Usually made of bamboo or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole and is open on both ends. To produce sound, the player closes the top end of the pipe with the flesh between his chin and lower lip, and blows a stream of air downward, along...
, chinese flute, neyNeyThe ney is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Middle Eastern music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. It is a very ancient instrument, with depictions of ney players appearing in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found...
, bass fluteBass fluteThe bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube , it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player...
) - Ric FierabracciRic FierabracciRic Fierabracci, is an American bass guitarist who has toured and/or recorded with such artists as Frank Gambale, Chick Corea, Sir Tom Jones, Dave Weckl, Bradley Joseph, Shakira, Nancy Sinatra, Planet X, The 5th Dimension, The Beach Boys, and Yanni...
(bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Ming FreemanMing FreemanMing Freeman, born in Taiwan, of Chinese and Canadian descent, is a multi-keyboardist and pianist, musical director, composer and producer who has toured or recorded with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Yanni, Ronnie Laws, Chuck Negron, Jeffrey Osborne, Paula Abdul, Sheena Easton, Gladys Knight,...
(keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) - David Hudson (didjeridu)
- Ramon StagnaroRamon StagnaroRamón Stagnaro, born in Peru, is a guitarist who has toured or recorded with artists such as Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Pedro Eustache, Alejandro Sanz, Enrique Iglesias, Nelly Furtado, Andrea Bocelli, Shahyar Ghanbari, Vangelis and appears on Yanni's live concert video, Tribute.-References:* an...
(guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, charangoCharangoThe charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo. Primarily played in traditional Andean music, and is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. Many contemporary charangos are now made with...
) - Joel TaylorJoel TaylorJoel Taylor, is an American drummer who has toured or recorded with artists such as Brian Bromberg, Mike Garson, Al Di Meola, Frank Gambale, and appears on Yanni's live concert video Tribute.-References:* an -External links:*...
(drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
)
Conductor
- Armen AnassianArmen AnassianArmen Anassian is an Armenian violinist who has played with the Los Angeles Opera and is concertmaster of the Santa Clarita Symphony, in Santa Clarita, California. He has performed in hundreds of concerts around the world with many notable symphony orchestras...
– conductor, violin soloistViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
Orchestra
- Beth Folsom (violin)
- Julian Hallmark (violin)
- Sayuri Kawada (violin)
- Neal Laite (violin)
- Ann Lasley (violin)
- Will Logan (violin)
- Julie Metz (violin)
- Pam Moore (violin)
- Cheryl Ongaro (violin)
- Delia Park (violin)
- Irina Voloshina (violin)
- German Markosian (viola)
- Eugene Mechtovich (viola)
- Cathy Paynter (viola)
- John Krovoza (cello)
- Sarah O'BrienSarah O'Brien-Awards:* 2008 Cleveland State University Poetry Center first book finalist* 2008 National Poetry Series, selected by David Shapiro-Anthologies:* -External links:...
(cello) - Lisa Pribanic (cello)
- Alexander ZhiroffAlexander ZhiroffAlexander "Sasha" Zhiroff, , is a Russian cellist whose performing career has included appearances as a soloist with orchestras in the United States, Russia, Cuba, recitals in major concert halls, and recordings as a soloist for BBC Scotland, Gostelradio , and EGREM...
(cello) - Gary Lasley (contra bass)
- April Aoki (harp)
- Cheryl FosterCheryl FosterCheryl "Fozzy" Foster is a Welsh footballer. She plays as a striker for Liverpool Ladies and is the all-time record appearance holder for the Welsh national team.-Club career:...
(oboe) - Luis Aquino (trumpet)
- Kerry Hughes (trumpet)
- Paul Klintworth (French horn)
- Doug Lyons (French horn)
- Rich Berkeley (trombone)
External links
- Official Website
- Tribute at Allmovie