Past Light

Past Light

Guitarist William Ackerman was still writing the book on the new age genre when this album came to light in the '80s, back when he operated the Windham Hill record label. You can hear many of the distinct, far-flung elements of the meditative, often-derided music mingling here in a somewhat pre-commercial state: classical, funk, folk, and more. Ackerman's guitar playing is often light as air, but his technique suggests a formidable aesthetic at work, rendering softness with expert, crafty precision. The slurpy electric bass on the opening track, "Visiting," doesn't do the rest of the album justice, especially the intricate, Tangerine Dream-style minimalism of "Synopsis." Of additional interest: the track titled "Garden," a fairly straightforward Utopian nod to "Greensleeves," features Ackerman's neighbors, the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet. Kronos cellist Joan Jeanrenaud also guests on "Three Observations of the Ocean," a duet. <I>--Marc Weidenbaum</I>