8.01.2007

Oregon - Roots in The Sky

I don't know much about Oregon. I know they're a jazz group sometimes referred to as "new age", a term I try to avoid and regret its connection to late-70's jazz/world fusion. I recently picked up this specific record, but my record player isn't with me so I'm unable to hear it. I've listened to a few of their songs elsewhere. They play a meditative, organic, calming brand of jazz/folk/world fusion that seems to have avoided the cliches that came later in the 80's. I recommend them if you're into John McLaughlin's Shakti outfit, one of the other pioneers of "world" music.
As for the album cover, I think it has something a lot of contemporary covers are missing: Simplicity. A thin sans-serif font (that I really want to know the name of), a subtle background color and fitting artwork in the center. It doesn't need anything else.

The painting was done by an artist named Hannah Kay, which I was surprised to find has a website. She was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel and moved to Europe to study art. Since then she's shown in a wide selection of galleries since the early 70's. Her paintings and drawings are surreal, organic, calm, sometimes almost abstract depictions of grass, roots, floating trees and reflections. I can't think of any image better for an album called Roots in the Sky.


You can see a lot more of Hannah Kay's artwork on here website.
And you can read more about Oregon on their website.

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