''Fresh Aire'' is the first album by
new-age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
musical group
Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with e ...
. It was originally released in 1975.
Background
The record was followed by seven additional albums in the ''Fresh Aire'' series. The album contains twelve tracks, each sequentially aligned with a month of the year. Each of the next three ''Fresh Aire'' albums is based upon a season, which later led to ''Fresh Aires theme being reimagined as Spring.
Besides the eponymous seventh tune, several of the track names are played on musical terms denoting the form of that song. The title track "Fresh Aire" is an
air
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
, "Saras Band" is a
sarabande
The sarabande (from ) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance.
History
The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance called ''zara ...
, and "Pass the Keg (Lia)" is a
passacaglia
The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is typically based on a bass- ostinato and written in triple metre.
Origin
Th ...
. Composer Chip Davis refers to his music as "18th century rock and roll."
Track listing
Personnel
Source:
*
Chip Davis
Louis F. "Chip" Davis Jr. (born September 5, 1947) is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller. Davis composed the music for several C. W. McCall albums, including the hit 1975 song "Convoy". He has also written and made o ...
– drums, percussion,
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
*Eric Hansen – bass
*
Jackson Berkey
Jackson Berkey (born May 24, 1942) is an American composer, pianist and singer, best known for his work with Mannheim Steamroller, which he co-founded with Chip Davis in 1974.
Early life and education
Berkey was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania ...
– keyboards
*Don Sears – synthesizer programming, string arrangements
*Bill Buntain – trombone on "Pass the Keg"
*Denny Schneider – trumpet on "Pass the Keg"
*Mortimer Alpert, Dorothy Brown, Hugh Brown, Miriam Duffelmeyer, Ginny Eldred, Lucinda Gladics, James Hammond, Jean Hassel, Joe Landes, Karl Lyon, Bob Malec, Beth McCollum, Virginia Moriarty, Dorothy Redina, Joe Rosenstein, Merton Shatzkin, Alex Sokol, Jess Stern, Larry Sutton, Paul Todd – strings on "Sonata", "Fresh Aire", and "Mist"
Production
*Produced By Chip Davis & Don Sears
*Recorded & Engineered By Jeff Schiller, Don Sears & Ron Ubel
References
External links
"Fresh Aire" at discogs
{{Authority control
1975 debut albums
1
American Gramaphone albums