Windham Hill Memories

American bass guitarist Michael "Manthing" Manring, later member of Montreux, was born on June 27, 1960 in the San Francisco Bay Area - Annapolis to be exact. Early Life: He was youngest of four children. His family originally lived in Norfolk, Virginia, then moved to the suburbs of Washington D.C. in 1969. The Manrings were very active musically, which is why Michael became very musically gifted. He and his brother Doug were a guitarist and drummer, and they later formed a rhythm group during their high school years. Their style of music making was a mix of jazz rock and fusion, playing rock classics at beer parties or pop hits in formal places, such as restaurants and weddings. Manring was also a student of bassist Peter Princiotto from Spring Hill, Virginia. He began studying a  Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachussetts in the late 1970s, had to cancel them in 1979 due to being overwhelmed with too much school work, not to mention touring with several differen...

The list of Windham Hill artists has been updated: Acoustic   Jazz  group  Montreux Bassist  Michael Manring Group Angels Of Venice  Carol Tatum Celtic Harpist and Composer  Lisa Lynne Celtic jazz group  Nightnoise Composer  Mark Isham Composer  Ray Lynch Composer  David Arkenstone Composer  Wim Mertens Folk Musician  John Gorka Folk/Celtic trio  Metamora Fusion Classical group  Turtle Island String Quartet Guitarist (and founder)  William Ackerman Guitarist  Robbie Basho Guitarist  Alex de Grassi Guitarist  David Cullen Guitarist  Michael Hedges Guitarist Daniel Hecht Guitarist  Sean Harkness Guitarist  David Qualey Guitarist  David Torn Hammered dulcimer player  Malcolm Dalglish Harp Guitarist  John Doan Indie Rock Group  Dots Will Echo Jazz Duo  Tuck & Patti   [2] Jazz Guitarist  Ray Obiedo Jazz Keyboardist and ...

It may be sudden, but this is the last post about Montreux. Do not fret, though, because there will be posts about the band members as soloists, coming soon. This week I'll be covering the album,  Montreux: A Windham Hill Retrospective (1993). Here is the album cover. Three years after the band broke apart and the band members either went to form other bands or become soloists, like William Ackerman, a "Windham Hill Retrospective" album of Montreux's work was released, containing their greatest hits. Here are some reviews of the album from Amazon.mp3: 5  of 5 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars   Montreux... a great band... maybe too good   December 30, 1999 By   Mark A. Wellman Format: Audio CD "I first heard this album one evening on public radio while driving home. I was blown away! Great tunes that defied classification. I called the station to find out who it was and bought the CD as soon as I ...

After more touring, the members of Montreux got into the studio for the last time, creating the 1989 album, Let Them Say. In 1990, the band broke apart. Marshall went off to create the "Modern Mandolin Quartet", Anger and Balakrishnan formed the Turtle Island String Quartet in 1985, but by 1990, Anger joined the group full-time. Manring released a few solo albums and Higbie released once called Signs of Life . All albums were still under the Windham Hill label. I couldn't find any reviews from Amazon.com, due to the fact I can't find any. So I will just say that the quartet expands to a quintet with drummer Tom Miller. Here is one of the songs called "October Wedding": Here is the track listing: 1. Let Them Say 2. October Wedding 3. Astronomics 4. Barbara's Dream 5. Mandolin Rising 6. Finding Time 7. Road to Vernazza 8. King Sod 9. Still Mountain 10. Free D To order your own copy of this album, click here: ...

After extensive touring, Montreux wrote and recorded another album called Sign Language in 1987. Windham Hill then recognized the group as the All Star band of the record label, for their style became distinctive and unique. By that time they adopted their band name, and Michael Manring joined the band and stayed as a full-time member. They also picked up Anne-Marie Martins as their agent and manager, who led them to become one of the most successful Windham Hill bands live. Here is the album cover: Here is a review on the album: 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars   Trans-Genre Musicianship   February 12, 2004 By   Marc Ruby™ Format: Audio CD "Montreux is a remakable, if somewhat eclectic group of musicians that were one of the highpoints of the 80's musical scene. Composed of Barbara Higbee, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Andy Narell, and Michael Manring, there was no lack of talent. Treading lightly on th...

In 1985, Darol Anger and Mike Marshall temporarily left the band Montreux to work on a separate project, focusing on their bluegrass roots. The result was "Chiaroscuro", which was named for their love of the Italian culture. The album cover. Here are two reviews from Amazon.com about this album: 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars   Keep Copies Everywhere   April 8, 2004 By   Marc Rub y Format: Audio CD "It's a bit of an embarrassment to admit that the thing that has gotten in the way of reviewing this album is that I keep forgetting to review and wind up just listening. All of the musicians at the heart of this album are remarkable. Darol Anger on violin, Mike Marshall on guitar, Michael Manring and Todd Phillips on Bass, Andy Narell on Steel Drums, Barbara Higbie on synth, and even George Marsh on triangle. Some of the best light jazz players of their time (1985), it is immediately apparent that they res...

For their second LP, Darol Anger invited Mike Marshall, Todd Philips and Andy Narell to join he and Higbie, as mention two weeks ago, and they soon became the Darol Anger and Barbara Higbie Quintet, later changing it to Montreux. Balakrishnan left the band to study composition and Anger took his position in playing the violin (full time). The band, minus Balakrishnan, performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1984,  and their performances were recorded there for the release of their second album. Here is the album cover. Here are two reviews on the CD copy of the album from Amazon.com: 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars Major Windham Hill release from the 1980s   April 27, 2003 By   Paul A. Scofield Format: Audio CD "This is, according to the liner notes, the entire concert played on July 19th, 1984 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, in Montreux, Switzerland. Musicians are: Darol Anger, violins; Barbara Higbie, pian...