Well, I certainly waited a long time for this! I expected this DVD out around 2000 since the first concert tape was out n 1994 and the second in 1997. Then, after attending his concert live n 2003 in Buffalo,k I thought that a DVD would be our for sure later that year or 23004 at the very latest. Anyway, when it finally came out late in 2006, I wasn't disappointed.
Most of the songs, thankfully, are new material. How much other new stuff I heard in the three-hour Buffalo concert that wasn't on this DVD, I don't know but I'm not complaining. There are a couple of surprises in here, such as two solo violinists, a dulcimer player, and a flashy harpist-singer. The other new people I knew sin '97 I had seen in that Buffalo concert.
A shock was not seeing violinist Karen Briggs on this DVD. She had always been a staple in Yanni's tour concerts in the past 10 years and - next to the Yanni himself - the key performer and most recognizable one in past DVDs. I don't know what happened to her. However, Sayaka Katsuki, from Japan, who replaced her, is just fine. Katsuki and Armenian violinist Samvel Yervinyan make a dynamite duo, with the Russian being the best of th two, I think. He is fantastic. Both of them do a number of solos, in one song trading off each other.
I really enjoyed the sound of Dan Landrum on hammer dulcimer. That was a nice addition to the orchestra. Still the most versatile and best musician in the entire band is Pedro Eustache, who was with Yanni in his 1997 concert in China and India. He's gained some weight and some hair since then but is still animated, talented and fun to watch. You can tell he's Yanni's right-hand man. Not far behind is keyboard player Ming Freeman, another holdover from the China concert.
Trumpet player Ramon Flores was a nice surprise. I'm not a big fan of that sound, but his playing is tremendous. All the soloists are excellent. I like them all, and could go on and on. The two female singers, Alfreda Gerald, who has always been with Yanni, and newcomer Michelle Amato, both excel. Longtime drummer Charlie Adams - who played with Yanni in the first Acropolis concert DVD but not on the second, was back, but, for the first time, did not have a solo or at least one that was included on the DVD.
Of the new songs, th driving-beat, fast selections seem to be the best and generate the most enthusiasm among the crowd (and me, too.) Songs such as "Rainmaker," "On Sacred Ground," "Playtime," "For All Seasons" and "World Dance" will all have you tapping your feet, moving your hands, etc. They are great feel-good songs and perhaps the trademark of these Yanni Orchestra presentation. Of the older songs, the re-make of "Nostalgia" was tremendous, thanks to the added dramatic violin work of Yervinyan.
This is just a fabulous concert, filmed in Las ?egas sometime, I think, in 2005. I watched this 7-8 times the first two months I owned it and loved it more and more each time. I just hope the next Yanni DVD doesn't take another 9-plus years to be released.
