Yanni Live! The Concert Event

Regardless of whether you think that Yanni is the New Age antichrist or the greatest thing since sliced (white) bread, Yanni Live! The Concert Event, filmed with 16 hi-definition cameras and recorded with 125 channels of digital audio before an enthusiastic audience at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in 2005 is an impressive production. Joined by Armenian and Japanese solo violinists, a Venezuelan flutist, a Sri Lankan bass player, and a Russian cellist, among others (as well as an orchestra), the Greek piano/keyboard-playing Yanni serves up a rousing 13-song set, ranging from “Keys to Imagination” (the one that “started it all”) to the crowd-pleasing “World Dance” (think: New Age meets “Turkey in the Straw”). Yes, one can quibble with some of the more derivative pieces here (see if you can hear the riff from Gerry Rafferty's “Baker Street” on “If I Could Tell You”), but by and large the musical canvas here is broad and invigorating, with standouts including the didgeridoo-inflected “Rainmaker,” the lovely “On Sacred Ground,” the solo-filled “For All Seasons” (including a guy playing sections of PVC pipe on a wood floor), and “The Storm” (inspired by Vivaldi and featuring a gorgeous opening cello solo, as well as what I guess you might call speed harp—something you don't hear every day). Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo, DVD extras include an informative half-hour behind-the-scenes documentary. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)