Omar Akram encourages listeners to come with him on an exotic Secret Journey, an appropriate title for his new Real Music album since he grew up traveling around the world as the son of a United Nations diplomat living in such diverse locales as France, Cuba, Afghanistan and the Czech Republic. On Omar’s third contemporary instrumental CD, strong melodies are presented within tapestry-like arrangements carefully interweaving his acoustic grand piano with acoustic guitar, violin, duduk, flute and ethnic percussion performed by a group of world-class musicians.

“I look around me and see people who are bored, restless, stagnant,” explains Akram, “and I know they often take ‘secret journeys’ in their mind as they daydream about other places they could be. The lucky ones get to take an actual trip where they escape from the pressures of their lives. They see new places and have uncommon experiences. I like to think the music on my album can serve as the soundtrack for their journey, whether it is a mental or a physical trip. Everyone needs to get away sometime.”

In addition to the title track, “Secret Journey,” all of the tunes were inspired by what might be seen or felt on a special trip. Some of the compositions capture the heritage of Omar’s Afghani ancestors (“Caravan,” “Nomadic Rhapsody,” “Gypsy Spirit”). On such a journey you might see a distant lake-like “Mirage,” a “Shimmering Star” in the night’s blue-black heavens, or a rare but beautiful “Desert Flower.” Omar says “Seven Secrets” was influenced by the ancient architectural “Seven Wonders of the World” like the Great Pyramids, but also references all the lost knowledge of past generations. “I want the music to sound multi-cultural,” explains Akram, “but not be tied to any particular country.”

Often the best trips include romance which is reflected on the new recording with “Run Away With Me,” “Passage of the Heart” (“Love can be quite a journey in itself,” says Omar) and “Whispers in the Moonlight” (“It can be shared intimacies between lovers or the sound of wind-shifting sand in the desert at night”). The album closes with the gentle piano-violin duet “Angel of Hope” because “in today’s world with all the war, famine, pollution and loneliness, everyone needs hope for a better future.”

On his first two albums, he was simply known as Omar, but now he performs under his full name. Meanwhile, his music continues to change and develop. His first album was Opal Fire on Real Music, which went Top 15 on Billboard magazine’s national New Age sales chart, and featured Akram’s piano backed by additional keyboards played by Omar and David Dial. On his second CD, Free as a Bird, Omar again composed all the music, but this time produced half the album and utilized top keyboardist Gregg Karukas to produce the other half. Omar also expanded his sound by bringing in guest musicians including saxophonist Eric Marienthal (The Rippingtons). The recording was ranked the #2 contemporary instrumental album of the year by the prestigious Wind & Wire publication. Now on Secret Journey, Akram and Karukas are working together even closer by co-writing the music which features rich textures and a variety of world-music elements including Latin and Mideast. Omar continues to compose memorable melodies, and has developed a close-knit interplay with the other musicians.

Each of Akram’s collaborators brings a wealth of talent and impressive credentials to the project. Gregg Karukas has a strong smooth jazz background having played with or produced such chart-toppers as The Rippingtons, Peter White, Boney James, Richard Elliot and Dave Koz. Ramon Stagnaro returns on guitar and his credits include Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Kenny G, Andrea Bocelli, Luis Miguel and Alejandro Sanz. Pedro Eustache – once again on flute, duduk and Persian ney – has performed with Yanni, Paul McCartney, James Newton Howard and Andrae Crouch. Violinist Charlie Bisharat is known for playing with Kitaro, John Tesh, Tracy Chapman, Neil Diamond and Stone Temple Pilots. Percussionist Ron Wagner spent nine years with Ottmar Liebert, but also has performed with Stephane Grappelli, Peter Cetera, Richard Searles and Peppino D’Agostino. Also on Secret Journey is special guest acoustic guitarist Ardeshir Farah (on four tunes), best-known for being part of the popular duo Strunz & Farah, but who also has played with Al Stewart, L. Subramaniam and Cyrus Chestnut.

Omar Akram has been influenced by many cultures because he grew up as a world-traveler. He was born in New York City while his father was representing Afghanistan at the United Nations. “I was always fascinated by musical instruments as a child, so when I was six, I began taking piano lessons from a member of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, who was one of the top music teachers in the Czech Republic.” While growing up, Omar went to many symphonies and ballets. His early influences were classical -- first Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, but soon the “Russian School” of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Shastakovich. When Omar was 14 and in Cuba, he got to chat with Fidel Castro at a diplomatic reception. Omar’s curiosity for Cuban culture led him to local clubs where he talked the musicians into letting him sit in and play Cuban music with them which is when he developed a love for Latin rhythms and Latin-styled acoustic guitar sounds.

Omar returned to the United States and was introduced to the international electronic music of Jean Michel Jarre (France), Kitaro (Japan) and Vangelis (Greece) “which got me into synthesizers and electronic music. That shifted everything and I knew I wanted to try that type of music so I started composing.” A few years later Akram heard piano soloists such as George Winston and David Lanz which brought him back to the piano. But Omar has far-ranging musical tastes and during those formative years he also listened to Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince. Omar moved to Los Angeles in 1993 and began performing anywhere he could (whether it was solo piano gigs or in bars with Top 40 cover bands). He continued to travel, not only throughout the United States, but regularly to England and France too.

Akram kept composing original music, but a turning point came when he met Dr. E. Mike Vasilomanolakis, who became his executive producer and encouraged him to begin recording. This material led to Omar’s signing with Real Music. In addition to his studio recordings, Akram also performs concerts. At the International Book Expo in Chicago, esteemed authors Deepak Chopra and Carolyn Myss saw Omar perform and became fans of his music. For the next two years, Myss had Omar return to Chicago every month to perform at her seminars in front of audiences of 500-to-700.

“In a world where communication and understanding between cultures is sometimes difficult, I hope my music can serve as a form of international language that crosses any cultural barriers.  Having lived and traveled in many countries, I have come to realize that we need to embrace aspects of each culture that make them unique and special.  What some people see as problematical differences, I see as our planet’s entire cultural heritage.  With my music, I try to celebrate some of the sounds and feelings I have encountered worldwide.  I would like to invite music lovers from all cultures to join me in traveling on this “Secret Journey.”

原贴连接：http://www.omarmusic.com/html/index.html

感觉这个介绍太长，应该可以精练点。

傍晚才看到这贴。尽量晚上晚点的时候完成吧。翻译稿由两部分组成，A,专辑介绍，B,个人介绍。专辑介绍的部分中主要删减的是合作者介绍的部分。个人介绍由于天堂已经有了，就以最精简的方法压缩。另外，会贴上该网站的专辑介绍栏目中的几句英文原话作翻译，用在个人风格陈述和专辑介绍中。

奥马尔的前张专辑《Free As A Brid翱翔万里》让他成为音乐界不能小视的力量。而今他的第三张专辑《Secret Journey秘密旅程》又让我们了解到这位音乐家更上一层楼的作曲才华、没有羁绊的激情和泰然自若的优雅。建立在世界音乐的主题之上，层叠铺设着融合爵士和新世纪音乐，这张专辑中，奥马尔的音乐已变得独具特色，且能高度地被听众理解着，这张专辑拥有所有可成为排行榜榜首和评论家宠儿的配方。

这张当代乐器专辑的编曲仿若一幅织锦，展现出很强的旋律感，精心地交织着他的原声大钢琴，以及一组由世界级音乐家们演奏的原声吉他、小提琴、杏木双簧管（亚美尼亚地区的古老乐器）、笛子和异族打击乐器。

奥马尔这样解释这张专辑：“我环顾四周，看到了些百无聊赖、坐立不安和迟钝呆滞的人们，我知道他们在做身处异处的白日梦时，经常在脑海里经历某些‘秘密旅程’，其中的幸运者能逃离生活中的压力真的去旅行一遭。他们见新的地方，经历不平常的体验。不管是精神的还是实质的旅行，我都希望我专辑中的音乐是为他们这旅程准备的乐章。每个人总有一个时候需要离开一下。”

不仅是专辑同名曲子“Secret Journey秘密旅程”，所有的曲子都源自特殊旅行中或许可见可感的事物所引发出来的灵感。某些作曲捕捉到了奥马尔的阿富汗祖先们的精神遗产（“Caravan大蓬车”、““Nomadic Rhapsody游牧狂想曲”、“Gypsy Spirit吉普赛灵魂”）。在这场路途中，你也许能见到景象如远方湖水般的一幅“Mirage海市蜃楼”，暗蓝苍穹之上的一颗“ Shimmering Star微亮的星星”，或一朵美丽罕见的“Desert Flower沙漠之花”。 “Seven Secrets七个秘密”这曲的灵感来源于古老建筑的世界七大奇迹，例如埃及金字塔，也涉及所有对过去人们遗失了的了解。奥马尔说：“我希望这些音乐听来是多文化的，但不会被联系到任何特定的国家身上。”

通常最美妙的旅行都会包含浪漫的元素，而这正是这张新专辑中的曲子“Run Away With Me和我一起离开”、“ Passage of the Heart心之通道”以及““Whispers in the Moonlight月光中的细语”所反映的。专辑以温柔如水的钢琴小提琴合奏的“Angel of Hope希望天使”为结尾，因为“今天的世界充满了战争、饥荒、污染和孤独，每个人都需要对更美好未来的希望。”（奥马尔）。

最初的两张专辑里，Omar只以自己的单名Omar示人，现在他用全名Omar Akram署名。同时，他的音乐也在不断地变化和发展着。他的首张专辑《Opal Fire琴声妙韵》中，以他本人的钢琴为主色，David Dial和奥马尔本人的键盘演奏为辅色，由Real Music公司发行，位列Billoboard杂志国内新世纪乐销售排行榜的前15名。第二张CD《Free As A Brid翱翔万里》中，奥马尔再次为所有音乐作曲，但此次自己只完成了半张专辑的制作，另一半由顶级键盘师Gregg Karukas完成。他还通过邀请客座音乐家加入，如萨克风手Eric Marienthal (The Rippingtons)，拓宽自己的音乐空间。在享有声望的Wind & Wire刊物评选中，这张专辑获得了该年度当代器乐专辑第二名的成绩。

而在最新专辑《Secret Journey秘密旅程》中，奥马尔和Karukas更加紧密地并肩配合，共同谱曲，特色蕴藏在那丰富的结构和包括拉丁及中东在内的、多种世界音乐的元素之中。奥马尔继续创作出令人难忘的旋律，并和其他音乐人之间发展出一种志同道合、相互影响的关系。每位和奥马尔的合作者都为专辑带来了耀眼的才华和让人印象深刻的专业声名。Gregg Karukas具有很强的融合爵士的背景；Ramon Stagnaro负责吉他部分，并再次演奏笛子、杏木双簧管和波斯伊奈笛；小提琴手Charlie Bisharat；打击乐手Ron Wagner；特别客座吉他手 Ardeshir Farah。

奥马尔作为阿富汗驻联合国外交官的儿子，生于纽约，自小辗转于世界各地，受到了众多国家的文化影响，6岁起接受捷克顶级音乐教师的钢琴训练，在古典乐的各式熏陶中长大。14岁随父亲到古巴，出于对古巴文化的好奇，爱上了拉丁节奏和拉丁风格的原声吉他。回到美国后，他结识了各国电子音乐大师级人物的作品，决定尝试电子音乐并开始作曲，几年后，受到George Winston 和David Lanz两位钢琴热门人物的影响，回归钢琴。但他在音乐领域上兴趣广泛，在性格形成期，也听了不少爵士、流行和摇滚乐坛里炙手可热的明星们的歌曲，93年移居洛衫矶后，他开始在任何能表演的地方演奏（不管是预约钢琴独奏还是在酒吧为知名乐队配合演奏）。他还继续四处旅行，走遍美国并定期前往英国和法国。在奥马尔不间断的原创音乐创作过程中，命运的转折点出现在他结识E. Mike Vasilomanolakis博士的那刻，他成为奥马尔的执行制作人并鼓励他开始录制音乐，这个录音直接达成奥马尔签约Real Music公司的结果。奥马尔也在音乐会上演奏。

奥马尔说道：“在那些文化之间的沟通和理解时常发生困难的地方，我希望我的音乐能作为国际语言，跨越文化的障碍。居住旅行了许多国家，我开始意识到我们需要拥抱让每种文化唯一和独特起来的不同面貌。当人们觉得文化间的差异是问题时，我把它们看作是我们这个星球的整体文化遗产。我尝试通过我的音乐去庆祝在世界各地遇到的一些音声和感触。我愿意邀请来自所有文化的音乐爱好者，和我一同踏上这段‘秘密旅程’。”

奥马尔——这个引人注目的旋律作曲家，受过良好训练的浪漫主义者，出众的气氛制造者，他给人们营造出的音乐世界，如同他生活过的地方一般丰富多样，这为他在世界最佳当代器乐艺术家的殿堂中，赢得了一席之地。

After Omar's last release ‘Free As A Bird’ this musician became a force to be reckoned with. Secret Journey gives us the one-two combination hit that reflects a musician that is in full stride creating compositions laced with unbridled passion and poised grace. Rooted in world themes layered in smooth jazz and new age influences, Omar’s music has become distinct yet highly accessible that this album has all the ingredients to be not only a chart topper but also a critic’s darling.(文首）
A compelling melodist, a disciplined romantic, and a mood-maker extraordinaire, Omar offers a world of music as diverse asthe places he’s lived in. He has earned a place among the world’s best contemporary instrumental artists.（文末）

谢谢云浮,这么大段的文字翻译,辛苦了!我尽快将这张专辑推荐到天堂上去,让会员能尽早听到这张好听的专辑.