Pianist Lanz Shows Key to New Age Music

Has New Age music hit its peak? Have the soft and gentle sounds variously described as “yuppie elevator music” and “easy listening wallpaper” proved to be nothing more than the disco fad of the ‘80s?

Pianist David Lanz doesn’t think so. One of New Age-oriented Narada Records’ premier artists, the Seattle-based pianist thinks the problem lies in a misunderstanding of the term.

“It doesn’t bother me at all to think of myself as a New Age musician because the idea has been around for a long time, and still has plenty of vitality,” he said in a phone interview this week. “As a matter of fact, I like to think of myself as a New Age musician--that is, a musician who’s starting to wake up. Because the more people wake up, the more they realize they have to take care of themselves, take care of their bodies. If music can help them do it--that’s all to the good.”

“To me, the crystals and all that stuff are just the trappings, and some people get hung up on all of that--on the exterior, on all the merchandising and souvenirs,” he said.

“As I understand New Age, it’s a reference to a time that hasn’t arrived yet, a Utopian time that’s still in the future,” he said. “Music is supposed to be one of the elements that ushers it in.”

Tonight, at the Long Beach Convention Center’s Center Theater, Lanz will perform some of the solo piano pieces that represent his share in ushering in that Utopian era. Guitarist John Doan, another Narada artist, will open the show.

Lanz came to New Age music somewhat indirectly, via a strong interest in meditation and philosophy. With roots in jazz and small band performance, his evolution into New Age soloist came in several phases.

“At first,” he explained, “I had the attitude most performers have, which was that if I write in a certain style, I’ll make money; I felt I had to think about writing hits.

“But as I started to read, and learned more about the scientific and spiritual relationship between music, tone and color, I decided to turn my back on that attitude and just do the most natural thing. When I started, I was really embarrassed by the music I was writing, because it was so simple, and so melodic. I’d studied and played a lot of jazz, and what I was doing didn’t seem dissonant or complex enough. I had all those intellectual reservations.”

Lanz’s breakthrough came when he pushed the intellectual and musical reservations aside and, as he put it, “just started being myself, totally, and let my music reflect that. In a way, my approach to New Age music is a bit like talking to a friend. You don’t have to be very complicated when you speak. If you say what’s in your heart, it’s usually very simple.”

Lanz’s approach has apparently worked. His most recent album, “Cristofori’s Dream,” hit the top of Billboard magazine’s New Age listings, and two earlier albums (both recorded with guitarist Paul Speer) have continued to appear in the Top 20.