Ralf Illenberger: The Kiss Produced by Ralf Illenberger and Gibbs Platen This is one long song in six movements - trancelike, classical, magical... Walter Keiser: Drums Zirque Bonner: Bass Fitzhugh Jenkins: Spirit Bass Buedi Siebert: saxes, bass clarinet, marimba, strings Ralf Illenberger returns for his third post–Narada effort on indie label In Joy Music Records, and this time he’s got another winner….and an unusual concept. “THE KISS: Five Waves of Bliss” takes the form of a long, instrumental suite, subtle at times, but too involved to ever become mere background music, as with most of Illenberger’s guitar jazz pieces. This music kicks in with his unmistakable style in the second movement, Love Flow, but the real aural treat here is “symphonique”, the third movement of the Kiss, which contains textures so complex that it takes a couple of listening to truly get all of what’s going on in the background with its echoplexed acoustic guitars and different parts playing on either side of the stereo image. “Beyond the clouds” chases that down with some atypical electric guitar solo work that rivals anyone strutting around on a rock concert stage right now.Illenberger’s really starting to join the “studio-as-instrument” crowd with impressive results. (Earl, thelogbook.com) Composer, producer, guitarist Ralf Illenberger’s experience spans a varied and successful thirty-year career that includes hits in Europe and the US, sales of over 400,000 CDs, and performances in more than 50 countries. He has produced 16 albums of his own compositions that resulted in three US top ten singles on the Narada label, and five hit albums in Europe. He has received a US Grammy nomination as well as the German Record Awards nomination (German ‘Grammy’ equivalent). Illenberger has received many other prestigious awards for his productions and extraordinary musicianship throughout his long career. A well-known, and highly acclaimed, guitarist, he has played on compositions of many famous musicians who have reciprocated on his works. Illenberger is known for his extremely dynamic instrumental music that is both accessible and experimental. His orchestral acoustic guitar stylings create a unique woven tapestry that places him in the category of guitarists whose sound and technical mastery form a recognizable individual genre. His accessible instrumental guitar music borrows from classical, jazz, folk, blues, world, and ancient traditions. A talented musician and composer, Illenberger writes, produces, arranges and records his own material and well as other artists. Illenberger has also produced numerous songs for many high-selling and award winning compilation CDs and has produced full length albums for more than 30 artists as well. A music engineer for thirty years, Illenberger has engineered over 40 full-length albums and countless individual songs.