Laraaji (born Edward Larry Gordon, 3 May 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist specializing in piano,

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

and

mbira Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

. His albums include the 1980 release '' Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'', produced by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

as part of his ''Ambient'' series.

Early life and career

Born Edward Larry Gordon in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, he studied violin, piano, trombone and voice in his early years in New Jersey. He attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, a

historically black university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

in Washington, D.C., where he studied composition and piano. After studying at

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

, he spent time in New York City pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian and actor, as well as playing Fender Rhodes electric piano in a jazz-rock band ‘Winds of Change’. In the early 1970s, he began to study Eastern

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and believed he'd found a new path for his music and his life. It was also at this time he bought his first

from a local

pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

. Converting it to an

electronic instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...

, he began to experiment using the instrument like a piano. By 1978, he developed enough skill to begin

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

in the parks and on the sidewalks of New York. He favored the northeast corner of

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

, where he would improvise for hours on end with his eyes closed. The following year he was encountered by

while playing in Washington Square Park, who went on to produce his most widely recognized release, '' Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'', the third installment of Brian Eno's Ambient series. This was his first album released under the name of Laraaji. This international exposure led to requests for longer versions of his compositions which he supplied to meditation groups on cassette tapes. It also resulted in an expansion of his mystic studies with such gurus as

Swami Satchidananda Satchidananda Saraswati (; 22 December 1914 – 19 August 2002), born C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder and usually known as Swami Satchidananda, was an Indian yoga guru and religious teacher, who gained fame and following in the West. He founded his own ...

and Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, founder of the Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York. In 2022, Laraaji joined with

Medicine Singers Medicine Singers is a group of Native American ritual performance artists who began performing at pow wows and in other contexts, singing in an Eastern Algonquian dialect under their original moniker, Eastern Medicine Singers. In 2017, they beg ...

—a group of Native American ritual performance artists in partnership with other artists—to play on their self-titled album. Laraaji started the Laughter Meditation Workshops, which he still presents around the globe.

Critical reception

In 2018, Pitchfork reviewing the reissue ''Vision Songs - Vol .1'' said it was atypical of his having lyrics. They said the message rather than the singing or songs seemed to be the focus, but they came across as "new-age boilerplate".

Releases

*''Celestial Vibration'' (Swan, 1978) – under the name Edward Larry Gordon *''Lotus-Collage'' (Laraaji, 1979) *'' Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'' (Editions EG, 1980) – produced by

*''I Am Ocean'' (Celestial Vibration, 1981) *
Unicorns in Paradise
' (Laraaji, 1981) *
Rhythm N' Bliss
' (Third Ear, 1982) *
Om Namah Shivaya
' (Celestial Vibration, 1984) *
Sun Zither
' (Laraaji, 1984) *''Vision Songs - Vol .1'' (self release , 1984) - edited version reissued in 2018 by

The Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 b ...

*''Open Sky'' (Celestial Vibration, 1985) – with Brother Ah *''Live at WNYC'' (Laraaji – 1985) *''One – All Loving One'' (Laraaji – 1985) *
Celestial Realms
' (Spirit Music, 1986) – with Lyghte a.k.a.

Jonathan Goldman Jonathan Goldman is an American author, musician and spiritual teacher in the fields of Harmonics and Sound Healing. He is based in Boulder, Colorado. Career Goldman began as a guitarist in the Boston punk scene in the late 1970s. Goldman began to ...

*''Once Upon a Zither'' (Laraaji – 1986) *
Essence/Universe
' (Audion, 1987) *''

Music for Films III ''Music for Films III'' is the third entry in Brian Eno's "Music for Films" series. Unlike entries in the past, this record features tracks credited to Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Michael Brook, and Harold Budd among others, with Brian Eno involved w ...

'' (Opal, 1988) – various artists *
Zither Bliss
' (Laraaji – 1987) *
White Light Music
' (Laraaji – 1987) *''Urban Saint'' (Laraaji – 1987) *
Sol
' (Laraaji – 1987) – with

Mark Kramer Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

*''Freeflow – I'm in Heaven'' (Celestial Vibration, 1980s) *''I Am Healing'' (Celestial Vibration, 1980s) – with Shree Vena *''I Am Loved'' (Laraaji – 1980s) *''I Am Sky'' (Laraaji – 1980s) *
Bring Forth (Your Highest Vision)
' (Laraaji – 1980s) *''Selected New Music III'' (Clear Music, 1991) – various artists *
Flow Goes the Universe
' (

All Saints Records All Saints Records is a British independent record label. It was established in 1991 by Dominic Norman-Taylor. The label has published ambient music by Brian Eno and Biosphere. History All Saints Records was founded in 1991, named after ...

, 1992) – produced by

Michael Brook Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the worl ...

*''The Way Out Is the Way In'' (All Saints Records, 1995) – with

Audio Active Audio Active were a Japanese reggae fusion band who released several albums between the early 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century. History Audio Active were one of the most successful reggae fusion bands to come out of Japan, and were ...

*
Islands
' (Sine – 1995) – with

Roger Eno Roger Eugene Eno (born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, Woodbridge, England, in 1959) is an English ambient music composer. He is the brother of Brian Eno. Early life and education Roger Eno began euphonium lessons when he was 12 years old, and entered C ...

*
Cascade
'(a.k.a.Enlighten)(Relaxation Co. – 1997) *''Divination/Sacrifice'' (Meta 1998) – with

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

*
Celestial Reiki
' (Etherean – 2000) – with Jonathan Goldman *
Shiva Shakti Groove
' (Collective – 2000) *''Celestial Zone'' (Laraaji – 2002) *
My Orangeness
' (VelNet – 2002) *
Celestial Reiki II
' (Etherean – 2002) – with Jonathan Goldman and Sarah Benson *''Water & Soft Zither'' (Laraaji – 2004) *''Laughter: The Best Medicine'' (Laraaji – 2004) *
Chakra Balancing Music
'(Laraaji – 2004) *''In a Celestial Water Garden'' (self release, 2005) *''Sonic Sketches'' (with Nadi Burton – 2006) *
Song of Indra
' (with Phil Gruber – 2006) *
Ambient Zither in G Pentatonic
' (Laraaji – 2007) *
Mountain Creek Water
' (Laraaji – 2007) *
Sonic Portals
' (Laraaji – 2008) *''FRKWYS Vol. 8'' (

Blues Control Blues Control was an American experimental music duo from Queens, New York City. Blues Control's members were Russ Waterhouse (guitar, electronics) and Lea Cho (keyboards). The group released music on a variety of formats, including vinyl, casset ...

and Laraaji – 2011) *
Two Sides of Laraaji
' (Laraaji - 2013) *
Sun Gong
' (Laraaji - 2017) *
Bring On The Sun
' (Laraaji - 2017) *''Arrive Without Leaving'' (Flying Moonlight - 2018) (with Arji OceAnanda & Dallas Acid) *
Dreams of Sleep and Wakes of Sound
' (Laraaji,

Merz Merz may refer to: * Merz (art style), a synonym for the more common term Dada * Merz (musician), a British electro-folk singer * Merz (surname) * Merz Apothecary, a historic German health care store in Chicago * Merz & McLellan, a British electric ...

Shahzad Ismaily Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide rang ...

- 2019) *
Sun Piano
' (Laraaji - 2020) *
Moon Piano
' (Laraaji - 2020) *''Through Luminous Eyes'' (All Saints Records - 2020) cassette only, available as triple cassette boxset with Sun Piano and Moon Piano. *''Circle of Celebration'' (NOUS with Laraaji and Arji OceAnanda - 2021) https://www.oursilentcanvas.org/nouslaraaji

With others

*
Automatic
' (Gyroscope – 1994) – as part of Channel Light Vessel *
Excellent Spirits
' (All Saints Records, 1996) – as part of Channel Light Vessel *''

(

Stone Tapes Stone Tapes is an independent record label, music collective and imprint of Joyful Noise Recordings curated by Yonatan Gat. The label was founded in 2022, branching off of Joyful Noise's artist-in-residence program, and emerged from visions and ...

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...

, 2022)''

References

External links