Tribute (Yanni album)

In 1994, Yanni released his first live album, Live at the Acropolis, which saw him perform with his band and orchestra at the Herodes Atticus Theatre in his native Greece. It became his best selling album of his career with 4 million copies sold in the US alone. Yanni was influenced to perform at such locations while visiting his father in Greece following the success of the Acropolis concerts, who thought it was a shame "After going so far with my music, not to take it all the way around the world."{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/524456634|title=Singer gains insights in India, China|newspaper=Fremont Tribune|page=15|first=Stacy Jenel|last=Smith|date=November 21, 1997|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=January 19, 2021}} This led to Yanni's desire to stage concerts at other historic sites and the decision to perform in India and China, which he said took around two-and-a-half years to plan{{cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1997-12-05-9712030799-story.html |title=New Yanni album took a world of work |first=Parry |last=Gettelman |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |date=December 5, 1997 |access-date=January 20, 2021}} and cost around $4 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB858811613688206000 |url-access=subscription |title=Yanni detractors say concerts sound ominous for Taj Mahal|first=Jonathan|last=Karp|date=March 20, 1997|work=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=January 20, 2021}}

The shows at the Taj Mahal took place on three nights in March 1997, as part of celebrations around the fiftieth anniversary of Indian independence. A temporary concert site was constructed which involved the Indian army building bridges across the River Yamuna. The shows included a light display that marked the first time the monument was illuminated at night. The concerts were met with some protests against them, claiming the lighting and sound systems would harm the building and its surroundings. Some local farmers went so far to threaten to immolate themselves on the site, until a financial settlement between them, the Indian government, and Yanni was agreed upon.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-30-ca-63776-story.html|title=Yanni opens the door to the Forbidden City|first=Henry|last=Chu|date=May 30, 1997|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=January 19, 2021}} Yanni later said that the reports of immolation were rumours that were generated by the political dispute, and that he had met a group of local farmers and had tea with them which he said helped defuse the situation. "And they said 'no, we're not crazy.'"{{cite web|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/mar/27/yanni-on-the-spot/|title=Yanni on the spot|first=Anne|last=Hosier|date=March 27, 1998|work=Las Vegas Sun|accessdate=January 20, 2021}} The Supreme Court of India threw out a case filed by the Archaeological Survey of India that tried to cancel the shows. A portion of the receipts was donated toward conserving the Taj Mahal, which is affected by smoke and brick kilns.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/123867789/|title=Taj Mahal can weather Yanni concert|newspaper=Arizona Republic|page=B6|date=March 15, 1997|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=January 19, 2021}} The second concert was broadcast live on Indian television. Yanni was particularly nervous about presenting a setlist of new music and whether the Indian public thought what he did was "appropriate and respectful toward the monument."

The shows at the Forbidden City followed in May 1997 and took place at the courtyard at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This marked the first time a Western artist in modern times was permitted perform at the location. The project began after Yanni received an invitation from the China National Culture and Arts Corp. Before the Forbidden City was chosen, locations by the Great Wall of China and the Temple of Heaven were possible candidates to stage the shows. The show's promoters asked for 5,000 seats, but they had to settle for around 4,000, hundreds of which were reserved for Chinese officials. A request to beam lights from inside the temple outward was denied. The crew were instructed to have the sound no louder than 40 decibels. Before the show, Yanni performed sold-out shows at arenas in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Later in 1997, Yanni deemed the audiences as the best of his career.

Yanni hired Armenian conductor Armen Anassian for the tour "on faith"; he had not seen Anassian perform before. The conductor recalled being sceptical about the tour, "But the truth is, it happened. We did it" and said it was a "life-changing experience."

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}

| rev2 = AllMovie

| rev2score = {{Rating|2|5}}

}}

In a review by Jonathan Widran of AllMusic, "Yanni's gargantuan popularity unfortunately makes him an easy target for those who see his orchestrally inspired works as glorified musical wallpaper. But if they'd listen for the whole picture before judging, it would be clear that he brings classically influenced symphonic qualities to modern instrumental music; it's highly charged film scoring, only without the movie. The musical images comprising Tribute and the photos in the packaging come from the famous places that not only inspired it but at which it was performed: India's Taj Mahal and China's Forbidden City. While conventional string and brass instruments lead the way, Pedro Eustache's bamboo sax and Doodook and the gypsy-flavored lead violin of Karen Briggs supply appropriate dashes of Eastern culture. "Waltz in 7/8" combines the traditional western rhythm scheme with Eustache's exotic flute improvisation. As always, Yanni plays keyboards, but he's more a ringmaster/conductor of an inspiring, symphonic brew that includes gospel and flamenco (with rousing vocals and an accompanying guitar textured over a mid size string section), powerful violin/funky sax duets (the core of the seven-minute "Renegade"), improvisational trumpet ("Dance with a Stranger"), and an intoxicating weave of an orchestra with upward climbing operatic voices. Yanni and friends tap on another culture on the closing track, the previously recorded African tribal piece "Niki Nana", which features Eustache's percussive flute and a hooky wordless vocal chant from a gospel-flavored, female choir. As we see from the other artists this month, there are many ways to build musical bridges between East and West; Yanni's approach is spiritual grandeur in a beautiful, theatrical setting."{{cite web |author=Jonathan Widran |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000596250|pure_url=yes}}|title= Review of Tribute|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=2015-06-17}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = Deliverance

| length1 = 8:33

| title2 = Adagio in C Minor

| length2 = 3:50

| title3 = Renegade

| length3 = 7:14

| title4 = Dance with a Stranger

| length4 = 6:45

| title5 = Tribute

| length5 = 6:40

| title6 = Prelude

| length6 = 2:27

| title7 = Love Is All

| length7 = 5:25

| note7 = writers Pamela Lynn McNeill, Dugan McNeill; and performed by Vann Johnson

| title8 = Southern Exposure

| length8 = 6:48

| title9 = Waltz in 7/8

| length9 = 5:32

| title10 = Nightingale

| length10 = 5:44

| title11 = Niki Nana (We're One)

| length11 = 8:15

| note11 = Tommy Sterling, Yanni

}}

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and Platinum database entries:

• (G=Gold, P=Platinum, M=Multi-Platinum)
• YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN P ALBUM SOLO Std
• YANNI TRIBUTE 03/11/98 VIRGIN G ALBUM SOLO Std

1. "Deliverance"
2. "Adagio in C Minor"
3. "Renegade"
4. "Waltz in 7/8"
5. "Tribute"
6. "Dance with a Stranger"
7. "Nightingale"
8. "Southern Exposure"
9. "Prelude"
10. "Love Is All"
11. "Niki Nana (We're One)"
12. "Santorini"

{{Listen|filename=Yanni Tribute.ogg|title="Tribute"|description=Title track from the album Tribute|format=Ogg|pos=left}}

{{Clear}}

Music

{{div col}}

• Yanni – keyboards
• Karen Briggs – violin, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Daniel de los Reyes – percussion, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Pedro Eustache – flute, soprano saxophone, bamboo saxophone, duduk, quena, Chinese flute, ney, bass flute, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Ric Fierabracci – bass guitar
• Ming Freeman – keyboards
• David Hudson – didgeridoo
• Ramon Stagnaro – guitar, charango, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Joel Taylor – drums
• Alfreda Gerald – vocals, lead vocals on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Vann Johnson – vocals, lead vocals on "Love Is All"
• Jeanette Clinger – vocals
• Catte Adams – vocals
• Armen Anassian – conductor, violin on "Tribute"
• Clif Foster – first violin, concertmaster
• Beth Folsom – violin
• Julian Hallmark – violin
• Sayuri Kawada – violin
• Neal Laite – violin
• Ann Lasley – violin, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Will Logan – violin
• Julie Metz – violin
• Pam Moore – violin
• Cheryl Ongaro – violin, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Delia Park – violin, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• Irina Voloshina – violin
• Corinne Chapelle – violin
• German Markosian – viola
• Eugene Mechtovich – viola
• Cathy Paynter – viola, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• John Krovoza – cello
• Sarah O'Brien – cello
• Lisa Pribanic – cello
• Alexander Zhiroff – cello
• Gary Lasley – contra bass, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• April Aoki – harp
• Cheryl Foster – oboe
• Matt Reynolds – French horn, chorus on "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• James Mattos – French horn
• Paul Klintworth – French horn
• Doug Lyons – French horn
• Luis Aquino – trumpet
• Kerry Hughes – trumpet
• Rich Berkeley – trombone
• Dana Hughes – trombone, bass trombone

{{div col end}}

Production

• Yanni – production, arranger, engineer, orchestrations
• Anthony Stabile – assistant engineer
• Tommy Sterling – assistant engineer
• Paul Sarault - monitor engineer
• Curtis Kelly - monitor engineer / technician
• Jeffrey Mark Silverman – orchestrations

1997–1998

For cities, see below

• "Deliverance"
• "Adagio in C Minor"
• "Renegade"
• "Waltz in 7/8"
• "Tribute"
• "Dance with a Stranger"
• "Within Attraction"
• "Aria"
• "Keys to Imagination"
• "Nightingale"
• "Southern Exposure"
• "Marching Season"
• "Nostalgia"
• "Prelude/Love Is All"
• "Acroyali/Standing in Motion"
• "Reflections of Passion"
• "Niki Nana (We're One)"
• "Santorini"

• Business Manager: Tom Paske
• Video Director/Producer: George Veras
• Tour Accountants: Diane Kramer, Pete Dorsey
• Yanni Management Tour Support Staff: Anda Allenson, Richard Allenson

{{cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/search?query=artist:%28Yanni%29+date:%5B1998-01-01+TO+1998-12-31%5D|title=Yanni 1998 Tour Dates|work=setlist.fm|date=7 October 2020|access-date=7 October 2020}}

{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Tribute}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Canada|artist=Yanni|title=Tribute|award=Gold|certyear=1998|relyear=1997|accessdate=13 December 2018}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|artist=Yanni|title=Tribute|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1997|certyear=1998|certref={{cite book |last=Salaverrie |first=Fernando |date=September 2005 |url=http://www.mediafire.com/file/pd758fesp2w7i7f/Spanish+Certifications+for+1996-1999.pdf |title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 |language=es |edition=1st |location=Madrid |publisher=Fundación Autor/SGAE |page=944 |isbn=84-8048-639-2 |access-date=4 April 2019}}}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Yanni|title=Tribute|award=Platinum|certyear=1998|relyear=1997|accessdate=9 December 2018}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=video|region=United States|artist=Yanni|title=Tribute|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=1998|relyear=1997|accessdate=9 December 2018|note=Video}}

{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

{{Reflist|2|refs=

[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r317997|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic]

[http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:200624 Allmovie]

{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/yanni/chart-history

|title=Chart history for Tribute|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2022-10-28}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.serve.com/gregl7/armen.htm |title=Profile at Serve.com |publisher=serve.com |access-date=2007-11-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185504/http://www.serve.com/gregl7/armen.htm |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}

{{cite web|url=http://www.serve.com/gregl7/armen.htm |title=Interview with Armen Anassian from the Toledo Blade |publisher=serve.com |access-date=2007-11-14 |date=1998-02-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185504/http://www.serve.com/gregl7/armen.htm |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}

{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH|title= Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and Platinum searchable database|website= Recording Industry Association of America|access-date=2007-01-01 }}

}}

• [http://www.yanni.com/ Official Website]
• {{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000596250|label=Tribute}}
• [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:200624 Tribute] at Allmovie
• {{IMDb title|qid=Q107412021|id=tt0433488|title=Tribute}}

{{Yanni}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Concert films

Category:Yanni live albums

Category:Yanni video albums

Category:Yanni concert tours

Category:1997 live albums

Category:Live instrumental albums

Category:Albums recorded in India