The distinguishable mane of black hair, the lovely misty eyes, his contemporary wardrobe, the American-with-a-touch-of-Greek accent he speaks with are all what we love about Yanni. All? Let’s not forget the most important gift the man possesses and gives to his fans: Music. "My goal is to connect with people emotionally. I take life's experiences and translate them into music -- music that hopefully creates an impact on the listener.” And boy, has he created an impact. Yanni’s new album “If I could tell you”, speaks about his past experiences and how the 110+ Tribute Concerts have changed him. With unforgettable performances at the Taj Mahal in India and The Forbidden City in China, Yanni's appeal has transcended boundaries and has come as close to world music as the definition possibly admits, while at the same time, transforming him into an Icon. The 45-year-old Greek instrumental music composer and keyboardist is a music megastar of the present era, and he is definitely here to stay. Most music lovers who hadn't even heard Yanni's name are now swearing by it. That is what the man's music does to you.

Never before has the musician has such a dizzy ascent, but then, as Yanni says, "There hasn't been any music in 20 years. Nothing." His legion of fans would of course like to believe (and some do) there's never been any music before Yanni and there never will be after him.

After selling more than 14 million albums in 1998, after all the touring and performing, the Mediterranean wonder dropped off the face of the planet and went back to live with his parents in his birthplace, Kalamata, Greece, for 3 months and decided to see the world after that. As he eluded the music scene to heal himself of his depression brought on by end of his 7-year relationship with Dynasty vixen Linda Evans and his intense touring, Yanni awoke one morning and stared at the rising Sun. “My heart opened up and it felt good. I thought, okay, you’re healed.”  He then returned to his recently built home in Florida, conjured up new, scintillating masterpieces that are “If I could tell you” and blew the world away as he came to light once again.

The journey has been long but extremely rewarding. For years, no radio station thought it important to give him prime-airtime. MTV wouldn’t touch him. No teenybopper television music channel ever telecast his videos. Yet his albums have sold immensely and his 1994 album, Live at the Acropolis has gone quadruple-platinum, lapped up by over seven million people (and still counting) and reached number five at the Billboard Top 200.

Kids hated him. People made fun of him (the old Dentist joke that goes “Novocain or Yanni?”). Critics despised him, saying his music was laid down, that he didn’t have any talent and complained that he didn’t sing. However, in the end, Yanni overawed the lovers of music into submission with his impassioned orchestral melodies and his cascading crescendos. Purists say that his compositions rival those of Jean-Michel Jarre and Richard Clayderman.     

But, perhaps, more than his music, it’s his stage presence that galvanizes the audience into a hypnotic spell. Says London's The Sunday Times: "This is how Yanni's Fans (75% of female) see him: the shapely etched profile of a Greek Idol, the ruthlessly inquiring mind of Socrates, the uncompromising artistic integrity of an Aeschylus, the restless, tossing mane of Pegasus and the utterly self-composed smile of a man who knows he could lure you beyond the possibility of redemption..."

Although he left the shores of the Aegean Sea as a teenager for a showbiz life in America, Grecian music continues to beckon him to its shores. Today the trademark Yanni style of music has a global following. He himself admits immodestly, "Every year that I go out on a tour I see my audience double, and that tells me I'm doing quite okay."

That may be the understatement of the musical decade. Yanni's concerts are sold out months in advance and his albums have become some the top grosses of the century. In 1996 he was the sixth highest earning musician of the world with collections pushing the $12.5 million mark. At the BillBoard charts, Yanni had climbed to the third position in the top new age artists and the sales of his album Live at the Acropolis was still moving swiftly from the retail shop shelves. And now, the sales of the Tribute Albums, VHS and DVDs, have likely made him one of the richest musicians of the current era. But personal fortune may have little significance for Yanni. It is his melodies that obsess him and his performances are for posterity. And so are his quotable quotes. He says his music is meant to give his listeners an attitude about life. "I truly believe greatness is in all of us. Don't anyone talk us out of our truth."

Yanni should be a living example of that. Back in 1974 when he was studying at the University of Minnesota in America he had become a crowd puller with his piano recitals. After graduation, he grouped with a rock band called Chameleon at $150.

That could have been the launching pad for many, though not for Yanni, who seldom ceased to dream making it big someday. But there was never enough money to buy the equipment. Frustration crept in and, Yanni remembers "At moments I felt that maybe I didn't have talent. But those were very short-lived moments."

The big break in his life came when his brother, a chemical engineer, agreed to finance his musical career. What followed were small contracts and a one-off record deal with a company called Private Music. One album followed another but without the professional hype, most sank without a trace only to re-emerge after publicity. Yanni says he did his music as he pleased. "I didn't worry if the radio was gonna play it or if it was hip." Even in those days, he wasn't impressed if people enjoyed his music or not. "I have never wanted to be enslaved by people's opinion. I don't pander to an audience."  Even now, when asked what CDs he listening to nowadays he responds with, “I do not listen to a lot of music, particularly in the last few months because I have been working on my album. And when I work, I work 16-hour days, so there is no room for anything else. Plus, I avoid watching television or listening to the radio because I don't want to be influenced while I'm creating. However, I do enjoy any kind of music; I try to be exposed to all music. There is beauty in everything.”

The truth of course was that in those days, Yanni had hardly an audience to write home about. No radio played him nor did any mega contracts walk up to him. After a decade of trying, the dreamer headed for Hollywood - the city of dreams.

What followed was the standard drill. Visiting music companies, meeting talent scouts, seeking elusive appointments that never materialized. A handful of the influential people Yanni met turned him away when they heard that many of his compositions stretched over seven minutes. No one had the time to meet Yanni or listen to a “Yanni composition”.

No one except Linda Evans. Well known for her role as Krystle Carrington in old TV series Dynasty, Linda was introduced to a Yanni album by a friend. She look quizzically and enquired, "Yanni who??"

Of course there was no "who". The musician had dropped his second name Chrysommalis (Pronounced “Hrisomalis” in Greek) many years ago and preferred to be known just by his first name. By nightfall, Linda had become a confirmed Yanniholic. She picked up the phone, enquired about his number and called him up to congratulate and asked him to meet her. A couple of years later, Linda, 12 years Yanni's senior, would confess, "If I had known what he looked like I would never have had the nerve to call."

They were lovers before the two knew it and Linda let Yanni into a secret: She told him, "You have the music the world wants. But no one knows it exists." And she set herself the task of letting the world know that Yanni and his brand of impassioned music did exist in the world.

The first big break came when Linda took Yanni to the Oprah Winfrey Talk Show. Within a week of the show, his album, Reflections of Passion sold over 300,000 copies. Linda says she wanted to transform him from a "magical human being who composes in the silence of his mind to someone out there in the world".

And she succeeded phenomenally. He is the thinker, the philosopher. She, the perfect foil - one of the best public relations he could ever get.

The world came to know of the magical partnership of Linda and Yanni when Yanni performed at the Herod Atticus amphitheatre with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Live at the Acropolis became one of the thundering musical successes of modern times. Having pushed the $8 million mark and now having been watched by over 1.8 billion people worldwide, the concert also spawned an incredibly successful video, which sold (and continues to sell) to the point where it became the third best selling music video of all time. The footage has been telecast in over 65 countries around the world and has made Yanni almost a virtual cult figure. "At some point of time, a thought becomes a dream. A man's dream or a woman's dream is so powerful, it can change the world," says Yanni whose own world has changed dramatically after the Acropolis, Taj Mahal and Forbidden City concerts.

Today, Yanni is no longer a musical Odysseus. He is a man well recognized and respected in music circles. His Trademark white attire with touches of black is a familiar sight to all. He has merged visual and auditory extravaganza and elevated it to a level of spirituality, one which is hardly associated with modern jazz.

A far cry from the days when he was knocking at the doors for a break, he got his breaks alright, and now, the man who once composed in the silence of his mind now goes up onto stage and the world listens in admiration and marvels at his energy. That is the power of Yanni, the man whose favorite quote is: "I don't have failure in me".

For the Full review of Yanni’s new album “If I could tell you” as well other album reviews, click here.

Acknowledgements:

Barnes&Noble.Com, The Washington Post.Com, Cox News Service, The Khaleej Times, The London Times.

Copyright 1999-2000 Kunal Bajaj.