Music Reccommendations??

I'd second the Buddy Guy / Sweet Tea recommendation - great CD. Also Howlin' Wolf / The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. More Blues: Son House...pretty much anything..the recordings aren't the greatest but the voice, the music and the emotion are all there in spades!! He infleuenced virtually everyone else in the Delta Blues as well as other genres. Yep, Muddy Waters / Folk Singer is an outstanding recording. Harmonica? Sonny Boy Williamson / Keep it to Ourselves & King Biscuit Time.

My wife makes her living as a Massage Therapist too. I do know she likes some of the Eno Ambient Music series and from that series I'd recommend Discreet Music. Also would highly recommend the following CD's for soothing, beautiful and hypnotic music: Arvo Part / Alina, Anouar Brahem / Le Pas du Chat Noir.....I NEVER have tired of either of those CD's....both are just gorgeous, very peaceful...very accessable...highly reccommended to anyone! If she really wanted to push the envelope give a try to Gavin Bryars / Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet. That's really an acquired taste, but it can be quite soothing and hypnotic in a very strange way. It's definitely not for everyone though. I find it beautiful and very effective. It may have her clients weeping though.

Marco

For New Age, I recommend Yanni, Enya, Suzanne Ciani and Keiko Matsui. Some labels to check out Narada, Windham Hill, Hearts of Space, Celestial Harmonies and perhaps even ECM. You could check out Robert Rich, Stephen Micus or Steve Roach. Tony Scott's Music For Zen Meditation is highly recommended. Even Ryuichi Sakamoto's film pieces are quite atmospheric. Or if you are game, you can try Early Greek Music, Island of St. Hylarion - Music of Cyprus by Ensemble Project Ars Nova. First class music and will totally de-stress you.

Blues -- Get the Chess Boxed Sets of Muddy Watters
and Howlin' Wolf. I would also recommend the boxed set of Robert Johnson. For harmonica: Sonny Boy
Williamson is the man and he also has a boxed set
out. If you like Jump Blues, check out Wynonie Harris.
Rhino has a greatest hits package that sounds good
and is a great introduction to Wynonie. For a woman
who can shout the blues, "Big Maybelle." Get the
"Complete Okeh Sessions." You will not be sorry.

Now, if you want to go back to the beginning of the
recorded Delta blues tradition -- and if you can stand
some hiss so you can hear from where it all came --
You've got to get Charlie Patton.

Dig this: Charlie Patton taught Robert Johnson who
Clapton credits as his biggest influence. Patton also
taught Son House, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Patton was recorded early in the 19th century on cheap plastic because that's what they used for "Race" records in those days. To get recordings of Charlie Patton, they had to go to the Mississippi Delta and go door to door, borrowing records from the residents, who still had these records 40 years later.

The emotion in Patton's voice will still come through,
as well as his amazing playing. And, you will hear the
earliest recorded versions of "Spoonfull Blues" as well
as others that you will recognize.

All the above mentioned Blues recordings are excellent choices. For an album that has elements both of blues and world music and either rocks hard or is soothing depending on the volume try Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder, Talking Timbuktu. An excellent mello and hypnotic world music album is Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck Djam lleelii. Yes that is all spelled correctly, holy double vowels. A fascinating recording that I took into my masseuse is Michael Brook Live at the Aquarium, London Zoo 21 May 1992. I am not a huge classical fan myself but Chopin is beautiful mellow music. Try Chopin The Nocturnes, Maria Joao Pires on Deutsche Grammaphon.

If you want harmonica (blues harp), and I mean one of the best...check out The Paul Butterfield Blues Band—East-West is a killer, and can be found on vinyl. They also have a compilation cd titled— An Anthology:The Elecktra Years. The blues harp playing on the live version of "Everything's Gonna Be Alright," will knock your socks off!

For audiophile quality, I enjoy the Blue Rider Trio on Mapleshade Records.

My massage therapist plays Brian Eno and other ambient music artists. I find it quite soothing. Unless it rubs you the wrong way ;-)