When guitarist Will Ackerman started the Windham Hill record label and signed fellow ax wizard Michael Hedges and pianists George Winston and Liz Story, he basically invented the sonic movement that came to be called New Age.

Of course, the phrase "New Age" came, in some circles, to be pejorative. But while much of the music in the Windham Hill catalog is indeed lovely and relaxing, the perception that the artists were simplistic and noodling - Satie-Lite, if you will - and presumably living in yurts in Northern California or Vermont, is hardly fair.

As a fan of much of what is called "New Age," I strongly recommend Ackerman's own solo efforts - particularly since he performs Friday in Old Saybrook's Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. Story is also on the bill, along with another evocative solo pianist, Lisa Downing. The live performance will not only sound wonderful but might also go a long way towards empirically verifying how good these players really are.

- RICK KOSTER

Liz Story, Lisa Downing and Will Ackerman, 8 p.m. Friday, Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook; $35; 1-877-503-1286.