|
Click here to order this CD This album began as a demo of improvisations on the standards, to be recorded by sound engineer Dan Kent and performed on the beautiful Yamaha C-3 piano that sits in the offices of BOS Advertising, where my partner David Lieber toiled as a writer. Just for the record, as they say. But although we only had a weekend, the results far exceeded our expectations, both in sound quality and in the performances themselves. So sensing potential for the project beyond just a demo, David suggested continuing the sessions and to produce a solo album of standards. But that didn't sit very well with me, at first. I usually prefer to create wholly original music, and standards are something pianists normally record once they're individually established and with the backing of a record company and distributor. But after listening to the few tunes we got down that first day, I knew that not only was the price right for the recording opportunity, but the place and time, as well. So to balance off the project, I sneaked in two of my own compositions: Last Impressions and Song for Katya. (Two other selections on this CD, and I'm not saying which, weren't even supposed to be there but one-take wonders secretly recorded by Dan while I was taking a breather. Maybe next time, I'll make a playlist and just throw it away once I'm in studio. Or maybe not...) Some very personal choices I've included: one of them is Home, one of my favorite tunes by the late great Michel Petrucciani and an hommage to one of my greatest influences, both for his playing and composition. The other is the Chopin Prelude and Dave Brubeck's Dziekuye, which I segued for a special reason: I'd heard Dave perform Dziekuye at Carnegie Hall with his trio in 1999, where he described to his audience how he'd written it while on tour of Poland in 1958, after visiting Chopin's house. The title means "thank you" in Polish, and Dave explained how he'd named it that because all pianists, no matter what their style, owe a great debt of gratitude to old Frederic. It seemed only fitting, then, to offer a Chopin Prelude as a prelude to Dave's Dziekuye. In this recording, I've left it obscure where one ends and the other begins -- just as it should be. Matt Herskowitz |
