REVIEW: Kevin Keller - Nocturnes

KEVIN KELLER

Nocturnes

Kevin Keller Productions

Kevin Keller gave the members of his ensemble the night off, as it were, and went solo on Nocturnes, an exploration for solo piano that shows once again how Keller walks a different path from many of his contemporaries. The music on Nocturnes is emotionally intense even when at its most subtle, and is also intellectually intriguing. While the album's pleasures can be had with casual listening, careful absorption of the details and nuance will reap much richer listening rewards.

The inspiration for Nocturnes was the work of photographer Seth Dickerman (http://sethdickerman.com/), who describes his images as "metamorphic landscapes." The images are captured in low light or moonlight and the surreal and colorful details come alive in the dark room. Keller began each piece by selecting a photograph and then weaving an impressionistic soundscape purely by how he reacted to the particular photograph. Since his music was directly inspired by a specific image, Keller titled each piece after its inspirational photograph. Mirroring Dickerman's approach, once Keller was satisfied with the end result he took the "finished" work and went about creating magic - by adding assorted ambient elements, sometimes as rhythm, sometimes as echoed drones, and other times as the natural elements of wind and waves.

Some tracks, like the opening "November," have their effects front and center. On this piece, a mournful yet up-tempo piano line is buoyed by a chattering rhythmic effect with a vague Doppler-esque sound to it. The juxtaposition of tempo and tone is characteristic of some of the tracks on Nocturnes, i.e. the pace of the piece is counterbalanced by the gravity of melody. The opening notes of "Pescadero" flow with sadness as Keller takes the refrain lower and lower on the scale before settling into a neo-classical series of rolling chords that ebb and flow from power to restraint. Even during the most rapid tempo, Keller's emphasis on minor key notes lends the song an air of disquiet, albeit of a beautiful nature. "Moonlit Headlands" is a sedate, stately piece, with a pleasant meandering quality evoking a path that goes here and there, but seldom in a straight line. "The Lost Father" brings the sound of waves into the aural picture, as well as some subtle shimmering tones. As befits the title, there is sadness here, but also drama and power, the music's pace staying slow and purposeful. As the song ends, the piano becomes faded and tinny, accompanied by the sound of a vinyl record scratching and popping, suggesting we are hearing an older LP recording on a phonograph somewhere.

"Hawi Moon" offers ambient textures deep in the mix under a fast tempo piano refrain (on headphones, it sounds like there are three different pianos at work here, so obviously there is some serious digital work going on). As on some other tracks, despite a fast tempo, the mood is not cheery but is peppered with an air of dramatic tension. "Sobrante" features the only appearance of a guest artist (cellist Clarice Jensen), who lends some serious gravitas to an already somber affair. "Sapphire Pool" and "Trinity" descend even deeper into darkness, tilting toward disquiet or one of the darker emotions. The concluding track, "Red Headlands" ushers in on a sustaining low drone and minimal lower register piano notes that sustain for long durations. Here, the mood is more reflective. It's a great choice for the closing song as it sends the listener off in a relaxed, contemplative state.

Nocturnes emphatically drives home the point that Kevin Keller has ambitions far beyond many of his contemporaries. This is an unconventional and fearless recording, complex yet full of emotion, accessible to the casual listener, but challenging enough to satisfy the adventurous mind of contemporary classical music fans. As with Keller's two previous albums, the emotional weight of Nocturnes is considerable, but Keller's special talent is to convey this depth of feeling without alienating the fan who simply enjoys good piano music. It's a tightrope that not many others would even attempt, but Keller makes it look easy. Ultimately, the album satisfies the mind and the heart, the intellect and the soul, the scientist and the poet, always with a keen sense of melodic flow and nuance of rhythm and tempo.

Nocturnes is available at  Amazon and iTunes.

REVIEW: DAMON BUXTON - Visitations

DAMON BUXTON

Visitations

Many Miles Music

Damon Buxton vexes me as a critic even while he delights me as a listener on his latest album. Visitations. The artist's musical gifts and talent, spread abundantly throughout the recording, unveil themselves as richer and more complex with every playing (and I have played the album well over ten times before writing this review), but it is that same ten-plus playings that serves as evidence that something confounds the usually adroit writer in me. Time after time I tried, as a critic, to draw a bead on how to describe this man's music, but time and time again I was stuck with how to convey, in my usual loquacious manner, what his music was "like," so that you, the music-buying customer, would know whether it would be to your liking. At this point in time, I have surrendered to that goal, and will allow my critic to just sit back and enjoy the ride - and a fascinating ride it is on Visitations.

Before delving into some detailed words on individual tracks on the CD, I want to comment on the album artwork and the title. The two beautiful women, draped in white, are, I assume, meant to convey visitations by spirits (or at least that is my interpretation), yet the album liner notes are devoid of overt spirituality or "new agey-ness" and the music certainly doesn’t conjure images of angels or cosmic entities. I bring this up mostly to encourage you, the potential buyer of the album, to look past these images if they had prejudiced you to think this was going to be sweet, syrupy, saccharine-laced music. The music on Visitations is many things but is never syrupy or saccharine. With that said, let's look at the music itself.

A perpendicular comparison could be made to Will Ackerman's music, but that would be wrong because Buxton's music has more going on than Ackerman's more tone-poem, impressionistic approach. After much soul-searching the best phrase I can use to encapsulate Buxton's modus operandi is the introduction of dramatic tension in his pieces. Allow me to quote from an online source which describes it thusly: "Pleasurable excitement and anticipation regarding an outcome, such as the ending of a mystery novel." This is what I hear during the second track, "The Constancy of Angels (for Ash)" especially when Buxton changes key two thirds of the way through the track…there is a feeling of anticipation…of mystery…of unknowingness. It's so deliciously anticipatory. The track perfectly captures the uniqueness of Buxton's allure, the knowledge that something other than the usual may occur as he unfurls his melodies which revolve around what I refer to as circular refrains. "Rain" pleasantly assaults the listener with a cascading fast tempo downpour of notes, played with such dexterity that you are left wishing you could see Buxton play it live for the sheer joy of witnessing how his fingers could deftly navigate the strings and frets so effortlessly. The relative calm of "Sauternes" comes across as a delicious lull. The piece is not just sedate but relatively serene in its quasi-Mediterranean musings, like an aural aperitif. The title track features a wistful note progression that is so ear pleasing you want to luxuriate in it, enjoying its midtempo gracefulness, and then that "unexpected happens" when a series of upper register notes appears as if to say "yes, but…" "Transcontinental" conveys a sensation of travel with its tempo and its melody, while the playfulness of "Lilia Lani" (sounding almost as if it were played on a mandolin) speculates on a scene of unabashed frivolity. "Maledictions" re-introduces that feeling of tension, of something under the surface that seems to occupy a fair amount of Buxton's muse. It's not darkness, or melancholy, nor anything particularly sinister, but instead the "expectation" of the unknown. Call it "delicious anticipation" if you will. However, there is no need to wait for the payoff with Damon Buxton's guitar playing - the reward is right there in the listening, the appreciation of the nuance, the timing, the attention to detail, the juxtaposition of economy (few notes when called for) with a flurry of frenetic spell-binding technique. By the time the listener reaches the end of the "visitation" on the closing track, "Between These Clouds," she or he will feel both sated yet also eager to further explore the CD's fourteen tracks time and time again, peeking into each one's crannies, seeking that moment when magic happens (e.g. 4:30 on "The Constancy of Angels"); that instant when Buxton finds a musical "sixth gear" and the listener suddenly experiences a flood of euphoria thinking "Oh yes…that's it."

Damon Buxton is a rare, unique visionary on the acoustic guitar. Visitations (meticulously engineered, mixed and mastered by Corin Nelsen) is one of the best solo acoustic guitar releases I've heard this decade, and I believe I have yet to plumb its depths and find all it has to offer. It's a visionary effort by a consummate artist.

The album is available from bandcamp and iTunes.

REVIEW: JOSEFINE AND TRINE OPSAHL - Leaving My Silent Empty House

JOSEFINE AND TRINE OPSAHL

Leaving My Silent Empty House

Heart to Heart Records (2008)
 

So many times the expression "the apple never falls far from the tree" has a negative connotation, but in the case of mother and daughter, Trine and Josefine Opsahl, the saying instead connotes that talent does indeed run in the family. No, check that - abundant talent runs in the family. Harpist Trine and cellist (and daughter) Josefine come together on Leaving My Silent Empty House and, to be blunt, this album blew me away. I was already wowed by Trine's Somewhere in a Hidden Memory (2012), which for me is one of the finest harp recordings ever released (if you think that's hyperbole, you haven't listened to it yet - trust me). While this album was recorded several years prior to Somewhere in…, Trine obviously had already refined her harp playing to an incredibly nuanced and beautiful level. Cellist Josefine was only 16 when this album was recorded which, when you hear her play, will likely astound you (it sure did me). Like I wrote above, "apple…not far…tree…" Oh yes, so true.

The album's title gives more than a hint of the mood present on many of the eleven tracks, although truth be told, with cello and harp as the instruments, one would expect a more low key, impressionistic, and sometimes somber affair. However, there are moments here when the mood is less melancholic and is, instead, warm and inviting, such as the uptempo "Under a Bright Moon." Yet, the overall evocation of the recording is more in line with the somewhat forlorn album title itself. Of course, if one actually thinks it through, the leaving of a "silent and empty house" might, instead, elicit emotions such as relief, optimism, even joy. However, this is just my analysis from a narrative standpoint. The music is, if not outright somber, more often than not delicate and pointedly subdued. That doesn't keep it from being intensely beautiful and, in fact, while this album would make ideal background music for anything from relaxation and massage to daydreaming and late night reading, concentrated and in-depth listening will reveal much depth and attention to detail (credit mixing and producing to Henning Olsen and mastering to Dave Blackburn). With one exception, all the tracks were composed by Trine, and daughter Josefine arranged all the cello parts herself.

It's somewhat unnecessary to go into a lot of detail about the tracks, since there is a distinct feeling of uniformity throughout the eleven selections. "Fairies in Moonlight" is light in mood and the cello, in particular, seems rooted in classical motifs. "Under a Bright Moon" opens with some solo harp and when the cello enters, the mood becomes more somber and sedate, however the piece does shift gears at the three-minute mark, becoming light-hearted and fanciful, keeping this mood until the conclusion. On "Lion's Heart," the harp has a notable Renaissance sound to its melody and the cello enters the song deep in its lower registers. Again, the piece builds into something more energetic, but not upbeat in mood, just uptempo in pace. "After the Rain" is a gorgeous folk harp number, reminding me of Glenn Walker Johnson's music (an obscure but super talented folk harpist who lives in the northwoods of Wisconsin). It has the same lightness of feel that his music holds - gentle but uptempo (not an easy paradox to master). Cello takes the lead on the title track, and Josefine bows her instrument with sublime grace while Trine follows behind, embellishing the lead cello melody perfectly.  The last track, "True Thomas," sounds Celtic (and it should since it is inspired by the Irish legend of Thomas the Rhyme) and features Trine and Josefine on accordion as well as their respective instruments. It's a downbeat tune, perhaps based on a story laced with tragedy (it has that feel to it), but it's a wonderful closing song to an equally wonderful album.

Leaving My Silent Empty House is a 2008 album and while Trine has since released Somewhere in a Hidden Memory, it's high time the world was favored with a follow-up recording by this mother-daughter duo. Talent this good should be rewarded with acclaim and success, so get onboard and pick up on this one so Trine and Josefine will be motivated and inspired enough to get back in the studio and give us more of the family magic. 

The album can be purchased at iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby, as well as directly from the artist.

REVIEW: MICHELE MCLAUGHLIN - Waking the Muse

MICHELE MCLAUGHLIN

Waking the Muse

Self-released (2013)

It's hard for me to believe that pianist Michele McLaughlin was feeling somewhat uninspired to record music (which is what she states in the liner notes to Waking the Muse) because her  two previous recordings, Breathing in the Moment (2012) and Out of the Darkness (2010) were some of her best releases.  Yet she professes that just recently her muse began "…coming to life  with renewed inspiration and creativity,  changing  my world  from a dark, uninspired landscape to a colorful palette of music that had been hiding inside of me." I know that McLaughlin had, prior to Out of the Darkness, recovered from some personal tragedy and perhaps the two previous albums were part of the healing process and now, with Waking the Muse, she is truly free and alive to follow her muse. Whether my analysis is correct or not, McLaughlin has released an album full of passion, vibrancy, and personal power, traits which she has always exhibited in her music but which seem intensified and more affirming than before.

McLaughlin is what I refer to as a "heart on her sleeve" composer, i.e. there is no subterfuge, no subtlety at work in her music - she presents her emotional intent of a song forthwith and front and center. It's a testament to her considerable talent that this baring of her soul always works so well, because in the hands of a lesser talent, the music would be melodramatic, overly self-conscious, and would grow tiresome. However, it's not just her technique and artistry, which is impossible to ignore, but also her artist's soul, which seems woven into every piece of music she writes.  No matter how pyrotechnic she can be (and this woman can really play piano with the best of 'em), there is always she presence of heart, sometimes "in your face" and sometimes between the lines, but never hidden behind artifice.

One aspect of Michele's music that has always stood out to me is how she allows for fluidity in her time signature and moods within songs, a characteristic that she shares with only a few other pianists in the same genre (I am thinking of Timothy Davey in particular). However, where Davey roots his music in jazz and bluegrass motifs, McLaughlin is influenced by classical composers with an occasional nod to minimalism. She is unafraid to change a song in midstream from fast and powerful to slow and soft, morphing the melody from a roar to a whisper.  Hearing her play live, and she plays live a lot, would be something to see and hear, I imagine.

It's always been difficult for to encapsulate her albums in just a few sentences, owing to her diversity, so all I can say in summation of Waking the Muse is that it's full of great solo piano music, although if you prefer your music to be staid, relaxed, and with a single dominant motif, you may want to steer clear. Waking the Muse paints for the listener with a broad and deep color palette: romantic, somber, passionate, lively, inviting, and reflective. Take note, though, that these terms may apply only to part of any one song, again because of the artist's ability, perhaps even preference, for mixing it up on a song, allowing the composition to flow with an almost organic sense of evolution over the course of its three to five minute duration.

"Waking the Muse" infuses the uptempo refrain with a hint of mystery and then injects a passage of positive energy. "A Beautiful Distraction" is a somber yet warm classically-rooted piece, and is one the few on the CD that stays put, so to speak.  "Humbled" starts off slow and builds toward a faster pace with an uptick in mood as well, erupting with a sensation of celebration near the end before winding back down.  Paradoxically, the opening refrain of "Misty Fjords" sounds more Celtic than Norwegian, but regardless, it's a joyous, jubilant, and playful song that kicks up its heels.  "Until We Meet Again" is a real gem, and showcases that McLaughlin can write a great romantic ballad, as she switches from soft and sparse to passionate and pyrotechnic, flowing with pronounced yet gentle power. "Torn" may be the most "heart on her sleeve" piece on the album, as the song musically evokes the pain that lies in wait when one arrives at the crux of a difficult decision.

Michele McLaughin is one of the most tireless artists recording in the solo piano genre today, as I always read (on Facebook) about her touring or performing and sandwiching in recording new pieces when she is home in Utah. McLaughlin is also one of the most "open" personalities in this business, always freely sharing her feelings about her life and the world, so it's no surprise that her music presents an equally open book picture of this gifted musician. What I am left with is simple wonderment, because if her muse has only recently woken, I can scarce imagine what lies ahead for her many fans.

The album is available at the artist's website, Amazon, iTunes, and CDBaby.