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Once upon
a time I held to the belief that the vast majority of solo piano
recordings were, for the most part, self-indulgent works wherein the
artist merely plays the piano. Yet there are, albeit few and
far between, those discs that are rare gems which actually portray
the resonant soul of both the piano and the artist. The jewel
case for "Pure
Piano Panoramas"
is one such release containing that elusive rare pearl of real piano music.
From the gatefold cover shot to
the evenly scaled sound of the piano strings, from top to bottom,
there is continuity to the theme of Panoramas as Jeff elicits an
engagingly wide open showcase of personal compositions. When
one considers the writing, the playing and the recording as a whole
Jeff's second release, likened to a window, is an expansive vista
into the soul of the artist. Although the term
"inspirational music" has been used to identify religious
works of music, and yes there are two cover tracks of quintessential
songs of faith contained within, the fact of the matter remains that
Jeff possesses the ability to pass his inspiration on to the
listener. There is Jeff's deft, almost angelic, touch that allows him
to commune with the keyboard and coax stirring dynamic presence and
tone from the strings of the piano. The artist and the piano
speak, melodically, as one and gently carry the listener along on
pastoral chordal passages that elicit a feeling of warmth and
familiarization with the soundscapes being presented. The
melodies seem to appear suspended above the keyboards supporting
bottom end. I offer highest marks and kudos to the engineer,
and the producers, for getting it right and allowing the full tonal
ambience and its attendant atmospheres of the piano to speak
intimately and honestly. Although recorded indoors there is an
almost uncanny timber that alludes to the spacious panoramas that
Jeff writes about and offers an acoustic ambience that supports the theme.
My favorite tracks?
Undoubtedly "Desert Cloudburst", "Soaring Mesa
Cliffs", and "Sculptor of the Sky". Each of
these tracks allows me to spend a moment outside of time that is both
reflective and illuminating, all the while suspending and
transcending the boundaries of stereo sound playback.
There are some that may notice I
have eschewed the usual two parts of my reviewing style,
interspersing comments about the sound within the descriptive
process. This happened purely due to the synergistic melding of
the parts as a whole. I found the task of trying to focus on
any one aspect of the music, without it being tied to either the
performance or recording process, most perplexing to say the
least. It could be done, with great effort and determination,
but I felt it just detracted from the listening experience as a
whole. Each time I tried to dissect the sound I found myself
just wanting to listen as Jeff's music cleansed and relaxed the
palette of the mind. That being said this recording is a
stunner as it reminds me of some early Mark Levinson, 30 ips two
track analog, LP's that I own. You can hear far enough into the
recording to be able to discern the activation, or riding, on the
sustain pedal as well as the light caress of the felt hammers, but
only so far as to dynamically heighten the experience and not detract
from the music. You hear a real piano and the inner faith of an
artist all in it's Pure Panoramic Glory. Highly recommended
addition to the collection of any piano aficionado, you won't be disappointed.
P.S. Listening through headphones
does not put you inside the piano like so many recordings do.
In speaking with Jeff by phone he explained the microphone set up
that was deployed in the recording of this project. This
critical piece of the recording puzzle has been executed flawlessly
and places air and the pianos notes around your head and not on a
laser beam between your ears. Thanks Jeff and Bill, it really
is recorded beautifully and lets the notes float, it sounds just the
way a piano in a room should.
The listening sessions were
performed in the following systems:
(1) Belles XLM preamplifier,
Belles 200 power amplifier with Magneplanar MG1.6QR, & Sunfire
True Subwoofer speakers.
(2)The Holo-System: Musical
Fidelity A3 CD player, Musical Fidelity A3 Integrated amplifier with
Altec Lansing 510 A speakers. ( A relatively large system in an
extremely small room with only one small holographic listening sweet spot)
(3)Additional listening done with
Sennheiser HD 600 and Sony MDR 7509 Headphones and the Musical
Fidelity X-Can v2 headphone amp. The Musical Fidelity A3 CD
Player was the direct source for this system.
Reviewed by BEAR
08.12.01 The
New Age Sampler Website
Visit
BEAR's bio page to learn more about him. |
