This past spring, I created a series of improvisational sketches for piano and cello (some of which morphed into full-fledged compositions). On May 15, 2016, at Classic Pianos Denver, my talented cellist friend Jonathan Herring and I enjoyed performing these five pieces. Fortunately, I was able to capture the performance by mounting my iPhone on a tripod and using a separate stereo microphone to record the audio.
The pieces range in style from jazz-like to more contemplative. On two of the pieces, I even play a hand drum with my right hand while playing the piano with the left!
I’ve also included the teaser video I had created prior to the concert. I recorded this at my home studio during our second rehearsal and had fun editing the video by inserting myself and Jonathan into picture frames in an art gallery. 🙂
If you would be interested in finding out about future concerts or performances, please feel free to contact me and I will add you to my email mailing list.
The teaser video
This is the promo video I created for my concert at Classic Pianos Denver on Sunday May 15, 2016 at 4:30. This video shows Jonathan Herring and I rehearsing an improvisational performance of my piece “Of Clouds and Waves”, which I then edited to make it seem as if we’re each in a frame in an art gallery. 🙂
Bal à Bougival
This started as an improvisational sketch and evolved into something of a composition. The piece is named after a famous painting of the same name, by Renoir, and is meant to evoke a waltz-like dance by a young couple on the outskirts of Paris.
The Song of Amergin
I first created this Celtic sounding piece as a solo piano improvisational sketch, but it evolved into a composition for piano and cello. The name of the song is inspired by a poem ascribed to Amergin, who apparently lived around 500 BC in Ireland.
The Rube Goldberg Groove
This is a jazz-influenced improvisation that I created to perform with my friend Jonathan Herring, on cello. A Rube Goldberg machine is a wild contraption where a series of actions are triggered through a long chain reaction.
Of Waves and Clouds
This is an improvisational sketch I created for piano and cello. The title of this piece was inspired by a poem called “Clouds and Waves” by Rabindranath Tagore. The poem speaks of the imagination of a child, but is also a wonderful homage to mothers. My own mother passed away in 2014, and I have sometimes gazed up at the clouds in the sky thinking of her and remembering tender childhood memories. The piece also features me playing a hand drum (doumbek) in my right hand while playing the piano with my left.
Bollywood Bruce
I titled this piece Bollywood Bruce, because I’m playing a hand drum (doumbec) in my right hand with a type of Bollywood beat, and the piano improvisation is inspired by the playing of Bruce Hornsby. Bruce Hornsby is one of my favorite piano players, and I have fond memories of listening to the music of his band “Bruce Hornsby and the Range” in the 1980s. My wife, Gwyneth, is not visible in this video, but she is keeping a solid beat on a djembe drum to help fill in the holes while I switch from right hand on drum, left hand on piano, to two hands on piano. 🙂
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