Two minutes of piano in the style of an early period Bill Evans ballad. This is a composite of two takes.... the last six seconds are cut in from an alternate where I played the runs cleaner than the original. Thank you in advance for listening. --Ray
You can listen here: Sandy's Gentler Side
Replies
Very nice, Ray! I can't say I am adept at providing critical commentary on this style but I enjoyed listening very much. Maybe just my biases, but it also felt appropriate for the holiday season... Cheers, John
Thank you so much, John. This means a lot. -Ray
I enjoyed this, Ray. Loved your harmonic movement, elegant and complex and delicious. Wonderful playing! Definitely Bill Evans in the air.
Thank you, Gregrorio. Evans had the full-tilt classical music training. He was particularly connected with Debussy and Ravel, and kept the Bach Inventions & Sinfonias on his piano in his New York apartment. I was unaware of these facts when I first heard him, but it's all so evident when you listen.... his compostion and keyboard touch. I was very pleased to read your encouraging comment. Thank you so much. --Ray
Nice, quick little piece Ray. Was this largely improvised, or written out? It has more of an improvisatory feel to my ears, perhaps "played out" in a couple hours of practice at the piano.
Hi, David - yes ... exactly what you said. Despite its improvisatory roots and performance feel, I wrote it out. And while I was playing the various recording takes I found I was still making decisions about note values and phrasing. So there's somewhat of a delta between the posted performance and what's currently on paper. I'm thankful that you listend and articulated that question/comment. --Ray