Kevin Keller is one of the rare artists who can transition between styles/subgenres with ease while also maintaining extremely high-quality composing and performing. The Front Porch of Heaven shows his artistry at combining his superb piano melodies with keyboard embellishments, electronic enhancements, and the occasional
Robert Thies (piano) and Damjan Krajacic (flute) have something truly special going with their Blue Landscapes albums series. Their third installment continues what came before but also evolves their signature contemplative soundscapes which are created solely through their two instruments. All but two of the
Fiona Joy Hawkins (piano and vocals) and Rebecca Daniel (violin, organ, vocals, piano) , joined on five tracks by the Kanimbla Quartet have created a starkly beautiful musical portrait of the passing through of grief and sorrow to healing and light. A contemporary classical influence
It is said of Denver, Colorado, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes!" Christoph Berghorn's album is kind of like that. With 22 tracks in all, there is likely to be something for everyone. The overriding influence is new age music, but other
Other than the opening track, Open Waters is the most jazz-influenced release from Imaginary Road Studios. A breezy concoction of tunes that elicits the titular nature of everything from a tropical beach to the open ocean, guitarist Mosby, along with a truly stellar cast of
Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Groten has released a tour de force two-disc set that displays not just his composing and performing talent, but his imaginative ability to "reconstruct" the songs from solo acoustic guitar (disc one) to ensemble-based, with more fleshed out arrangements of the same songs (disc
To think that a recording as self-assured and "complete" as The Late Train Home is for an artist's debut is mind-boggling. Ed Blumenthal is possessed of such nuance and subtlety that it's hard to believe that this is his recording debut, even if it is
It's been four years since David Nevue's album, Winding Down, which I labeled his pièce de résistance, the best release of his career. Now, I am left even more amazed at In the Soft Light of Grace, which not only equals Winding Down, but surpasses
The Piano Guys (Paul Anderson/producer and videographer, Steven Sharp Nelson/cellist and songwriter, Jon Schmidt/pianist and songwriter, and Al Van Der Beek/music producer and songwriter) are a legit phenomenon, both musically and on the Internet. The songs on Limitless include originals, covers, and sometimes an intermix
This is pianist Gary Schmidt's second original music release, but these 14 tracks had me thinking it was closer to his fourteenth. Schmidt is on his way to reaching the upper tier of piano artists on the contemporary instrumental scene (if this album is any