All Episodes

Small crowd tonight. I was just in a quiet, reflective mood, so I played accordingly. Sometimes it's nice to settle into an unhurried approach, and just listen more deeply to the tones and emerging melodies. Enjoy.

Small crowd and one new guest tonight. Felt like playing around with chords and arpeggios. I think "Dancing Queen" showed up, but other than that, not much else to say! Enjoy.

Dear listeners, I've been holding out on you; for the past several weeks I've been closing the evening with an improvisation with the studio equipment, using looping and synths to create different soundscapes or rhythm grooves. Tonight's piano music is shorter because I finally spent more time looping. I hope to incorporate this sound very soon in the podcast. It's not exactly "piano meditations" but "improvisations with studio equipment" just doesn't have the same ring to it...

Went to some more bombastic places tonight, but also some introspective places, too. Started to do a percussive, atonal piece but it turned into an old-style blues. Did a sweet little melodic thing that morphed into a schizophrenic ragtime. Go figure. 

I did a couple freestyle pieces as usual, but then I played a classical piece and followed it with an improvisation based on thematic elements of the piece. The pieces were Brahms Intermezzo in A Major, Mendelssohn Song Without Words in F# minor, and a Debussy Prelude, Girl With the Flaxen Hair. On the last improvisation, I took the descending thirds and reversed it. In the middle of the piece, I realized ascending thirds was actually the beginning of "I Loves You, Porgy", so I followed that thread for a bit.

Update: my podcast host has started playing ads; I noticed there were ads in the middle of the podcast which have now been removed. 
Living room was full tonight! I'm happy people feel fulfilled enough to come so regularly. Tonight I started off with a couple freestyle pieces like I usually do, but then I alternated between a classical piece and an improvisation loosely based on the same piece. I stream these concerts with my phone to FB, and a bunch of the evening was muted out because of copyright claims! I filed a dispute, but I have to say I'm flattered; the claims were from famous concert pianists! As if I had played their recordings instead of playing the pieces myself! So, thanks FB, but no, I'm not Yuja Wang, nor am I playing her performance....

We've been getting a nice crowd in recent weeks; 12 this time. I'm glad these evenings are appreciated, and I'm realizing it's a wonderful opportunity for people to forget about everything else, not look at phones for an hour, relax and enjoy a live piano. The audience helps me stay focused and intentional, and I get a podcast out of it. Win win!

A bunch of new people tonight! We had to bring chairs in from the dining room! The only quote that showed up (that I'm aware of) was Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Always fun to have new listeners! I started with a typical arc; a few notes to serve as a theme, expand and explore. Then a more energetic piece but very straightforward tonally, then a harmonic voice-leading kind of thing. I played a bluesy piece and the crowd was quite enthused! So, I did another jazzy piece, "Manhã de Carnaval". The last piece turned into "Tender Shepherd". Enjoy!

Getting better at trusting my instincts, not doubting the value of what I'm doing. The first few notes contain so much information; theme, energy, tonality, mood. Realizing the music can go anywhere doesn't mean it has to go everywhere. Staying with a few elements and seeing how deep they go seems to be helping me create more coherent pieces. 

Had a nice crowd tonight. Went to some fun places; played with time signatures, drones, tension, and simple harmonies that kept suggesting existing tunes. I had no idea I'd be doing a mashup of "Send in the Clowns" with "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", but, there you go. Enjoy.

BTW, I'm not naming the episode number any more, because it already shows up in the podcast interface, and I'm always off by one number somehow.
I was planning to do some looping at the end of the evening, but after playing the piano it seemed like a big jump to a whole different musical style, so I skipped it. One of these days...

New friend and guitarist/bassist Marcus DaSilwa joined us tonight! We stuck with the "no plan-plan" and played together with no for-thought about what happens next. While it definitely kept us both listening intently to the other, we both agree that to feel better about the quality of the music, we really do need to have a plan, aka charts! When I play solo, I can explore, meander, jump at random to something new, but playing with another musician changes all that. If our musical vocabulary was more textural or atonal, new paths could emerge, but we both are more drawn to harmony and chord-based music. I did a solo and Marcus did a solo on bass at the end. Enjoy.

Went to some minor places tonight, and then fell into a crazy atonal piece, and ended with a super tuneful ballad. Trying to think in somewhat orchestral terms. 

Not much to share about tonight; I find it a bit funny that when I hit "clunkers" as my dad used to call them, to me they sound spectacular, and not in a good way! It somehow seems like I walked right up and did a Splaat! like it's a gag or something. Well I had a few of these tonight. All I can say is whaddyagonnado... Hey, nobody gets hurt, so it's all good. The only quote that popped up tonight was Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy", and only briefly at that. Enjoy.