Scenes From the
Neighbourhood

by Timothy Davey

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“Scenes From the Neighbourhood” is Australian pianist/composer Timothy Davey’s follow-up to his 2001 debut, “Uncovered Keys.” My initial reaction to this CD was “Wow!” and the more I listen to it, the more I utter that one-word review. If this CD doesn’t bring Timothy Davey worldwide recognition, the music world is in much worse shape than I feared. The music is complex, yet very accessible, and there is a variety of playing styles that dovetail into each other seamlessly. When I reviewed “Uncovered Keys,” I kept hearing what I thought was Philip Aaberg’s influence, but when I asked Mr. Davey if he knew Aaberg’s music, he surprised me by saying that he had never heard of him. That has now changed and there is much mutual admiration. Both are phenomenal pianists who play deeply emotional music, so if you like Aaberg’s music, Davey’s is a must. The CD consists of fifteen original solo tracks and a bonus video of “Before I Knew” as a duet with Davey on piano and Loretta Mongelli on violin. Davey’s classical roots are apparent in his music, but his style is interwoven with jazz, new age, and his love for bluegrass guitar, making his musical voice unique and unclassifiable (a good thing!). The extensive liner notes tell of the meaning of each of the pieces, and also give us a glimpse of the artist himself. All of the pieces on this album are excellent, so I’ll tell you about a few favorites. The opening track, “Out Walking,” got me from the very first. The rhythm is the pace of a brisk walk and remains steady while the right hand improvises all over the piano, much as the mind does when you go for a long walk by yourself. The freedom of that feeling comes through loud and clear, as does the sense of peace and even the exhilaration of being out in the fresh air. This is truly an amazing piece. “The Spaces In Between” is much quieter and more introspective, reflecting on how distance in time or space cannot break the bonds between ourselves and those we love. “Gratitude” is a gently rhythmic piece about the continuity one’s mother provides throughout our lives. The piece goes through many key signature changes, but the melody stays the same. Both versions of “Before I Knew” are gorgeous - reflective, deeply personal, and conversational. “Dry Creek Breakdown” is a joyous recollection of childhood riding bikes at the salt flats, imagining being on desert planet. A buoyant spirit and sense of mysterious fun make this another standout. “Sons of the Blue Funk Frontier” is a “blues inspired rumble that threatens to break into a barrelhouse boogie style.” This piece clearly demonstrates that the blues is far from being uniquely American and is a slinky toe-tapper. Several of the pieces are almost ambient in their quiet simplicity. One of those is “Distant Starlight,” which harkens back to childhood, watching the summer night sky, looking for satellites and falling stars. The sparkling quality of the treble notes contrast beautifully with the deep bass. “Gaudeamus” is a tour de force that highlights Davey’s delicacy as well as his power, so the CD also ends with a resounding “Wow!” Excellent from start to finish, “Scenes From the Neighbourhood” will definitely be on my “Top 10” for the year. It is available from cdbaby.com. Very highly recommended! Reviewed by Kathy Parsons reprinted from Mainly Piano on Ambient Visions.

Meditative Yoga

by Various Artists

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This is a collection, Eastern Indian in flavor, intended for use as background music while you are practicing yoga.  It features some of the better know New Earth label artists.As yoga is an Eastern Indian practice, the feeling to the music overall is very appropriate.  The feel of the CD is slow and deliberate, allowing the mind to become free from distraction and concentrate on the yoga positions.  It succeeds in achieving this feeling.  The CD contains 10 tracks, for a total time of 61:41.  The cover art is simple, and the liner notes cover a bit about “yoga” and the tracks included.  The artists presented are Prem Joshua, Al Gromer Khan, Chinmaya Dunster, Hans Christian, Rasa, and Ustad Usman Kahn.  Listeners to New Earth Recordings will be familiar with these artists.   Prem Joshua provides us with the first two tracks.  He is a well known in the World Music area, receiving a nomination in 2003 for the prestigious “BBC World Music Listeners Award”.   In 2005, MTV invited Joshua and his band to a half-hour live performance for an MTV live show inBombay.  The first track Friends, only 2:46, is a male vocal over a wind instrument.  As an opening track it gives the flavor and sets the pace.  This is very Indian in flavor and traditional in feeling.  The second piece That Silent Place is much more traditional, being a sitar piece.  Both pieces are slow, evenly paced and good for a yoga workout.  The tempo picks up a bit with the track Jinjhoti by Chinmaya Dunster with Niladri Kumar.  Chinmaya Dunster is better known for his association with the Celtic Raga Band and Niladri Kumar is a sitar virtuoso, who studied under his well known father and sitar master Pandit Kumar.   This is almost a jazzy piece, but with very definite Indian flavor.  It is highlighted by expert sitar work with the beat of what sounds like a snare drum and cymbal.  An enjoyable piece, very light and airy.  Rasa is included in this collection as well.  Rasa is the award winning duo of Kim Waters and Hans Christian.  Their first CD Devotion won “Best New Age CD of 2000” and their follow up CD Union won “Best New Age CD of 2001”. Their track Srita Kamala returns to the slow, deliberate pace set in the earlier tracks, with expert sitar playing.  A beautiful, gentle piece and another lovely addition to this collection.  We return to Chinmaya Dunster and another slow but airy piece called Ha-Ta.  This piece also features a lovely sitar melody that rides above the work.  Very bright in feeling and a little more pace than the previous track, but not rushed.  It still maintains the yoga feel to the CD.  Ustad Usman Khan is a classical sitar player, with raga being his specialty.  He is well known in India andEurope and has played at many festivals.  The piece presented here, Raga Kanshik Ranjana is a traditional raga, interpreted by Mr. Khan in the independent style he is well known for.  Again, the piece offers a change of pace, but never gets beyond a level appropriate for yoga practice.  It is also one of the longer pieces on this recording.  Astral by Hans Christian of Rasa keeps the pace going, offering a lovely composition again featuring a nicely orchestrated blend of Eastern and Western instrumentation and feeling.   Sitarist Al Gromer Khan offers us something different in the way of Blue Raga.  More blues than raga, it has a very Western blues feeling but there are hints of an Eastern influence with the sitar and some of the rifts.  Again, the feeling is slow, purposeful and conducive to the yoga practice, but definitely has more of a Western feel than any of the previous tracks. The last two tracks are by Chinmaya Dunster, and bothMount Kalash and Konark are Indian in feel, withMount Kalash being a more traditional piece.  It is again a slow and focused piece for yoga, while Konark is much more airy and melodic, much more the Celtic Raga Band feel to it, and a nice piece to end this disk with.  This is a good overview of modern Indian music, with a good mix of traditional and progressive material with some Western influences.   It is a nice blend of styles and if you are not familiar with modern Indian music, this is a good place to start.  Also, it achieves its purpose as being a nice background accompaniment to your yoga practice.  This is a very nice compilation of modern sitar masters and styles that will appeal to the world music listener as well as the yoga practitioner.  Reviewed by MA Foster

The Seven Valleys

by Stellamara

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