Inner Realm CD Reviews |
A NEW SPIN ON THE CLASSICS AND
SOUND HEALING
New York, NY (April 12, 2011) – Earlier this year,
January 2011, Musical Concepts released Meditate
with the Masters, the new solo CD by composer-
pianist, and ComposersCollaborative Inc. Co-Founder
and Artistic Director, Jed Distler. Each of the 15 tracks
will sound familiar and yet different as each is inspired
by a classical composer whose wellknown composition
is rearranged and reworked by Distler into a newly
minted piano piece designed for relaxation, healing,
simple listening
pleasure and to calm the mind and spirit. The masters
include Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Brahms,
Schumann, Pachelbel, Schubert, Tchaikovsky,
Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Wagner, Mussorgsky, Satie,
and Jed Distler.
“I’ve always had the gift and the curse of being able to
improvise in many styles, and one day, I impulsively
took the Ode to Joy theme from Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony, gave it a ‘New Age’ spin, and was
pleasantly surprised. I then tried the same treatment
upon other famous themes from the classical
repertoire, with variable success, yet I kept at these
little improvisations, and before I knew it, a project was
born,” says Distler.
The project started in 2006 about a year after Distler’s
wife and omposersCollaborative Inc. Co-Founder and
Producing Director, Celia Cooke, was diagnosed with
breast cancer, with all of the recordings taking place
over four days in April, 2010, a little less than a year
before she died. Distler draws on his youthful jazz and
pop background
and appreciation and understanding of ambient music,
along with his celebrated classical technique and
subtle range of color and nuance to bring together a
wide array of familiar themes from the core classical
repertoire and create easily accessible, easy to listen
to music with broad audience appeal for relaxation,
meditation, and healing. The cover art is a photograph
taken by his wife. Meditate with the Masters presents a
western-based alternative in the sound healing market
which is currently predominately eastern-based.
The CD is currently available online at Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble, J&R Music & Computer World,
BlowItOutaHere.com, Arkiv Music, and Target, among
other places.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
If you're familiar with Jed Distler as one of the most
engaging music writers and radio hosts in the United
States, you might be surprised to learn he is also "an
altogether extraordinary pianist" (Newark Star-Ledger)
and New York's “Downtown keyboard magus" (The
New Yorker). He has premiered works by Frederic
Rzewski, Lois V. Vierk, Virko Baley, Wendy Mae
Chambers, Andrew Thomas, Simeon ten Holt, Virgil
Thomson, David Maslanka, William Schimmel, Kitty
Brazelton, Alvin Curran, and Eleanor Hovda -- many
which were written especially for him. In addition to
recent commissions from Jenny Lin, IonSound, and
Song in Music, his works have been recorded by
Margaret Leng Tan, Guy Livingston, and Quattro
Mani, among other New Music luminaries, And no
summer would be complete without WNYC’s ritual
broadcast of Jed’s String Quartet No. 1 (the Mister
Softee Variations). Distler is a Yamaha artist. To learn
more about Distler and Meditate with the Masters visit
his websites at http://www.composerscollab.org/ and
http://www.meditatewiththemasters.com.
ABOUT THE LABEL:
Musical Concepts aims to bring to the public
exceptional value with a select line of high-quality
classical repertoire carefully chosen from the vast
array of first class recordings in existence. In addition
to reissuing urgently worthy titles, Musical Concepts is
also engaged in producing new repertoire with a new
dimension. Visit them online at
SOUND HEALING
New York, NY (April 12, 2011) – Earlier this year,
January 2011, Musical Concepts released Meditate
with the Masters, the new solo CD by composer-
pianist, and ComposersCollaborative Inc. Co-Founder
and Artistic Director, Jed Distler. Each of the 15 tracks
will sound familiar and yet different as each is inspired
by a classical composer whose wellknown composition
is rearranged and reworked by Distler into a newly
minted piano piece designed for relaxation, healing,
simple listening
pleasure and to calm the mind and spirit. The masters
include Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Brahms,
Schumann, Pachelbel, Schubert, Tchaikovsky,
Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Wagner, Mussorgsky, Satie,
and Jed Distler.
“I’ve always had the gift and the curse of being able to
improvise in many styles, and one day, I impulsively
took the Ode to Joy theme from Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony, gave it a ‘New Age’ spin, and was
pleasantly surprised. I then tried the same treatment
upon other famous themes from the classical
repertoire, with variable success, yet I kept at these
little improvisations, and before I knew it, a project was
born,” says Distler.
The project started in 2006 about a year after Distler’s
wife and omposersCollaborative Inc. Co-Founder and
Producing Director, Celia Cooke, was diagnosed with
breast cancer, with all of the recordings taking place
over four days in April, 2010, a little less than a year
before she died. Distler draws on his youthful jazz and
pop background
and appreciation and understanding of ambient music,
along with his celebrated classical technique and
subtle range of color and nuance to bring together a
wide array of familiar themes from the core classical
repertoire and create easily accessible, easy to listen
to music with broad audience appeal for relaxation,
meditation, and healing. The cover art is a photograph
taken by his wife. Meditate with the Masters presents a
western-based alternative in the sound healing market
which is currently predominately eastern-based.
The CD is currently available online at Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble, J&R Music & Computer World,
BlowItOutaHere.com, Arkiv Music, and Target, among
other places.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
If you're familiar with Jed Distler as one of the most
engaging music writers and radio hosts in the United
States, you might be surprised to learn he is also "an
altogether extraordinary pianist" (Newark Star-Ledger)
and New York's “Downtown keyboard magus" (The
New Yorker). He has premiered works by Frederic
Rzewski, Lois V. Vierk, Virko Baley, Wendy Mae
Chambers, Andrew Thomas, Simeon ten Holt, Virgil
Thomson, David Maslanka, William Schimmel, Kitty
Brazelton, Alvin Curran, and Eleanor Hovda -- many
which were written especially for him. In addition to
recent commissions from Jenny Lin, IonSound, and
Song in Music, his works have been recorded by
Margaret Leng Tan, Guy Livingston, and Quattro
Mani, among other New Music luminaries, And no
summer would be complete without WNYC’s ritual
broadcast of Jed’s String Quartet No. 1 (the Mister
Softee Variations). Distler is a Yamaha artist. To learn
more about Distler and Meditate with the Masters visit
his websites at http://www.composerscollab.org/ and
http://www.meditatewiththemasters.com.
ABOUT THE LABEL:
Musical Concepts aims to bring to the public
exceptional value with a select line of high-quality
classical repertoire carefully chosen from the vast
array of first class recordings in existence. In addition
to reissuing urgently worthy titles, Musical Concepts is
also engaged in producing new repertoire with a new
dimension. Visit them online at
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| Holding On To The Air Album Review by Jessica Licciardello Composer William Mallory, a songwriter and former Atlantic records recording artist, has released his new album Holding On To the Air, now on iTunes. This is a classical and melodic record of piano driven instrumentals with orchestral sounds. It's rich in composition and dynamics, and has been described as healing and therapeutic by listeners. This is his 5th independent album release on iTunes, where his albums range from classical compositions to cutting-edge pop and rock. Holding On To The Air was a specific project William had in mind to create an atmosphere of healing and beauty within sound, not unlike a Beethoven Sonata or a Chopin work. Using New Age instruments, the vision becomes apparent in a sonically strong and soothing delivery. The beautiful melodies leave the listener in an elevated spiritual space. Like Enya, Yanni and Brian Eno, something like this record doesn’t come along often. William lives in Northern New Jersey and has been writing original music for over 30 years. This album is a result of his search to find healing and inner peace within his life. Please visit www.williammallory.com for extended content and links to the albums on iTunes. |
