Pianoscapes

Track Listings

1. Daybreak

2. Judy's Dream

3. Dancing Waters

4. Tapestry

5. Pianoscapes

6. Endings

Pianoscapes,Michael Jones,Narada,Jazz Music,Neo-Classical,New Age / Meditation,Pop,Solo Instrumental

Pianoscapes

Pianoscapes

Pianoscapes (Dlx)
Average customer rating:

Soothing and Relaxing

just wonderful

from Solo Piano Publications

500 Stars!! BUY THIS CD!! The most romantic music ever!!

Great Stuff

Pianoscapes (Dlx)
Michael Jones
Manufacturer: Narada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music
Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Seascapes

After the Rain

The Living Music

A Place Without Noise

Nightfall

ASIN: B000067UKN
Release Date: 2002-06-18

Tracks:

Tapestries
Swallows
Judy's Dream
Dancing Waters
Daybreak

Tracks:

Twilight
Pianoscapes
Endings
Echoes
On The Road
Night Wind

Customer Reviews:

Soothing and Relaxing.......2007-07-12

Whenever I play this CD, I imagine myself by the water....just walking my dog and thinking of my family, friends, my past loves, and how I got here. I've been blessed with good memories and I like the softness on the pianist's playing on the keys. It's good therapy.

just wonderful.......2006-11-07

I bought this album on cassette nearly 19 years ago (ouch!). I was in college, and at times needed music to calm me down at stressful times. Then, when I graduated and worked the night shift, I lived across the street from a huge open field where people liked to fly their inexpensive (loud) remote control airplanes. I played the tape to help cover up the noise while I slept during the day. Now, I have two toddlers who have trouble winding down in the evening. So, I dug out this cassette, and it works like a charm. Unfortunately, the cassette tape is finally giving out, and the music is a bit warped in places. I'm about to place an order for a CD of this album and retire the cassette. It has been the most useful album I have ever owned. What I love about it is that it is pure piano. No sneaking in of a flute or harp or birds chirping or some lady humming and singing. Just piano music... just wonderful!

from Solo Piano Publications.......2003-11-12

"Pianoscapes - The Deluxe Edition" is a remastered version of the recording that launched Michael Jones' musical career back in 1984. "Pianoscapes" was originally released on Narada in 1985, but was edited to fit the time constraints of LPs and cassettes at the time. This remastered two-CD edition is the original 87-minute recording that Jones recorded in his home studio in one sitting, and released for friends and gift shops as a two-cassette package. At the time of the recording, Jones had no concept of audience expectations, so this is as pure and heartfelt as it gets. Jones has the reputation for being a master improviser at the piano, and the depth of his creativity knows no bounds. "Pianoscapes" is a true classic in the genre and belongs in every collection of contemporary piano music. Also included are previously unreleased recordings of "Echoes," "On the Road," and "Night Wind" from "Sunscapes" (1986), bringing the collection up to a playing time of more than 110 minutes. I was a little disappointed that the liner notes are so spare, since Narada has often released albums with extensive booklets that tell much about the artists and the music. That's a very small issue, though, as Michael Jones is a very established artist with an extensive website (www.pianoscapes.com). I highly recommend "Pianoscapes - The Deluxe Edition"! A beautiful and inspiring album!

500 Stars!! BUY THIS CD!! The most romantic music ever!!.......2003-10-22

I have ALL of Michael Jones CD's, and I can tell you Pianoscapes was the very first I ever heard (and bought) and I still believe it to be the very best. All of Michael's music is beautiful -- you will love all of his CD's. However, Pianoscapes has a definite edge in my book. Perhaps it is because my wife and I discovered it while on our honeymoon in New England during the Fall Foliage time with all the trees ablaze in a tapestry of colors. Romantic? You bet!

In short, if you like softly played romantic piano, then this CD is the standard by which all others must be judged. This CD is perfection.

Great Stuff.......2002-10-24

I believe that this is a must have for any fan of "New Age" piano music. The album was done in one cut in his own home and is overall truely amazing. His simple yet beautiful songs are a joy to listen to.

Average customer rating:

Oh piano, how lovely are thou!
A Quiet Gem
Very relaxing, soothing.
shallow music, cannot relax when the music is so trite
Gorgeos and moving

Pianoscapes
Michael Jones
Manufacturer: Narada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

After the Rain
Seascapes
Pianoscapes (Dlx)
Sunscapes
The Fairy Ring

ASIN: B000005OWS
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Day Break
Judy's Dream
Dancing Waters
Tapestry
Pianoscapes
Endings

Customer Reviews:

Oh piano, how lovely are thou!.......2006-07-06

Michael Jones plays some divine piano on this album, in fact It's love at first note and as far as I can tell there isn't anyone out there who likes soft music that would not love Pianoscapes.
The opening music is silky cool and sparkling and yes it's addictive, and yes it's OK to play this CD over and over until neighbors knock down the wall, but I doubt they will.

I adore Narada, the label that carries Jones and Lanz and some of the most fantastic new age musicians with the gorgeous covers featuring places that the music takes you. I grew up on this music as I would listen to it on my discman, preferably at night in bed under warm covers, looking at falling rain hitting my window or watching clouds pass over the moon. From then on I started to play music as I sketched, it inspired greater art in me than I thought possible, and strangely that's how my love for art, apart from my parents who are immersed in it, started and flourished. I drew and painted, sketched and scribbled to Narada's albums and it created my talent for what I do for a living today. I will always and forever be grateful this this CD and few others for transforming my soul with its sounds. The Piano is indescribable here, it soars and moans and trickles with notes and harmonies that stay in my memory for as long as I am fortunate to occupy this life in this body.

Pianoscapes is composed of only six tracks, but they are pretty lenghty and they all develop into seriously passionate pieces. This music is just lovely to put on after a long day at work whether you are relaxing at home, having a romantic meal with your loved one or even when I'm painting or sewing, it melts my tension away and even at times brings tears to my eyes.

This album is a must have even if New Age music is not eveyone's favorite, as I like many things from Aerosmith to Atomic Kitten, to Enigma and beyond. I love rock and classical and most of all soundtracks, but this is what I grew up on, it groomed and caressed me and I will forever love this music. Enjoy!

Kasia S.

A Quiet Gem.......2001-10-26

This CD was my first one ever purchased. I bought it a long time ago and quite by chance. At first I didn't appreciate it due its softness. However, as time advanced for me, I came to not only appreciate it, but discovered its true genius. Its my all time favorite and transports me to a wonderful lazy afternoon nap on my favorite Summerland mountain overlooking the Okanagan Lake on a warm summer day. Its so easy to rest to and I think when I die, I will have asked for this album to be played, so others may hear the sound of my final peace.

Very relaxing, soothing........1999-09-08

Soft, flowing, peaceful . . . unstructured music to float away on. Still my favorite after all these years!

shallow music, cannot relax when the music is so trite.......1999-02-26

I cannot relax to music that is shallow and trite. Rather than evoking space and creativity, this rather silly CD evokes a sense of confinement of the human spirit. Try Keith Jarett for the real thing !

Gorgeos and moving.......1998-06-21

Lush, vast, melodious, and sensuous in it's sensitivity, this CD brings out Jones' touch and passion with the music he makes. This is mellow, but thought-prokvoking as anything could ever be. You have to get this CD!

Average customer rating:

Echoes of Childhood
from Solo Piano Publications
from Solo Piano Publications
Michael Jones Teaches A Valuable Lesson!

Echoes of Childhood
Michael Jones
Manufacturer: Pianoscapes
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Seascapes
After the Rain
The Living Music
Air Born
Pianoscapes (Dlx)

ASIN: B00006S4GA
Release Date: 2002-08-15

Tracks:

Song of the Wood Thrush
Call to the Dance
Dream of the World
Summer's End
In Dark Wood Lost
Echoes of Childhood
New Born Day
Dream of the World ( reprise)

Amazon.com

In 1983, the softly impressionistic Pianoscapes by Canadian Michael Jones was the inaugural CD release for the then-fledging Narada label. Two decades later, while Narada has vastly expanded its stylistic palette, Jones' remains true to his extemporaneous musical impulses, as evidenced on Echoes of Childhood, his 11th career recording. Like Pianoscapes, Echoes was recorded in one sitting in his home studio and, like most of his projects, beckons us to awaken childlike instincts (joy, wonder, innocence) obscured by adult concerns. More improviser than composer, Jones can sometimes frustrate as well as charm. Devotees praise Jones for the enchanting eurhythmy of his soul-searching works, which often extend beyond 10 minutes. Others view his approach as meandering and unfocused, and Echoes can elicit both points of view. Happily, Echoes overall ranks among Jones' more accessible works, where lovely melodies unexpectedly bloom within his pastoral ruminations, then quietly recede as the music follows a new, reflective path. At times, the sheer volume of notes and florid trills overpowers the meditative spell of his reveries, though this becomes a largely tolerable flaw. Jones, a musician/educator whose work was integrated into a 1990s think-tank endeavor, the MIT Dialogue Project, is one musician who takes a sincere interest in pondering music's relationship to human well-being. Newcomers to Jones are encouraged to investigate his early-career retrospective, Michael's Music, and After the Rain, with contributions from Grammy-winning oboist Nancy Rumbel. --Terry Wood

Album Description

"we see the world around us filled with the aliveness of the dream. But all too soon shades of adulthood close in upon us until one day when the echoes of childhood come riding on the fresh wind and bring with it the innocence and brightness of a new born day"

Taking these words from William Wordsworth as inspiration, Michael Jones hauntingly beautiful solo piano recording captures with rich lyrical imagery the timeless human journey from innocence lost to innocence regained. Creating music that is as emotionally evocative as it is flawlessly performed, Jones adds to his twenty year legacy of fine piano recordings with an outstanding body of original work that is energetic, soaring, playful, and yet also his most grounded and openhearted work to date.

Customer Reviews:

Echoes of Childhood.......2004-11-19

This most recent Michael Jones effort (2002) is a return to the rich compositional style that has been his for most of Jones recording years. In addition to the warmth of his piano (a seven foot Bosendorfer), he has collaborated with Lance Anderson (background synthesizer) to produce an album which, while it echoes the old, seems to have a music all its own. Echoes of Childhood also marks the debut of Jones own label, and a very auspicious beginning it is.

The inspiration for the album is a story line based on William Wordsworth's 'Intimations of Immortality.' It tracks the metaphysical child through from the joy of childhood through all the wear and tear of living until once again it resurfaces, joyful once again. This thematic unity contributes to the overall coherence of the music and makes this one of Jones' strongest albums.

While Anderson's synthesizer is present it never becomes more than a voice underscoring and strengthening the piano line. I find it impossible to single out a cut as 'best.' The album starts out well can proceeds to get stronger, so that each track is your favorite until the next one plays. Dream of the World gets the most attention, it's melody so vibrant that Jones plays it in two versions on the album. Then you start over and discover something new in the first track, and off you go again.

This really is a keeper - one you will want to own.

from Solo Piano Publications.......2003-04-26

After a very long career with Narada (his "Pianoscapes" was the first recording released by the label in 1984), Michael Jones has established his own label and released his first independent album, "Echoes of Childhood." Jones has been known for his improvised recordings, and I have to admit that some of his earlier work left me a little cold. However, I love this album! A bit more structured and "composed," "Echoes" wonderfully balances the freedom of spontaneous creation with the polish of musical ideas that have been developed a bit before recording. And what an incredible instrument Jones uses to record these musical stories and ideas! The high end of the Bosendorfer absolutely sparkles, and the deep bass resounds with authority. Some of the tracks include subtle synth washes for color, but this is definitely a solo piano album. The eight tracks range in length from just over four minutes to almost seventeen, allowing the listener to get lost in the music. Some of the compositions are darker than I remember hearing from Jones in the past, which makes me think perhaps Narada was "type-casting" him a bit. With his own label, Jones is now free to "paint" with a broader range of colors and textures.

"Echoes of Childhood" is based on a story by William Wordsworth, and "traces the timeless and eternal human journey from innocence found to to innocence lost and
innocence regained" (quoted from Jones' website). The album opens with the light and breezy "Song of the Wood Thrush," a very gentle piece with a simple melody line and catchy rhythm. "Call to the Dance" starts out full of energy, and weaves together several musical themes in a rich improvisation that covers a range of emotions, from joy to reflection to melancholy. "In Dark Wood Lost" is my favorite piece in this collection. Dark, haunting, and very introspective, the passion and sense of searching in this piece go right to the heart. The title track follows, with a strong feeling of hope and inner calm. "New Born Day" is full of the joy of rebirth, and some of the passages remind me of children laughing. One of the longer improvisations, the piece dances and sparkles with childlike innocence.

Excellent from start to finish, "Echoes of Childhood" will take you on a wonderful journey. Very highly recommended.

from Solo Piano Publications.......2003-02-08

After a very long career with Narada (his "Pianoscapes" was the first recording released by the label in 1984), Michael Jones has established his own label and released his first independent album, "Echoes of Childhood." Jones has been known for his improvised recordings, and I have to admit that some of his earlier work left me a little cold. However, I love this album! A bit more structured and "composed," "Echoes" wonderfully balances the freedom of spontaneous creation with. the polish of musical ideas that have been developed a bit before recording. And what an incredible instrument Jones uses to record these musical stories and ideas! The high end of the Bosendorfer absolutely sparkles, and the deep bass resounds with authority. Some of the tracks include subtle synth washes for color, but this is definitely a solo piano album. The eight tracks range in length from just over four minutes to almost seventeen, allowing the listener to get lost in the music. Some of the compositions are darker than I remember hearing from Jones in the past, which makes me think perhaps Narada was "type-casting" him a bit. With his own label, Jones is now free to "paint" with a broader range of colors and textures.

Excellent from start to finish, "Echoes of Childhood" will take you on a wonderful journey. Very highly recommended.

Michael Jones Teaches A Valuable Lesson!.......2002-12-22

Like many people, I own (and buy) too many compact discs. Most are played once (maybe), but a precious few CDs seem to be played over and over, year after year. Michael Jones' Echoes Of Childhood is one of those rare CDs that is so well-conceived, so well-performed, and so well-recorded that one playing would never suffice. This isn't piano mastery; it's piano magic. The tip-toe memories of childhood are only part of what this album gives to its listener. Hit the play button, close your eyes, and listen for just a minute and you'll find yourself setting aside all other tasks and duties. For more than an hour, while Michael plays, you'll be transported to that ageless state of childhood, where innocence and wonder create a sense of excitement that makes each day a blessing, not a burden. The booklet with this CD alludes to William Wordsworth, the 19th Century English poet who wrote "Intimations of Immortality." In that work, Wordsworth talks about his own echoes of childhood, lamenting the loss of his youth, the loss of "The things which I have seen I now can see no more." Hit the play button, close your eyes, and listen to this wonderful compact disc for just a minute and you will be blessed in ways that Wordsworth could not: through Michael Jones skilled hands on the keyboard, we can all now "see" once again our childhood. We can recall what it is we loved about those early years in life. We can remember once more what it is we need to draw on, time and time again, whenever the heavy burdens of our maturity need to be lifted by a celebration of childhood energy and enthusiasm. Michael Jones teaches through this album a valuable lesson. We do not have a choice about getting old. But we can always choose to live with the irrepressible spirit of youthfulness.

Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America

Average customer rating:

Laura Sullivan - Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America
from Solo Piano Publications

Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America
Laura Sullivan
Manufacturer: Sentient Spirit Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mystical America
Feast of Joy and Love
The Music of the Great Smoky Mountains

ASIN: B000K983BY
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Tracks:

Mountain Magic
Sunrise on Cloud Palace
Jumping Fish
Pachelbel for the Potomac
Voice from Sacred Wilderness
The Kettle Moraine
From Sea to Sapphire Sea
Sunset on Cloud Palace
Hope for the Trees
Witches Slow Dance

Album Description

AS A CHILD GROWING UP, SULLIVAN HAD A CONSTANT COMPANION IN A PIANO HANDED DOWN THROUGH THE FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS. SHE FIRST INVENTED MELODIES TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE NATURAL BEAUTY AROUND HER, THEN SHE BEGAN TO INVENT MAGICAL COMPOSITIONS TO SHARE WITH OTHERS ABOUT THAT SAME NATURAL BEAUTY AND WONDER.

Customer Reviews:

Laura Sullivan - Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America.......2004-05-25

Down off the snowy slopes a falling stream
Is rushing with a silver song
To the depth of forest
Where among a gentle murmur of a brook
And warbling of the birds
The silence lurks...
And nothing is in power to banish silence ...

This music is a thanksgiving to the Nature that is surrounding us. This is a permission to take a stroll along woodland paths and realize the greatness and generous beauty of the woods. Without them our life here is like a farfetched role in an unkind tale. This music is an appeal going from the bottom of the heart, an appeal not merely to admire the beauty of the world around us but to preserve its existing state. Not to interfere and not to make a try for altering this world to your own liking, but just to live in it, in harmony with it. This is a perfect bliss. This world is so wonderful, it is here, and it is in the heart of everyone. And it is in Laura Sullivan's heart from which this divine music is venting. Back to the world that granted the life...

The music of the «Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America» album is dedicated to paths that wind through various nooks of North American woods. Following Laura Sullivan we may walk along serpentine paths, inhale salubrious air, just lapse into day-dreaming in a green kingdom of Nature. There is a morning freshness and clarity in Laura Sullivan's tunes as if morning dew drops are sparkling on a green leafage in bright rays of a rising sun. This is the music of Summer and a rage of life when you want so much to leave a stuffy and dusty town for a couple of days and to walk along forest paths to your heart's content, having sensed a serenity of a renewed incessantly and forever young Nature.

Laura Sullivan's piano is very expressive. You feel as if you are not a mere spectator, you become a member of a magical movie who is travelling through wonderful sights of America. Laura Sullivan's music fascinates you from the first moment till the last one. The performer is backed up by Chris Camozzi (guitar), Richard Kuhns and Scott Fuller (keyboards), Kristina Forester (cello), Mary Pitchford (violin). They create a very gentle, harmonious atmosphere. A new album by Laura Sullivan represents a most beautiful example of the best works belonging to the new age music. Not by chance a portion of proceeds of every disk put up for sale will be donated to the National Arbor Day Foundation with the purpose of protecting and expanding forests. Inside the packing of every album a small but very pleasant surprise - seed of trees in a stylish paper sticker - is waiting for a listener. An album cover contains the details of a correct planting of these seed so that afterwards new trees could grow out of them.

Laura Sullivan's music is the generosity of spirit, the sincerity going from the very bottom of the heart.

Where the forests stretch from end to end
Amongst the twisted twigs and mighty trunks
Our trails will disappear ...

Serge Kozlovsky
Independent musical critic
web site: http://mkmk.com/kozlovsky

P.S. Translated by Tatyana L. Permyakova.

from Solo Piano Publications.......2004-04-10

"Pianoscapes For the Trails of North America" is a mostly upbeat follow-up to Laura Sullivan's 2003 indie-release, "Piano Solos." Accompanied by guitar, violin, cello, and keyboards, Sullivan takes us on a musical tour of several of the scenic trails of North America. PIanist Zola Van has released two albums to date that chronicle backpacking trips on two specific trails, but this CD takes us all across the US and Canada. Along with the CD, the album comes with a paper tree that has blue spruce seeds embedded in it, inviting us to "Buy a CD and plant a tree." Planting instructions are included. Fifty cents from the sale of each CD will be donated to The National Arbor Day Foundation.

The piano is the star on the ten tracks, with the accompanying instruments adding color and nuance. All of the tracks are original with the exception of Sullivan's arrangement of Pachelbel's "Canon in D" ("Pachelbel For the Potomac"). Much of Sullivan's previous album was very dark and moody, but, in general, "Pianoscapes" is much more optimistic and paints a beautiful portrait of "the great outdoors." "Mountain Magic" was composed for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and has a swirling, joyful feeling even though the melody is bittersweet; Chris Camozzi adds some tasty guitar work. Two pieces were dedicated to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail: "Sunrise on Cloud Palace" and "Sunset on Cloud Palace." The first is very light and "sparkly" and the second is much darker - both are beautiful. "From the Sea to Sapphire Sea" is another favorite - serene and flowing piano with string washes. I also really like "Witches Slow Dance," a dark, baroque-ish piece that is dedicated to the Natches Trace Trail. Much of the history of the area is mysterious and melancholy, and that is very effectively reflected in the music. Laura Sullivan has assembled a very impressive package with "Pianoscapes." It is both classical and contemporary, sometimes complex, but always accessible. Laura Sullivan has a flowing playing style, and most of her pieces are quite melodic. A very enjoyable choice!

Average customer rating:

Laura Sullivan - Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America

from Solo Piano Publications

Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America
Laura Sullivan
Manufacturer: Delvian Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music
General | New Age | Styles | Music
Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music
General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Mystical America

Feast of Joy and Love

The Music of the Great Smoky Mountains

ASIN: B00011CZYC
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Tracks:

Mountain Magic
Sunrise on Cloud Palace
Jumping Fish
Pachelbel for the Potomac
Voice from Sacred Wilderness
The Kettle Moraine
From Sea to Sapphire Sea
Sunset on Cloud Palace
Hope for the Trees
Witches Slow Dance

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

Laura Sullivan - Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America.......2004-05-25

Laura Sullivan's music is the generosity of spirit, the sincerity going from the very bottom of the heart.

Where the forests stretch from end to end
Amongst the twisted twigs and mighty trunks
Our trails will disappear ...

Serge Kozlovsky
Independent musical critic
web site: http://mkmk.com/kozlovsky

P.S. Translated by Tatyana L. Permyakova.

from Solo Piano Publications.......2004-04-10

The piano is the star on the ten tracks, with the accompanying instruments adding color and nuance. All of the tracks are original with the exception of Sullivan's arrangement of Pachelbel's "Canon in D" ("Pachelbel For the Potomac"). Much of Sullivan's previous album was very dark and moody, but, in general, "Pianoscapes" is much more optimistic and paints a beautiful portrait of "the great outdoors." "Mountain Magic" was composed for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and has a swirling, joyful feeling even though the melody is bittersweet; Chris Camozzi adds some tasty guitar work. Two pieces were dedicated to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail: "Sunrise on Cloud Palace" and "Sunset on Cloud Palace." The first is very light and "sparkly" and the second is much darker - both are beautiful. "From the Sea to Sapphire Sea" is another favorite - serene and flowing piano with string washes. I also really like "Witches Slow Dance," a dark, baroque-ish piece that is dedicated to the Natches Trace Trail. Much of the history of the area is mysterious and melancholy, and that is very effectively reflected in the music. Laura Sullivan has assembled a very impressive package with "Pianoscapes." It is both classical and contemporary, sometimes complex, but always accessible. Laura Sullivan has a flowing playing style, and most of her pieces are quite melodic. A very enjoyable choice!

Average customer rating:
Pianoscapes

Manufacturer: Maurice Horne
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA7QIC
Release Date: 2002-04-02