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16 August 2006

Hope me MeCha! Music request inside.→[More:]
I am absolutely in love with the piano as an instrument. Such power and emotion. I've uploaded a few short piano pieces from bands I like, and I crave longer pieces just like this. They can be contemporary or classical, but I love the style of these and would be looking specifically for something along these lines. (Not that these two tracks are that similar, but I'm not looking for "happy" stuff. Melancholy and powerful is good.) Piano only, no accompaniment please.

YouSendIts would be great but recommendations for tracks or albums are fine too.

Arise From Thorns - Return of the Old Forest
Tristania - Simbelmynë
YSI doesn't like special characters in the file name so you'll have to add the mp3 extension when you download the second one.

Thanks bunnies!

post by: mike9322 at: 13:14 | 19 comments

If you can wait till this evening, I could send you Phillip Glass's Solo Piano record. It's surprisingly listenable.

posted by pieisexactlythree 16 August | 13:21

I'd be waiting till this evening regardless, pi. Thanks!

posted by mike9322 16 August | 13:23

Lots of Chopin mp3s here. I would thoroughly recommend Fantasie Impromptu (which, in years gone by, I used to be able to play).

posted by essexjan 16 August | 13:26

Have you heard any of Thelonious Monk's solo piano stuff? If you like that, you could go 'backward,' toward Art Tatum and Bill Evans and stride players and so forth, or 'forward,' toward Sun Ra and Matthew Shipp and Sylvie Courvoisier.

posted by box 16 August | 13:50

box, I've heard of none of that stuff! Why I'm askin'! But holy cow that's a lot of names, and thanks.

Keep 'em comin. You guys are rocking my socks.

posted by mike9322 16 August | 13:52

I second the Philip Glass album... you'll like that I bet.

How about Erik Satie? Here are his "3 Gymnopedies" for you:

one
two
three

They're not very long, though.

As for current stuff, I swear the Eels have had some instrumental piano songs on their albums, but I'm about to have to head to work, and I can't find any of my Eels CDs. I'll try looking for those later.

posted by BoringPostcards 16 August | 14:00

Seconding Chopin, Monk, and Satie, and adding Ravel. You can get great "budget" classical recordings from the Naxos label for like $7.00, or there are lots of budget recordings from the major classical labels where you can get 2-fers (the entire piano sonatas of Chopin on 2 2-CD sets) for $14 each.

posted by matildaben 16 August | 14:02

I'm a big fan of McCoy Tyner myself. Truly beautiful touch.

posted by Pips 16 August | 14:03

Charles Mingus did a very nice album of piano improvisations..I'll put a couple up when I get home.

posted by tetsuo 16 August | 14:08

Ferrante & Teicher. The early stuff with prepared piano.

posted by eatitlive 16 August | 14:25

Monk's not for everyone, but I loves him too. From Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane, here's Functional.

posted by elizard 16 August | 16:04

Mingus - Myself When I Am Real

posted by tetsuo 16 August | 16:51

I love Satie. People take very different styles performing the pieces, you may have to give it a few gos to find an interpretation you like.

posted by rainbaby 16 August | 18:05

elizard, I was gonna say Monk, but...you beat me to it. I have a couple of albums of him without any accompaniment. Brilliant stuff. I listen to it at work when I need to concentrate. I swear, it makes me smarter.

posted by richat 16 August | 18:21

richat, share a favourite? pretty please? (also, to be fair, box first mentioned the Monk)

tetsuo, thanks for posting the Mingus. It's lovely.

posted by elizard 16 August | 19:24

Thank you all so very kindly. I will need a lot of time to start to evaluate all your suggestions, but rest assured I'll check out as much as I can!

I knew I could count on the bunnies.

posted by mike9322 16 August | 20:16

mike, I am way too lazy right now, but I do have some you might like. I thought I had Keith Jarret's Koln concerts on CD which is great Jazz improvisation. I know a few pianists that really like it. I can't find it right now though. I know I have some other thingies, I'll check into it and get back to you.

posted by eekacat 16 August | 20:36

Oh, and I do have one of Keith Jarrett's Classical CD's, I think Mozart. He's done a few. Man it sucks getting old...

posted by eekacat 16 August | 20:37

Elizard, at your request, one of my favourites from "Solo Monk":

Sweet and Lovely

As an added bonus, a lovely track from 1957's "Thelonious Himself" called I Should Care.

Thelonious managed to make things that really should sound jarring, sound just right. I can't imagine being a pianist and trying to play any of Monk's stuff.

posted by richat 16 August | 21:13

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