Classical

Chad Lawson – Re:Piano (2018)

2021-04-06T10:26:57Z

Chad Lawson – Re:Piano (2018)


1		Tell Me A Story
2		All Is Truth
3		Beautiful The Night
4		The Fairest Things
5		Towards The Sun
6		Love Is The Flower Of Life
7		I Should Be Sleeping
8		Amongst The Trees I Wait
9		Blush
10		Closing Rhyme

Chad Lawson - piano

In an era when music programs are being cut from schools and software has made instrumentation cheaper and more accessible, people aren't rushing out to buy acoustic instruments.

In 2000, 105,000 new pianos were sold in the United States. In 2009, only 30,000 new pianos were sold. Composer, pianist and Steinway & Sons artist Chad Lawson is trying to revive interest in the piano by modernizing it for what he calls the "Spotify generation." Lawson created his latest album Re:Piano armed with his instrument and an iPad full of digital effects.

Lawson says that since the 1700s, listeners have had the same notion of what the piano is supposed to sound like, and that popular music doesn't often sound like that anymore. He says that a lot of the millennial generation hasn't been exposed to piano the way older generations have.

"They haven't really grown up with a piano in the house, or if they have, they don't know how to turn it on," Lawson says. "I wanted to say, 'Hey, let's take something like the piano and let's put some new paint on it. Let's give it a new voice.'"

On tracks like "All Is Truth," Lawson creates piano patterns, then loops them with the iPad and uses effects that create tinkling, metal sounds in the background. He layers his loops to create an ethereal texture that obscures and transforms the instrument from its origin.

Unlike his traditional songwriting process of creating chords and then a melody, Lawson says composing Re:Piano was more improvisational. His live performances of the album are that way, too.

"When I walk out on stage with the iPad, I start with a pattern. It's something that I've not prepared," he says. "I just build upon that." He compares the improvised result to a dish on the reality cooking show Chopped.

"I love limitations," he says. "That's the great thing about it. You have just this to work with. What can you do?" ---Scott Simon, npr.org

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Chad Lawson – The Space Between (2013)

2021-05-16T09:39:29Z

Chad Lawson – The Space Between (2013)


1		I Know a Love so True and Fair	5:58
2		Heart in Hand	3:03
3		Falling Together	5:23
4		A Love Is Born	3:57
5		Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Loves Me	6:15
6		I Wish I Knew	5:22
7		Just Before	5:47
8		Father Abraham	5:10
9		Ave Maria	3:42
10		No One's Gonna Love You	4:39

Cello – Rubin Kodheli
Guitar – James Duke
Piano – Chad Lawson

"I wanted to record an album where the space between each note was as important or even more than the actually notes themselves." Lawson states. Finally coming into his own style and voice, this is his favorite recording to date where nothing was rushed except for the compositions (the album was written in 1 day and recorded entirely the following day with the exception of 1 piece). ---chadlawson.com

After three highly-acclaimed and award-winning solo piano CDs (plus two improvised EPs and recordings with his Trio), Chad Lawson decided to shake things up a bit and do something different. The Space Between is still mostly solo piano and the composing style is classic Lawson, but the approach to recording this one was new - seeking to capture the actual sound of the piano including its inner workings and occasional creaks. At first listen, I thought perhaps it was a digital piano with a high reverb setting, but I know Chad better than that. Then I thought maybe he was keeping his foot on the pedal much longer than usual. So I asked him, and it turns out that he was experimenting with putting a long strip of felt between the piano hammers and the strings, softening the normally percussive sound of the hammers striking the strings and allowing some of the sounds of the piano’s action, the keys being depressed, etc. to come through. Most of these sounds are subtle and create a very interesting effect coupled with Lawson’s velvet piano touch and shimmering composing style. I wasn’t sure I liked the piano sound at first, but I’ve come to love and appreciate its softened tone. When listening to this album, it is very important to give the music some time and an understanding of what Lawson was doing. He is joined on a few of the tracks by Rubin Kodheli on cello and James Duke on guitar. The cello especially adds its own special magic to the sound. Of the ten tracks, eight are originals plus Lawson’s gorgeous arrangements of “Ave Maria” and Band of Horses’ “No One’s Gonna Love You.”

The music on The Space Between originated with an invitation to score a short film that tells the Bible story of Abraham and Isaac (vimeo.com/62992476). After meeting with the director, Lawson composed “Father Abraham,” a quiet but extremely powerful piece. Feeling tremendously inspired, Lawson composed most of the rest of the album in one day and recorded those eight pieces in one session. The two pieces not composed in that burst of creative energy are “Heart in Hand,” written for another indie film, and “A Love is Born,” composed for a different project. Lawson went on to tell me, “With this album, either people are going to love it or they're going to hate it.... It's a risk I took but I have to be honest with myself and what I create and for me, this is the most honest music I have ever been given. Every note I play is that of worship and returning to the Father above (Christ) and if I were to change my intention or direction and create something for man, it would just fall flat. So, I played what was on my heart, and here we have it.”

Intrigued? I hope so, as The Space Between will be generating a lot of musical buzz! It is available from Amazon, iTunes and CD Baby. Very highly recommended for those with a sense of musical adventure and an openness to hearing the piano in a new way! ---Kathy Parsons, mainlypiano.com

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Chad Lawson – You Finally Knew (2020)

2021-03-21T10:20:09Z

Chad Lawson – You Finally Knew (2020)


A1		What Gorgeous Thing
A2		Stay
A3		One Day You Finally Knew
A4		Waltz In B Minor
A5		Across The Distance
B1		Rain
B2		Ballade In A Minor
B3		She Dreams Of Time
B4		In The Waiting
B5		Prelude In D Major
+
C1		I Wish I Were Close
C2		I Wrote You A Song

Chad Lawson – piano

Steinway artist & composer, Chad Lawson’s solo work has a relaxed, meditative feel that draws on both the sonorities of classical music and the freeform nature of jazz improv. You Finally Knew, his debut solo piano album for Decca US, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and features ten pieces he wrote to inspire listeners to take time every day to consciously be still for mental clarity and overall wellness of being. ---hbdirect.com

I first discovered Chad Lawson’s music in 2009 when he released his debut solo piano album, Set On a Hill, and I instantly fell in love. That album went on to win the Whisperings Solo Piano Radio “Album of the Year” award. Two years later, Chad played a house concert in my home in Oregon with a couple of other Whisperings artists, and his incredibly expressive touch on the piano keys literally stopped me in my tracks. In many ways, Chad is a pianist’s pianist, but his music is so heartfelt and accessible that it also resonates with many people with less musical experience. Extensively trained in both classical music and jazz, Chad Lawson is that rare artist who has a sound all his own. He has released quite a number of albums on “indie” labels, but recently signed with Decca Records, which will give his music the much broader audience it so deserves.

Four of the ten original piano solos on You Finally Knew were released as singles earlier this year, and five tracks were released as an EP called Stay in May 2020. Recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios (where The Beatles recorded much of their music), “You Finally Knew is an invitation of self-reflection beckoning us to pause and look inside ourselves, to see what makes each of us uniquely us. It is becoming increasingly difficult to be honest with ourselves as we unintentionally set aside even the smallest life-giving activities to address everyday obligations.” (quoting Chad Lawson) “I’ve been studying a lot about the marriage of mental health and music and their effect on each other. What is fascinating to learn is that studies show there’s a chemical breakdown inside of us when we listen to calming music, even just for 3 – 5 minutes. That physically elevates our mood.”

The album begins with “What Gorgeous Thing,” a poignant, heartfelt piece that indicates the influence of Chopin’s music without trying to imitate it. So spare and yet so powerful! Lawson explains the inspiration for “Stay”: It is about “finding those times that are fleeting but buffer the soul and you think: I don’t want this moment to end.” Chad’s velvety piano touch is very present in the wistful, dreamy melody of “One Day You Finally Knew,” soothing away the cares and worries of our present time for a welcome, if brief, respite. “Waltz in B Minor” is slow, graceful and very expressive. “Across the Distance” has a very dreamy and ethereal feel. I don’t think there is another instrument that expresses the various kinds of rain nearly as well as the piano does (except the rain stick), and the track called “Rain” is very gentle and refreshing. “Ballade in A Minor” is a favorite. By definition, a ballade tells a story with or without words, and this one is passionate, melancholy and deeply emotional - gorgeous! “She Dreams of Time” lightens the mood considerably in a gently optimistic sort of way. “In the Waiting” feels much like the way your mind wanders in different directions as you wait for something or somebody - relaxed, but just a bit unsettled. It also very “in the moment” and improvised - another beauty! I love “Prelude in D Major”! It was created in a very classical style but with contemporary sensibilities and deeply personal expression - a fantastic closing for a fantastic album! =---Kathy Parsons, mainlypiano.com

Solowa twórczość artysty i kompozytora Chada Lawsona ma relaksacyjny, medytacyjny charakter, który czerpie zarówno z sonorystyki muzyki klasycznej, jak i otwartej formy improwizacji jazzowej. Jego poprzedni album solowy na fortepian, re: piano, znalazł się na na pierwszym miejscu listy iTunes Classical Chart, a także na szczycie Amazon Music (All Genres). Ponadto Lawson napisał muzykę do dwóch popularnych podcastów, Lore i Unobscured, i wydał łącznie ponad 10 albumów. Jego muzyka została wykorzystana w niezliczonej ilości filmów i reklam, między innymi: The Walking Dead, Chevrolet, IBM, Microsoft, Delta Airlines i wielu innych.

Pierwszy solowy album Lawsona na fortepian dla wytwórni Decca Records US, You Finally Knew, który został nagrany w Abbey Road Studios, prezentuje jego wykonania dziesięciu własnych, zupełnie nowych kompozycji. Muzyka ta ma pomóc słuchaczom w oderwaniu się od zabieganego życia i skupieniu na wewnętrznym spokoju i harmonii. ---empik.com

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