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Imagine you’re at a party. It’s
getting late, and nearly everyone has gone home, save for you and a few good
friends. Suddenly, someone sits down at a piano and begins playing music. Not
just any music, music that is somehow all at once moving, spontaneous, and
deeply personal. And just like that, it’s no longer a party; it’s a perfect
moment. You stop looking at your watch or worrying about the babysitter, as
you’re transported away by the man sitting at the piano.
During down time from his work as a session
player and longstanding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, veteran musician
Bob Carpenter has elated friends and family alike with his ethereal, spontaneous
piano pieces, losing himself in the moment of creation and allowing the music to
somehow find its way out. Until now, however, the experience of hearing these
pieces has been limited to a fortunate few. But with the release of “The Sun,
The Moon & The Stars,” (Favored Nations) by this Grammy and CMA award
winning pianist, singer and composer, Bob Carpenter has invited the rest of us
in on an intimate, late night affair.
It begins quietly, gently. As the opening
strains of “Michael’s Place” drift through the air, as if coming from the
room across the hall, you’re slowly drawn in. Conversation quiets around you,
and then stops altogether. As the melody builds and circles, it’s not until
you hear an acoustic guitar joining in later on the folksy “Damiana” that
you begin to realize what’s happening—you’re being led into a rich and
colorful musical landscape. There are hints of jazz, like on the smoky “G’s
Soiree,” and curlicues of country and blues swirling around everywhere.
There’s not a contemporary style of music Carpenter hasn’t mastered, and
he’s drawing on all of it to offer up something original, just for you, just
for this moment.
With Bob Carpenter, the moment is an
intriguing place to be. He’s the first to admit, he’s not always certain
where the music is going: “Every time I play these melodies, the piece of
music created ends up being unique based on what other music is floating
around in my head at the time.” To be sure, there’s quite a bit of music
floating around in there. Carpenter summons up the spirit of his over four
decades working in the music world, playing on over 50 albums with everyone from
Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson to Allison Kraus, John Hiatt, Emmy Lou Harris,
Three Dog Night, and Bruce Hornsby, among countless others, and earning some 11
gold and platinum records. So wherever Carpenter may take you on his musical
journeys, rest assured—you’re in capable hands.
Recording Carpenter’s remarkable pieces,
with all of their immediacy and energy, can be as elusive as capturing lightning
in a bottle. Yet somehow, Carpenter, along with collaborator Steve Vai and
master engineer Neil Citron has managed to pull it off. Every track feels
spontaneous and fresh, brimming with quiet intensity, while somehow still
sounding personal and heartfelt. It’s a bit like getting lost. Says Carpenter
about the process, “When I play like this, I lose track of time and am not
really aware that anyone is listening. It’s very different than performing
onstage.” According to Carpenter, each of these melodies have been swirling
around in his head for quite some time. Some were developed while playing for
friends while cruising in the Caribbean, or kicking back in Puerto Vallarta,
while some have a more established melody structure, like the Dirt Band song,
“Broken Road,” or the Steve Vai song, “Whispering a Prayer.” Still, when
Carpenter sat down to record “The Sun, The Moon & The Stars” during
two-four hour sessions, he simply allowed the songs to rise out of him, in
whatever form, letting chord changes, tempo, and melody take him along for the
ride.
Alongside his stirring piano melodies,
Carpenter graces songs like “Never Give Up” with his seasoned, worldly tenor
voice that comes through as smooth and warm as sipping whiskey. It all
culminates in the gorgeous title track, a wide-ranging exploration of the
outward sky and the horizon that at the same time reminds us there’s no better
place to be than right here, right now. And finally, we’re left with the
gorgeous, stirring ballad, “Lucky Few,” evoking the beauty and immediacy of
life.
And so, as the party winds down, and the
guest begin to file out, a few good friends remain behind to sit quietly and
listen to a man play remarkable music on the piano until late into the night.
And, indeed, until recently, those who remained behind were the “lucky few.”
Now, the experience belongs to us all.
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