Piano by Jon Solo

My mailbox at my apartment might as well be a recycle bin. Everyday I get a new eight page “newspaper” filled with nothing but advertisements for glistening slabs of beef and windshield replacements. Now if these products were somehow combined into a new form of transparent beef that would replace my chipped windshield I might be tempted to purchase but as it stands they just infuriate me. But the other day, tucked inside one of these mailers, I saw a package that made all the forest clearcuts worthwhile. By the way, my feelings are not meant to disparage the postal service. They are in a tough spot. What if someone had to hand deliver all the spam email that arrives in your inbox? What if they had to lug it over their shoulder while hoofing it up and down to every house on the block? In my mind, that is what a mail carrier’s job is and I can understand how one might get a little disgruntled now and then.

Of course the package at hand contained a new cd by the one and only Jon Solo. Simply put, this is great music. For those following Jon Solo’s career, this cd is sort of a throwback to his roots but it’s also a glimpse into a new direction. Aptly titled, Piano showcases Solo on the instrument his mind and fingers have been fused to since infancy. The cd contains inspired covers of great songs that I had never heard before and one original Solo composition which you will all hear on the radio some day. (I should note I am not a piano aficianado however, so I’m looking forward to using this cd as a stepping stone to a greater understanding of the music.)

Flat out, Solo knows what he is doing on the keys. The music is dripping with emotion and the original tune called Dreamer is possibly the most engaging of them all. It is an interesting amalgamation of all the places Solo has been in his musical journey through the worlds of classical, jazz, and R&B wrapped up in a haunting, hopeful song. And yet it’s simple, within the grasp of non-musicians, something only few have the talent to deliver.

So do what I did and buy this cd. Support a real musician. I’m getting two because they make excellent gifts and stocking stuffers.

The album can be purchased online through a cool independent label called Premier Cru Music.