After literally thirty years of feeling intimidated by the landmark piano improvisations of Keith Jarrett, I reached a place where I couldn't hold myself back any longer. Since five years old, I had been extemporizing at the piano, and as life unfolded, I ended up focusing my career on composing and producing music for film and television rather than cultivating the path of improvisational piano performance. Then, one night, in the midst of a great life challenge, I was reminded that there was a different kind of altar I could 'pray' at, an altar that could offer healing for myself - as well as for those who heard the final result of these meanderings. With the loving support of my dear friend Michael Stillwater, I tapped into the power of appreciation for the people I loved in my life as the very catalysts for creation of each piece. The result is an improvisational CD that delivers a stream of consciousness exploration using a spacious, contemplative style. At a time when the world is accelerating beyond what we ever thought was possible, I chose to embrace the power of slowing down, choosing the spaces between the notes as carefully as the notes themselves. The result was nourishing and revelatory, allowing me to lay to rest, at long last, the limiting tendency to compare myself with others....a practice that tends to stop the flow of each person's unique expression, waiting to be revealed to the world.
You can read more about Winterfaith's creation and listen to an excerpt by clicking this link.
