TrackList: Snow in New York, North Country, Michelle, The Line, The Hudson, Roxbury Park, Stone Rose, January, Sidewalks, Manhattan, April, Madison, Sienna, North Country II, Serenity. Sorry, but I couldn’t hear the slightest connection with either one, but that doesn’t detract from a well-performed and recorded album of classically-influenced new age music. In his notes the pianist mentions that both Keith Jarrett and Glenn Gould have been uppermost as influences. Tom Barber’s solo on North Country II is striking and a fine demo of the advantages of well-recorded surround sound even for a simple ensemble such as this.
The recording was made in the acoustics of a church in Oslo and the piano tone is very natural, as is the placement of the various guest performers. His music is a blend of jazz, classical and. This is a contemplative and melodic collection of mostly piano solos by Norwegian pianist Gjeilo, who has performed around the world as is especially taken with New York City, as shown by the titles of several of the tracks here. This reflective, tuneful album is a collection of beautiful piano music written and performed by Ola Gjeilo. Ola Gjeilo (pronounced Yay-lo) was born in Norway in 1978, and moved to the United States in 2001 to begin. (with guest artists: Tom Barber, Flugelhorn David Coucheron, violin Johannes Martens, cello) Ola Gjeilo, piano – Stone Rose – 2L multichannel SACD 2L48, 51:18 **** : Stone Rose - Ola Gjeilo, Tom Barber, David Coucheron, Johannes Martens.