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"I love the music! It is perfect for my massage practice. It is also good meditation music... It's in my iPod and whether I'm rowing at home or out on the lake, it just takes me away."
- Carol Carpenter, LMT, Spokane, WA
"I picked up a copy of "Escape Music ® a New Dawn" at our local Borders. I was looking for exactly that - escape music to play at work... The beautiful piano music in a New Dawn is very uplifting. My boss even stopped and commented on how beautiful the music was..."
- Becky - Tarentum, Pennsylvania
“My clients love the music and it helps me get through my day. It is very relaxing and at the same time rejuvenating and healing. It sounds different every time I play it and I can play it over and over.”
- Debora Torkington, Holistic Health Practitioner,
San Diego, CA
"...it (A New Dawn) was like a glass of water for my mind". I was thinking clearer. Towards the end of the CD I was thinking a lot about ideas I have, I was really using my mind. I felt the music opened my mind, leaving it clear, to think about anything.
- Mike Prendergast.
Performer, Boston, MA
"...I have always had a hard time with sleep and so I have been putting on my headphones and playing "Escape Music A New Dawn" when I go to bed and it is so relaxing and calming and peaceful. I just love it. Music, for me, has always been the one thing that can touch my emotions deeply and this CD is truly an "Escape". THANKS!"- S. Crawford, Helena, MT
"Absolutely Fantastic! Kept me enthralled the entire CD. There was no song I didn't like."
- Sarah Duffey, Hastings Books and Music
"...a surprising musical revelation...fluent without limitation...
music as it was meant to be - Dramatically Expressive!"
Concerning “Escape Music ® A New Dawn”
By Adam Saksa
"Escape Music ® A New Dawn" - Artist: Bob Baran - Label: Gathering Wave®
Bob Baran's newest solo piano effort was a surprising musical revelation. To the sophisticated and musically endowed I say: A delicate weaving of rhapsodical ecstasies; fluent without limitation, while still providing to the deep desire for thematic form, structure, and conclusion.
To the musical laymen I say: A vibrant and moving album- emotional and beautifully put together. Cozy like home- but one you’ve only now just discovered. To one and all: Get ready to experience music as it was meant to be- Dramatically Expressive! This “solo piano” fantasy as it is labeled on the back cover, is another exploration into the familiar unknown for composer/ performer/ producer, Bob Baran.
When Baran musically describes a Rocky Mountain sunrise, he is expertly translating the bare essence of the beauty and emotion of the scene, without the specific details and physical impressions. This approach allows the listener to imagine any picture of that same essential beauty. The effect can put a person in a state of awe and child-like wonder.
One thing that strikes me about this album (as I have had many similar experiences with certain albums) is the many walks of life it will most certainly attract with this effect. What makes it so easy to relate to is its' ability to satisfy on so many levels.
Take, for example, a person who truly appreciates classical music. It caters to the "musical romantic" with powerful and moving melodies as well as cheerful and light-footed passages, both which may remind a connoisseur of the immortal greats, such as Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart.
On the other hand the person looking for a contemporary feel that describes the modern world is thrilled by the endless flow of ideas morphing from playful to tranquil, stern to romantic.
The person who studies closely the details and subtle nuances of music will be quick to notice Baran's balance and range of composition, the way a bold note is drawn out underneath a rapid, almost fragile succession for support, the impeccable reflective pauses. And finally the person simply looking forward to a musical journey and emotional impact will not be disappointed. Bob Baran will bedazzle your senses like you’ve never known.
Because of the excruciating attention to detail with this production a person gets the sense of the artist playing for them in the very room or setting they are in. It is as if the sense of the artist were there simply to communicate the stream of ideas personally to the listener. For those of you unfamiliar with the art form of “stream of consciousness”, (used more commonly in literature) it can be defined as a technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of an artist or fictional character as they occur; or more simply- a continuous flowing series of images and ideas.
This use of stream of consciousness in making concept albums is nothing new to Bob, as "Escape Music ® A New Dawn" is his 7th cd release. Yet on this album; it seems to be a revelation. The purity of a single instrument and the clarity with which it is absorbed by the ear is stunning. Baran has noticeably taken his abilities to new heights. His agility on the keys is impressive in itself but what is more astonishing is his powerful expression of a concept.
This progression is easy to recognize after listening to his previous solo piano album “Sound Paintings” (Gathering Wave ® 2004). While also a joy to listen to, it pales in comparison to the brightness and warmth and most of all the thematic value of his latest masterpiece.
If you have never experienced the enchantment of dawn breaking in the mountains of southwestern Montana, this is a convenient satisfying alternative. “Not the real thing” to be sure, but the “fantasy thing”.
Another element that makes “A New Dawn” a landmark album is the fact that this tremendous artistic success is also an achievement in piano technology and high-fidelity sound. But I'll leave the details of that surprise for another time. Those of you who are interested in this back-ground information can go online to www.gatheringwave.com and immerse yourself in sound bites from this album as well as the details of how the album was made.
One item though: The “Sound Painter Deep Image High Definition Mastering” process debuts on "A New Dawn" and is responsible for the warmest, biggest most liquid piano sound I've ever heard through a set of speakers. The result: an astounding therapeutic musical experience you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
The last gleaming point of interest I will share with you regarding “Escape Music ® A New Dawn”, is the beautiful reverence of nature and imagination. These overwhelming emotions with revealing individual expression is what gives Baran's new work the flavor and taste of contemporary romanticism. Even the cover art catches your eye with its' promise of beautiful things to come. This is one of those rare times where the packaging promises and the content delivers.
With an album that draws inspiration from so many different genres and sources (not just music mind you, but art in general- and well, life) there is only one way to properly classify it. Of course that classification is “Escape Music ®”. Music to dream by. Freedom on a disc. A must have for anyone who takes their music seriously, or not. "Grammy winner" may be more than just a rumor for this album.
Enjoy responsibly.
Adam Saksa, is a free lance writer, poet and philosopher currently doing research for his first novel. You can email him at pluckypurcell@hotmail.com
