Shine

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1968 album by Procol Harum. Released in the UK in December 1968, Shine on Brightly followed on from the huge international success in 1967 of the bands debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the follow up single Homburg and built on the creative path begun on Procol Harums self-titled debut album issued in January 1968. Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ) took the music of the band to new heights with this, their second album.

"Shine" is pianist/composer/producer Michael Logozar’s fifth full-length album and I think this is his best work yet. It is unusual to find an album with no weak tracks, but this one is stellar from beginning to end. Three of Logozar’s four previous albums have been on my annual Favorites list, and those same three albums were nominated for Album of the Year by Whisperings Solo Piano Radio. I would expect "Shine" to fare just as well, if not even better. Like his previous albums, "Shine" is solo piano composed and performed from the heart with a playing technique that is both expressive and masterful. Classically trained from childhood, Logozar recorded and produced other artists in his studio before releasing his first album, "Coming Into View," in 2008. The twelve tracks on "Shine" are often light and happy, but there is a nice balance with a few pieces that are a bit darker or more reflective. Some of the tracks convey the freedom of improvisation - something Logozar is especially adept at - and some are more structured and “composed” - again, a wonderful variety.

The luminous voice of songstress Jennifer Porter shapes the elegant tapestry of her lyrics into a musical style that blends its worldliness into other-worldly dimensions