Piano Roll

She is currently a member of the Novus Promusica team, a record label headed by the composer and music producer Manuel Ruiz del Corral, with whom she has developed both composition and production skills. Under this label she has recorded two albums, 'Jeux' and 'Reflets'. One of the facets that characterizes her is her commitment to contemporary music; in her discography there is absolutely inspiring music by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Manuel Ruiz del Corral, Miguel Bustamante, Ana Silva, José Buenagu and Brian Field.

Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls is an album of piano rolls recorded (with one exception) by George Gershwin. It was released by Nonesuch Records in 1993. Gershwin recorded these piano rolls between 1916 and 1927. Several rolls use overdubbing, so that Gershwin is in effect playing a four-handed piece solo. The final selection, "An American In Paris", was recorded by Frank Milne in 1933. Milne worked as a roll-editor with Gershwin in the 1920s, and edited several of the rolls reproduced on this disc. So skilled was Milne as a roll editor, the liner notes suggest that he may not have actually "played" "An American In Paris" at all – in the same way that a musician can write sheet music, Milne was able to prepare roll masters by marking the lines on special graph paper that would be used as a template for the holes punched in the actual piano roll. The piano rolls were played back on a 9-foot Yamaha Disklavier grand piano, augmented by a 1911 Pianola operated by Artis Wodehouse. The Pianola allows for the operator to add "live" effects with piano footpumps and expression levers.

Pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger and occasional singer Ferdinand Joseph ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton was one of the most important and influential personalities in the entire history of jazz. Born in New Orleans of Creole descent in 1890, he was one of the earliest jazz innovators and pioneers, to the extent that he actually said that he invented the genre, although his accomplishments and influence were such that he did not need to make such exaggerated claims. Starting as a ragtime pianist, his 1915 tune “Jelly Roll Blues” was one of the first published jazz compositions. His career output of recordings was so prolific that we have chosen to release them as two 3-CD sets.

"Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" is the 6th studio album by Elton John. Released in January, 1973 by DJM Records, it was John's 6th normal studio album release, and was his second straight #1 album in the US, yielding his first #1 single in both the US and Canada: "Crocodile Rock". "Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian #1 single on the RPM Top Singles Chart and just missing the top slot south of the border, still reaching a successful #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #4 in the UK, one place higher than achieved by "Crocodile Rock".

Pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger and occasional singer Ferdinand Joseph ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton was one of the most important and influential personalities in the entire history of jazz. Born in New Orleans of Creole descent in 1890, he was one of the earliest jazz innovators and pioneers, to the extent that he actually said that he invented the genre, although his accomplishments and influence were such that he did not need to make such exaggerated claims. Starting as a ragtime pianist, his 1915 tune “Jelly Roll Blues” was one of the first published jazz compositions. His career output of recordings was so prolific that we have chosen to release them as two 3-CD sets.

Anthony de Mare's choice of pioneering new music for piano typically pays off with critical appreciation for his performances and recordings. On this album he's pays tribute to Stephen Sondheim in a fascinating project. De Mare invited composers from a broad variety of genres from Sondheims own world of musical theater to jazz, classical, pop, film and beyond to re-imagine a Sondheim song of their choice as a solo piano piece.