New Age Music World

Posts Tagged ‘Kathryn Kaye’

Music Review: Heavy as a Feather album by Kathern Kaye.

Kathern Kaye’s second album Heavy as a Feather has been getting substantial media commentary this year. It could very well be due in part to the success and recognition she has received with her first piano and instrumental album Dreaming Still, which is another top album by Kathern Kaye, with Will Ackerman as producer.

Kathern Kaye’s first album succeeded in opening up new horizons for the once debuting new artist who was among top artists recently under consideration for Zone Music Reporter’s best album awards for 2011. Kathern’s nominations were two ZMR categories of Best New Artist & Best Instrumental Album – Piano.

Dreaming Still acquired the #1 position in the ZMR Top 100 charts for 3 months, and the #2 album on ZMR’s Top 100 Recording chart in 2011. Dreaming Still achieved an impressive top ranking from over 2300 albums by some of the best artists worldwide.

Heavy as a Feather is much in the same artistic signature as Dreaming Still by the contemporary resentation of Kathern’s skills as composing pianist with ten years of classical music education. I believe it is clear to everyone now Kathern Kaye is a versatile pianist who knows how to create beautiful song melodies with emotional depth and charm, which in turn, has moved her music career to the next level.

Heavy as a Feather is another great album produced with Will Ackerman, engineer Corin Nelsen, and a team of music professionals. Of the 11 songs, half are solo piano pieces, with the balance of songs in the accompaniment of some of the most respected artists in the music business. It’s a select group of esteemed artists that justifiably includes composing pianist Kathryn Kaye.

Kathryn Kaye composed the 11 original songs and performs on piano, with additional artists Will Ackerman (guitar), Charlie Bisharat (violin), Tom Eaton (accordion and percussion), Eugene Friesen (cello), Jill Haley (English horn), Tony Levin (bass), Michael Manring (fretless bass),and Ramesh (percussion).

Visit KathernKaye-music.com to sample Heavy as a Feather. Or visit Kathryn’s page at Amazon.com. Visit Will Ackerman and the Imaginary Road Studio at WilliamAckerman.com. Cover art courtesy A. Handelman.

Kathryn Kaye is a talented pianist releasing her first piano and instrumental album. After learning every detail like her lifetime of music experience, the collaborating artists and production credits, I had a feeling her new release was going to be great. In fact Kathryn Kaye’s new release greatly exceeded my expectations since this album really goes the distance.

Dreaming Still is an Acoustic, Contemporary Instrumental, New Age release having many integral advantages, one being the importance of music in Kathryn Kaye’s life, which began with playing the piano at age four.  She attended college and began working toward a major in music, earning a performance degree with a double major in voice and keyboard.  In addition to her strong educational background she pursued classical training while living in Germany, appearing on television in both the U.S. and Germany as a vocalist during concerts, recitals and operas.

Kathryn Kaye is a musician and songwriter presently residing in Colorado. The beautiful Rocky Mountains region and Appalachian mountain territories in Kentucky recalled from childhood are in part a focal point for this contemporary nature inspired release. Dreaming Still contains 14 songs she composed, half of which are Solo Piano, with the balance in piano and instrumental harmony support by violin, cello, bass and English horn.

The world-class musicians providing instrumentals with piano are commendable, and are as follows: Charlie Bisharat (violin) Eugene Friesen (cello) Dan Greenspan (bass) Jill Haley (English horn) Derrik Jordan (percussion) and Noah Wilding (vocal). Dreaming Still is a Will Ackerman production, with recording, mixing, and mastering by Corin Nelsen at Imaginary Road Studios. The assistance from these two Grammy Winning talents is a fine enhancement to her proficiency as a composing pianist.

Dreaming Still is a delightful album, and I was pleased to hear a wonderful cinematic touch at times. Waiting For The Rain with piano and cello, then a Solo Piano song August Light were my two favorite songs, however this album is consistent and enjoyable throughout.  I believe Kathryn’s commitment and expertise in music has been vital to the level of quality on her first album, and her choice of music artists was first-class. In contrast to the vast expanse of the Appalachian territory, I expect the appreciation for this beautiful album will go the distance and travel far.  At the time of publication, Dreaming Still by Kathryn Kaye is #1 in the ZMR Top 100 Radio Chart for January 2011. Congratulations Kathryn Kaye!

Visit kathrynkaye-music.com to sample and then purchase at her CDBaby.com page & Amazon.com page.

Photo courtesy Delanda Licata. Cover art courtesy Robert Kooken.