Search - Jeff Bjorck :: Pure Piano Portraits

The perfect refuge --- Very highly recommended!

C. Penn | Greenville, SC | 04/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listeners seeking a calming pace amidst the bustle of worldly demands will find Jeff Bjorck's PURE PIANO PORTRAITS the perfect refuge. Two traditional Christian hymns embrace ten original compositions to treat the ear to a relaxing experience. The technical perfection of these radiant melodies underscores the pervading beauty of music that will touch the soul. Indeed, each selection transports listeners to a world of melodic exquisiteness that offers the perfect respite. A gentle energy gives voice to Bjorck's love of spontaneity, thereby lending this album uniqueness among its peers. Lovers of piano music will quickly recognize the promise of this debut album and the marvelous future for this incredibly talented pianist, especially within his original compositions. PURE PIANO PORTRAITS comes with my highest recommendations."

Pleasant, seriously composed pieces

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 05/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am afraid that Mr. Urbanski has said it all in his long, perceptive review. When I was approached by e-mail by the composer to give his CD a listening, it was made clear that I was under no obligation to report. Well, I did like it very much and wish to report. I find it pleasant, seriously composed music--not earth-shaking, nor was it meant to be so. As other reviewers have mentioned, this CD makes for wonderful ambient music and does not demand your full attention. On the other hand, those more technically minded would do well to study the construction and harmonies of each piece.On the other hand, there were no special "magical moments" such as one finds in the shorter piano literature of McDowell, Debussy, and so on. Which is to say, after several playings, no one melody lingered in my memory, except for his version of "Jerusalem," which was already too familiar to me. Mr. Bjorck is quite talented and I would like to hear some more of his works in the future. In fine, this is a very good introduction to a composer who deserves to be heard."

An Emotional, Evocative, Exquisite Instrumental Piano CD

Kathee Eckstrom | 05/25/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jeff Bjorck's Pure Piano Portraits is one of those rare instrumental creations that captures more emotion and conveys more vivid imagery than any number of lyrically based popular albums on the market today. Bjorck accomplishes this through a generous diversity of selections that offer a peek at his many influences---classical, new age, pop, ragtime, early Carole King, big-band, gospel, and inspirational stylings. The 12-song CD plays like a concert, as one song flows into the next---although the varying keys Bjorck employs on his selections provide enough differentiation to tip off listeners that he's no self-indulgent maestro, pounding out an hourlong progressive monster. The main reason Pure Piano Portraits triumphs where other run-of-the-mill instrumental attempts fail is Bjorck's keen sense of tempo and melody. Many players---fearing they won't be able to say enough with just their instruments---often fill every second with a cacophony of sound. But Bjorck often says as much, if not more, in the quiet passages between his music. The opening of the second track, "Butterfly Sunrise," is an excellent example: By striking just a few, soft notes during the nearly minute-long intro---and letting their echoes ring out for healthy stretches---Bjorck poignantly captures a floating, drifting feeling...not unlike a Monarch's flight at sunrise, just as it's wiggling its wings awake. (The song's striking imagery is such that Bjorck could very well have composed the song while watching the scene its title describes.) The tune picks up in tempo---as a butterfly might---but then Bjorck deftly reemploys his colorful, understated introduction as the song's quiet finale. Exquisite. There're no shortage of melody, either. "Living Waters"---among the most moving, bright songs on Pure Piano Portraits---lingers in your head long after the last bar is played. Its melodic excursion evokes images such as skipping down a mountain path, swapping stories at a family reunion just as sunlight's fading, and the first, exuberant heartbeats of new love. Bjorck flies all over the ivories on this one, returning again and again to various forms of his anchoring chorus. A satisfying, memorable tune. Two other standout tracks, "Walk Down Steward Lane" and "Starlight Ragtime Waltz," possess the kind of drenched-in-the-past feel you'd sense while watching the very best historically based films and theatrical presentations. These melodies manage plenty of image-conjuring as well---almost tearfully sentimental: Faded, wrinkled, black-and-white photographs of a boy fishing with his pop (and their newfangled transistor radio in tow), a crowd streaming onto a damp city sidewalk in April after witnessing Ty Cobb square off with Honus Wagner on Opening Day 1916, or a turn-of-the-20th-century family posing proudly on the front lawn...and a Model-T Ford in the background. The CD is bookended by Bjorck's arrangements of two traditional Christian hymns, "Be Thou My Vision" and "Jerusalem." Interestingly, his fine treatments only faintly hint at the original versions---you have to really try hard to recognize them. Interpreting already-created compositions does span a wide palette, but Bjorck could have easily retitled these hymns without most of us recognizing they're adaptations. Several song titles themselves reflect Bjorck's obvious love of nature: "Mountain Echoes," "River Sunset," "Twilight," "Catskill Mountain Meadow." And with the cover art---a sharp, crisp color photo Bjorck himself took at the majestic Glacier National Park in northern Montana---the total package expresses a sense of transcendence, otherness, and beauty. Bjorck has created something very special with Pure Piano Portraits---a musical statement that can touch a wide variety of people on a wide variety of emotional and reflective levels. Listening to it is much like embarking on a journey---albeit one that begins and ends in your heart and soul. Grab Pure Piano Portraits for yourself, and you'll soon be on your way..."