Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Greatest American piano music ever!, September 9, 2006
Amazing CD! I highly recommend it to those of you interested in new piano music. The piano playing is exquisite and, unlike a lot of contemporary music, Chappell's piano compositions are easily approachable and have a refreshing character and wit. Chappell has drawn on a wide range of influences as both a classical concert pianist and a jazz pianist/composer. You can hear everything from Stravinsky to Copland to Ellington to 90s pop music coming through in his musical ideas. What is truly remarkable is how all these influences are weaved together in a seamless, coherent whole.
His musical ideas are direct, forceful, and palatable. This is some of the most `American' piano music that I have ever heard. And I mean that as the complement that it is, people have been struggling for generations to capture in music what it means to be an American. Chappell does it wonderfully in this CD, with its `melting pot' of ideas and styles. (P.S. Banana Jam is the track that does it for me, but I will let you be the judge!) A+
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Epoustouflant!, December 17, 2006
Wow! For those people lamenting the supposed lack of living composers writing attractive, memorable, accessible piano music like the composers of the past, take notice of this CD. Though these compositions draw inspiration from the world of jazz, the voice of a serious and individual composer is never lacking. Here is fresh, new music that is complex and challenging, for the pianist and listener alike, and yet never fails to be approachable and communicative. Clearly Chappell wants to engage his listener, rather than leaving him or her dumbfounded, or even worse, indifferent. No one will come away from this music without feeling something; elated, excited, energized, uplifted, seduced, and perhaps even bruised, but never bored. Though I don't recommend skipping anything on this CD, start with Banana Jam and the Jazz Sonata (especially the sublime and unforgettable "Aphrodite" movement) if you need immediate convincing. These works deserve a wider audience, and to be embraced by mainstream pianists, or at least pianists with a keen eye for unjustly neglected repertoire. I hope we get to hear a lot more from this composer and pianist.
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