5.0 out of 5 stars
A neat package of enjoyable melodies, September 23, 2011
This review is from: The Piano Music of Billy Mayerl (Audio CD)
While driving home one day, the local classical station played "Filigree". The melody was intriguing, simple yet complex, sounding both old and new. After arriving home, I checked the station's website and it was there that I first heard of composer and performer Billy Mayerl. Mr. Mayerl composed many melodies along with music for theater shows during the first half of the last century and this box set contains much of the music he composed during that time period. His major influence seems to be the "Tin Pan Alley" sound, heavy on George Gershwin, but you will also hear Debussy and Ravel in some of the chord structures that occur within the melodies. Many tunes are themes or musical poems based on the title of the song. A nice example is "Cobwebs" where you can visualize a spider making a flowing and delicate web as the melody floats across the piano keys. All of the tunes in this set are enjoyable. The piano performance on this recording is excellent; technically strong while maintaining the style that the music was written for. If you enjoy the early popular jazz sound, you will like this box set.
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