New Original Release: “Grace”

I’m excited to announce that my new original solo jazz piano track, “Grace,” is live on streaming and download platforms worldwide! Check it out below:

I composed “Grace” on the spot in the middle of the night during a rainstorm, recording onto an Edirol R-09 mp3 recorder. Because it was so late, I had to play with the mute/practice pedal down so that I wouldn’t wake the neighbors, and that ended up producing a continuous, bell-like drone effect that combined with the sound of the rain to create a dreamlike, hypnotic ambiance. It came out so well that I decided to transcribe the entire thing, relearn it and record it properly.

For the second recording, however, I was missing a crucial element: the rainstorm. Freesound.org to the rescue! I blended three different rain tracks together to create a rainstorm that told the story of the tune. The three rain tracks are “Night Ambience – December 3rd – Rain”, by rgbrobot, “Rain and wind in the trees” by inchadney, and “rain_hard_slowingdown01”, by aesqe. The latter two are licensed under the Attribution 3.0 license, and all have been sliced up and mixed together to create a hybrid storm.

Piano recording/performance, rainstorm mixing: Jake Smolowe
Final track mixing and mastering: Justin Weis, Trakworx