VOL. 1 by Pat Leary

When first touching the piano for the day I try to engage my heart by improvising completely freely. It’s very healing for me to simply express and listen with no judgment or preconception of what sounds should arise or take shape. I’ve collected my favorite improvised pieces - recorded mostly from spring to fall of 2021 at 1920 W 21st Place in Chicago - for a collection which I decided to call ‘Vol. 1’. I hope to release another volume (‘Vol. 2’) of solo piano improvisations soon and eventually a ‘Vol. 3’ which I hope to be a collection of duo improvisations. The improvisations presented here are heavily influenced by the ‘classical’ piano tradition (especially Debussy, Ravel and Bach) as well as modern pianists like Keith Jarrett, Aaron Parks, Cecil Taylor and many, many more. Immense gratitude to Zacary Caputo for the post-production work and Ben Giska for the gorgeous album art and design as well as creative kinship along the way.


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A NOTE TO LISTENERS:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support. This is my first physical release and I am super excited to be sharing this with whoever may listen. This is a collection of piano improvisations recorded over the Spring + Summer of 2021 in my room in my apartment in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.

Music, and in particular piano, offers me a great deal of healing on a daily basis and I hope to offer some of that in turn to you. For me, the piano has also proved to be an immense vehicle for human connection, understanding and growth and I hope to reflect some of that here as well. It is my greatest hope that through music, we can come together and find healing within ourselves in order to uplift and help others.

With great gratitude,
Pat

Chicago Pianist, Composer

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