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Hania Rani - Jazz/Avante Garde Piano

Thanks. Bought Esja on the strength of this. Listening now, it’s very lovely, glad I bought it.

It reminds me of Iiro Rantala somewhat. Have you heard his ‘my Finnish calendar’? Try January out for size.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Bought Esja on the strength of this. Listening now, it’s very lovely, glad I bought it.
Click to expand...

Download? CD? How does it sound?

I received the LP this morning and the sound is rather muffled, not especially inspiring. Although that could have been the intention........
 
Vinny said:
Download? CD? How does it sound?

I received the LP this morning and the sound is rather muffled, not especially inspiring. Although that could have been the intention........
Click to expand...
CD. Only listened once through so far, but not muffled. Very natural sonics, the music isn’t bigly dynamic anyway, so what you describe doesn’t seem quite right to me.
 
OK, just revisiting this. I've taken a quick listen to the first couple of tracks for a second time. I think I get where you're coming from, but I don't think I'd call it muffled in the sense that it's a flaw or a fault. I think the piano may have been miked in a way which softens the leading edges, particularly of the lower registers. It reminds me of the treatment of the piano in Thomas Newman's OST for American Beauty. A sort of 'soft-focus' element to some aspects of the piano tone, so it majors on the tonality and timbre rather than the percussive aspects to the sound. Given the nature of the music, I'd say this was an artistic decision, not any sort of pressing flaw. Caveat: I haven't heard what you've heard, but the CD certainly isn't the sort of crisp, crystalline piano tone that you get on, say, a Hiromi recording. It's not unlike how the Iiro Rantala discs are presented, too.

I find it rather beautiful.
 
"The compositions were born out of a fascination with my principal instrument – the piano – which, on the album, takes form of an upright from my flat. In my own subjective way, I try to reinterpret the capabilities of its sound and harmonies, observing the way in which it resonates within a compact room space and translating, into the language of keys and hammers, the melodies I overheard on the road – most significantly, during my travels to Iceland and the Bieszczady Mountains in south-eastern Poland."

taken from: https://haniarani.bandcamp.com/album/esja

Must admit I prefer Esja to Home. Not entirely sure I get on with her singing voice.
 
Many thanks both - it sounds like it is as intended/recorded.

I am not detracting from the music, more a question if what I am hearing is how it was inteneded to sound. Which it seems to be.

Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
A sort of 'soft-focus' element to some aspects of the piano tone
Click to expand...

That sort of nails, I think, a much better description than muffled.
 
@Sue Pertwee-Tyr - only as far as the one inserted above. I was not that struck by that but must investigate further.

To be honest, as a general rule, I hate piano music - probably as a result of school morning assemblies until the age of 11 where hymns were always accompanied by upright piano.
There are actually loads of exceptions, though very few outside of jazz or jazz-style, my taste is very picky.
I will investigate Rantala further.
 
Vinny said:
@Sue Pertwee-Tyr - only as far as the one inserted above. I was not that struck by that but must investigate further.

To be honest, as a general rule, I hate piano music - probably as a result of school morning assemblies until the age of 11 where hymns were always accompanied by upright piano.
There are actually loads of exceptions, though very few outside of jazz or jazz-style, my taste is very picky.
I will investigate Rantala further.
Click to expand...
Ah, hadn't seen that you'd inserted the link upthread. I think that's lovely, but YMMV, obvs. The whole album is quite varied, as reflects the changes in the months in Finland.
 
I have stumbled upon her on YouTube previously and she hasn't hit the spot, but searching again now -



A grower maybe, but too staid for my taste possibly. Maybe.
 
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