In Solo Piano, Bill Brennan captures an atmosphere. Evocative of a northern landscape, it is the music of wide-open spaces, filled with mystery, drama, and stillness.

After more than 20 years in the Canadian musical scene — and more than a few contributions on the international stage — pianist, percussionist, composer and producer Bill Brennan has just launched his first solo recording of original piano music.

Brennan’s exploration of the piano takes him through four previously composed pieces and six new improvisations, captured during a weekend recording session at the D.F Cook Recital Hall, Memorial University. Meditative, lingering, and highly personal, Solo Piano lays bare Brennan’s sensitivity to the environment around him; the people, interactions and rhythms of life. It’s a contemporary new music recording, with a definite nod to European-style jazz.

“I wanted to concentrate on what I feel is me,” Brennan says. “Trying to just listen to where my heart lies, the connection to the music in my soul.”

“Solo Piano is a gorgeous collection of music. It’s beautifully laid out; each number dovetails into the next so that transition between them is flawless.”

– Karla Hayward, The Telegram

“The overall soundscape of this recording is predominantly quiet, with great attention paid to the spaces between the sounds. It is a refreshing and rare experience to listen to a performer with such a tangible respect for the quality of each sound and the spaces that surround them.”

– Erin Donovan, Musicworks

“…the music’s all atmospheric rumination, unchallenging but unfolding in a balanced, well-executed manner that evolves into states of serene contemplation.”

– Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star

“Newfoundlander Bill Brennan has created a beguiling, meditative and quite deep solo piano album…”

– Budd Kopman, All About Jazz

1. Time Peace

2. Looking Glass

3. Au Revoir Les Enfants

4. Friends

5. Passage Overseas

6. AM’s Waltz

7. Shale

8. Père Lachaise

9. Petroushka’s Dream

10. In Memoriam