Henry Cowell - "The Piano Music of Henry Cowell" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1963 (Folkways Records)

Henry Cowell is an amazing composer and a brilliant pianist.  Famous for his cluster notes, and stroking the piano strings, he's to me the melodic John Cage.  "The Piano Music of Henry Cowell" is the perfect introduction to his music and aesthetic.   Oddly enough, "Aeolian Harp and Sinister Resonance" melody sound similar to The Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad."  The closest composer I can compare him to is Erik Satie.  Both write strong melodies, but there is a genius aspect of what they both do.  Cowell is more upbeat and mixes the ugliness of cluster with the harp-like strokes of the piano wires and the beautiful melodies.   Throughout the album, Cowell announces each title of his composition as if he was lecturing in a classroom.  There is also a talk by the composer at the end of the album. Essential! 

Steve Reich - "Drumming/Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & Organ/Six Pianos" 3XVinyl Box Set, 1974 (Deutsche Grammophon)

The ultimate recording from Steve Reich.  Three albums of minimal persuasion and keyboard work that is maximum in scope and sound.   Reich's work is not meditative music, but one where the listener has to sit in front of the speakers and let this aural wash come and take you over. I have to presume that these three albums were released separately, but due to some marketing genius on the label has decided to make it into a Box-Set.  Going through all three albums in one sitting may be tough, not because of the work itself, but each piece is a demanding presence in one's life. For me, it has an exotic appeal, because I think of mallets coming from a foreign island in the Pacific.  Again, what do I know, but that is the visual image I get while listening to "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & Organ." 

All pieces by Reich strike me as a pattern.  When I hear this music, I see structures or things being attached to each other.  There is an architectural quality to Reich's compositions.  There's a foundation built, and then he adds textures on top of that landscape, and I feel he's building from the ground and then up to the sky.   I'm sure there is a spiritual aspect to Reich, but for me, it is more about the mechanics of life, as if it was a cycle.  The Four Seasons, Sunday through Saturday, the 24-hour day, I feel all of that is very much part of Reich's aesthetic.  So when you go into Reich's world, you have to surrender 'your' sense of time and be merged into the Reich world. 

George Crumb - "Music For A Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III)" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1975 (Nonesuch)

I know his name well, but not his music whatsoever till I purchased this piece of vinyl of George Crumb's "Music For A Summer Evening."   I was intrigued by reading that the music on this album consists of two amplified pianos and percussion.  How can that possibly be a bad thing?  

The music here is a combination of great peace, and then dramatic mood change with the percussion and the sound from the two pianos.   There are also vocals in the mix as well.  That reminds me of Japanese Kabuki music, and that is another added twist to this work that's very American, yet looks beyond its border.  At parts, when the pianos are playing a melody, it sounds like something from the 18th-century European court music.  It's only traces of the melody here and there that comes through the textures, especially in "Myth" on side two.  

The percussion on this piece is a lot of instruments: vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, bell tree, claves, maracas, sleigh bells, wood blocks and other such instruments. "Music For a Summer Evening" is a solid piece of mood, which I'm fond of, or at the very least a visitor in those woods.