Album Notes

The Far View is my third piano album, and the ninth one I've done. It is the second in a series of interpretive piano music describing the wonders and ambiance of living in the remote parts of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. It was recorded in the solar powered Lyftwyn Studios located in the La Garita mountains near the continental divide. ("Lyftwyn" is old Norse for "lighter than air").
I grew up in Boulder and the mountains to the west, studied composition with Cecil Effinger of the Parisian Boulanger school, and have worked as pianist, singer, entertainer, recording composer, and record producer for the past two and a half decades. I currently split time between southern Colorado and a yurt in the woods outside of Eugene, Oregon.
Reviews of "The Far View" and the preceding "From The Summit" CD include:
"Beautiful interpretive piano with unusual chord changes..."
"....Solo piano has imaginative and whimsical changes."
"Allan's compositions are a display of really good musicianship."
"...focus is on... a wonderful display of chops."
"Very bright, flowing piano....."
"....style is flamboyant and embellished."
"...the piano is mixed comfortably and up front."
I love to resonate with geography, and especially that of my native Rockies. The people, the animals, the character of each huge mountain, the sky, wind, rainbows, and storms, are all in the music.
To some folks, this sort of thing is mere whimsy, but to some of us the power of imagination is expressed by this kind of impressionistic art. My job as a composer and pianist is to play for all of you whose life paths did not allow you to become the players you would wish to be. Allow this music into your life, and share the vibrant love we all have for our beautiful world.