Album Notes

"Brilliant!" -William Starr, The State newspaper, Columbia, SC

David Edwards has had people talking for a long time. Since his South Carolina debut with the S.C. Philharmonic, playing Prokofiev's explosive "Piano Concerto No. 1", he has played to critical acclaim in city after city along the East Coast. He holds a Masters Degree in Piano Performance from the University of South Carolina, and has served a tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force as the pianist for the premier Tactical Air Command Concert Band of Langley, VA. David delivers playing that is technically scintillating and deeply stirring musically. He has a reputation of leaving audiences electrified. His newest CD "Black Coffee" was recorded in the middle of a recent solo piano concert tour. Just listen to what audiences have been saying after these concerts . . .

"I was absolutely blown away . . ."
-Diana Stevenson, Director, Excelsior Arts Academy

"As a music educator I have seen hundreds of programs, but never one as exciting, creative and informative as this . . ."
-Mary Teal, Certified Music Instructor for S.C. Public Schools

"My child was so inspired she went home and practiced for hours!"
-Parent of a young audience member

About "Black Coffee":
"Plenty of studies show that caffeine in coffee can increase alertness and improve performance on tests of mental function". - psychologist Andrew Smith of Cardiff University
In this CD, fine roasts from all over the world meet a corresponding music. Music that pulses with life; music that emanates warmth and goodness, and music that, like a good strong "cup o' joe", stimulates the mind. The 22 tracks are organized into four large sections for a sampling from around the world: ROBUST AMERICAN BREW - CAFÉ ESPANOL IN A FRENCH PRESS - GERMAN STOUT - TURKISH DELIGHT (A Russian Roast). If you're new to "Classical" music, this CD is a great place to get started. There are interesting composer biographies, and recommended listening after each. The following is a quick run-down of some of the great music you'll find here:
The first cut is a sophisticated boogie-woogie by the cool-headed American composer Samuel Barber. A tough little nut for the pianist, it swings and shimmers with a slick, rural-American sound. After several other hoppin' American 'tunes' such as George Gershwin's " Three Preludes" and Louis Moreau Gottschalk's "The Banjo", comes the Frenchman Maurice Ravel's Spanish masterpiece, Alborada del Gracioso (Morning Song of the Jester); a pianistic tour-de-force filled with lightning fast repeated notes, wide leaps, and double-note glissandos (that's when the pianist drags his hand quickly across the white keys - in this case, it takes two fingers and a lot of raw skin from the same hand to get the job done!). After a pass through the German coffee breweries with J.S. Bach, we enter the Russian landscape for some REALLY RICH music to accompany their favorite coffee - Turkish Delight. Here we find the sweet, barbarous sounds of Prokofiev mingled with the majestic, painfully lyric music of Rachmaninov. As a fitting finale: Khatchaturian's world famous "Sabre Dance" - played at double espresso tempo!
In conclusion, this CD answers a couple of questions:
1. What music goes good with my morning coffee?
2. What can I put in that coffee gift basket that will really set it apart from the rest?