Album Notes

The "Beginnings" series of recordings were recorded live from the popular musical interview webcast series "ArtMusic Coffeehouse" during 2004 and 2005, hosted by iconoclastic keyboardist Don Slepian. Slepian would improvise on his Kurzweil keyboard for the first 15 minutes of each ArtMusic Coffeehouse show before bringing on the featured performer. He would relax and entertain the studio audience and guest artist and give an inspirational start to each show.

The tracks on this album are taken from the beginnings of five different ArtMusic Coffeehouse webcast shows, thus the name "Beginnings".

His music varies from Classical to New Age, with jazz and ragtime influences in an spontaneous stream of consciousness style that is unusually coherent and structured for pure improvisation. Slepian mixes and layers the sounds with his feet as he plays. His lack of any pop-style drums, electronic sequences or backing tracks allows his music to easily dart from place to place as it travels with his imagination.

People looking for a "groove" and those with a traditional or conventional bent are advised to avoid this music. Many people diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have enthusiatically received the Beginnings Series as some of the finest musical expressions ever recorded of their condition. Others lacking this disorder may find this music disturbing.

Slepian continues to perform his unique music in nurseries for new-born infants, at hospices for people in the process of dying, and for captive audiences in prisons. His improvised live electronic classical music has been well received by people entering, leaving, and isolated from this world. In releasing the Beginnings Series Slepian hopes his music may find receptive listeners who are living in this world while open to flights of musical imagination and inspiration.