Album Notes

Palettes is comprised of eleven recordings, each piece fully improvised — no parts existed in any form until the first notes were played.

These pieces were were inspired by ten amazing works of art:

“Wheat Field Under Threatening Skies” by Vincent Van Gogh (1890)
“Narcissus” by Caravaggio (1597-99)
“Bricoleur's Daughter” by Mark Tansey (1987)
“Figures in a Landscape” by Sidney Goodman (1972-73)
“Night Burn” by Sidney Goodman (1986-87)
“Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” by David Hockney (1971)
“Gulf Stream” by Homer Winslow (1899)
“Man Sitting - Back View” by Wayne Thiebaud (1964)
“In The Car” by Roy Lichtenstein (1963)
“Winter, 1946” by Andrew Wyeth (1946)

From Mont Chris Hubbard: "I drew upon the colors, the shapes, the themes of the painting and the feelings it aroused in me to inform my playing, whether in the creation of a motif or a texture, or a the level of passion. Some pieces were more successful than others in matching the tone of the painting, but all are interesting and successful pieces of music in their own right."

The music of "Palettes" draws on such varied influences as Keith Jarrett, Erik Satie, Charles Ives, Steve Reich, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Ray Charles. The pieces are journeys of fragile beauty, interspersed with inquisitive wandering and violent outbursts, as Mont Chris Hubbard lets his subconscious lead the way on an exploration of piano possibilities.

Mont Chris Hubbard is a musician from Portland, OR. He began taking classical piano lessons at age five. One day he discovered Keith Jarrett's "Köln Concert" in his parents' record collection; and his fingers were never the same. Over the past two decades, he has melded his classical background with pop, rock, country, and jazz influences as they have entered his life. He attended Reed College as a music major, graduating in 2006. He is a member of a couple of Portland bands: Scotland Barr & The Slow Drags, and Scott Fisher & 1 a.m. Approach; he also plays piano for John Callahan. You can also hear his playing on a number of Portland bands' recordings if you listen closely enough.

http://www.montchrishubbard.com