Album Notes

PUT THIS CD IN YOUR CAR STEREO. Picture yourself riding a motorcycle through the most beautiful part of the country. "Motorcycle Territory" will, in smooth fashion, bring you through feelings of excitement and joy. It is sure to stimulate some touching memories too. A recent listener said she "loved the unique approach" to the 70's Rock tunes. “Innovative and Powerful.” Roland showers his audience with an instant surge of heartfelt emotion in a manner unparalleled by others. To be in a live setting with this gifted pianist is to experience a dynamic journey of joy, wonder, introspection, and love which are harbored in our deepest memories. Repetoire and genre: It is hard to channel Roland into a particular catagory. It is best said that he performs original tunes, rock tunes of the 70’s and many of the early love songs of the 40’s and 50’s with a unique and creative style. He is an individual song sylist. For the MOTORCYCLE TERRITORY CD, we'll call it Jazz Rock or in some circles, Progressive Rock. Beyond his originals, which speak of global compassion, Roland performs the music of his favorite authors and entertainers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rogers, Fred Astaire, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams and Mel Torme, just to name a few. Recently, the fans seem to really be responding to Roland’s unique interpretations of the strong “Rock Tunes” from the 70’s, highlighting artists such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendricks, The Doors, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jethro Tull and many more. This is the style heard on this CD. Performance and History: Roland’s technique will light up the curiosity of some of todays greatest musicians as he has developed his mastery without a single lesson and very little reading of notes. The result is a fresh approach to a song, that does not resemble the standard methods used by other pianists. Roland’s goal was to reach deeply into his spiritual side and through hours of discipline, create a channel, which can bring his heart and soul to his listeners. With just a few bars of music, one will understand the compassion and sincerity of his message. Much of Roland’s natural talent may have been inherited from his father, Joe Roland who is considered the Art Tatum of the Vibraphone and played with Artie Shaw and George Shearing during the fifties. Having grown up in Long Island New York, and having been an accomplished athlete and Class A chess player in his early years, Roland began music at age 22. His only formal training was one semester of music theory and a lifetime of listening to jazz and rock greats. Besides his accomplishments in music Roland has earned a Bachelors degree at Florida Atlantic Univesity (FAU) which launched his professional career through the 90’s and culminated in owning a local publishing company. Roland’s interest is to further develop his music career. He wants to reach a larger audience by creating recordings and performing on a concert level both solo and with his trio. MOTORCYCLE TERRITORY, the album, features two sets of trios. - Session One has the great Duffy Jackson on drums, who is considered by many to be the "Heir apparent to Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa." It also has the talented Jamie Ousley on Bass. - Session Two has the creative Rock drummer, Michael Duncan combined with the great jazz bass player Mark Tail, yielding some exciting music. Closing thoughts: Roland has always been dedicated to allowing the universe to take it’s natural course. It has become clear that this is his time to move forward and provide a healthy message of love and hope to all he can reach through his unique talents.