Piano Portraits

by Dacia A. Blodgett-Williams An outstanding selection of 12 songs from four talented pianists. Each pianist contributed two previously released songs and a third original piece to the album. An intriguing feature of the album is how seamless the sound and style seems despite the dramatically different approaches employed by each pianist. Paul Cardall is probably best known for providing a companion album for Richard Paul Evans' book The Christmas Box. Michael R. Hicks is a composer and pianist who has written popular arrangements for youth as well as producing the award-winning new age album Creations. Jon Schmidt has a style that mixes elements of Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Joel, and Victor Borge along with quotations from familiar classical composers. And David Tolk employs a soft, reflective style in his original compositions and arrangements of existing pieces. All 12 tracks on this album are original compositions by the respective artists, and the result is very pleasing. Definitely a recommended listen.