Aiv Puglielli
Thankful. Thankful for the forces that enabled this work to come together, for us all to appreciate, sit still and ponder on.
Favorite track: Infinity Bridge.
Limited Edition 12" Vinyl, Made in Thornbury by Program Records. Featuring stunning photography by Krystal Neumann, design by Chad Harris and liner notes by Timothy Stevens.
(My apologies that overseas shipping is currently more expensive and will take longer due to COVID-19. If you would like to discuss possibilities of sharing shipping costs with others in your country, please contact me.)
Includes unlimited streaming of Eldorado
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 4 days
$35AUDor more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Comes in a beautiful 6 Panel Gatefold (Matt Finish) case with stunning photography by Krystal Neumann, design by Chad Harris and liner notes by Timothy Stevens.
(My apologies that overseas shipping is currently more expensive and will take longer due to COVID-19. If you would like to discuss possibilities of sharing shipping costs with others in your country, please contact me.)
Includes unlimited streaming of Eldorado
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 4 days
$20AUDor more
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
"There’s something in these woven melodies and their relaxed timing that calms the soul when peace is needed most" - Headphone Commute (UK)
"An impressive debut from a thoughtful and sensitive musician...the music is peaceful and ruminative but, under a seamless surface there are nuances which are subtle and exquisite" - Eric Myers, The Australian
When travel plans fell through whilst studying in Denmark, Pat Jaffe booked a session to record his debut release at Masterkey Studios in Reykjavík. The resulting album mainly consists of his compositions for solo piano, although two also feature the stellar Icelandic chamber ensemble, Siggi String Quartet.
Liner notes by Timothy Stevens:
For me, the most touching thing about this recording is the sense of contemplation that I feel it transmits. I hear a restraint in the composition and the playing that is deeply attractive. Things are being considered. Eldorado is, at heart, a solo piano album, wherein the composer/performer is responsible for everything, and Pat Jaffe maintains interest through his expansive harmonic sense, his effective range of textures, and his fabulous predilection for contrast. Contrast and contemplation might not immediately seem to be compatible, but Jaffe makes them so. Both can be restless, too, in a very good way.
Jaffe’s care for the piano sound is a hallmark of this recording. From the first notes of the brief opening ‘Sketch’, there is clearly a care being taken not to overstate anything. The writing however is adventurous, and there is a thread to be followed.
And contrasts are everywhere. In the gentle ‘Julesang’, a tonic pedal opens things, with very tasty chords up above; this gives way to chord changes of a restless intensity before the texture is simplified and things move higher on the keyboard. This is all managed with a sense of form that is very mature. The move from the delicately pathetic ‘Grandma’s Song’ to the busier ‘Flow’ is an enormously effective divergence, and in the latter once again the intelligent use of register provides enormous interest in the progress of the piece.
And contrasting with the employment of solo piano are the tracks with strings: ‘Catharsis’ and ‘Hannah’. The writing here is tasteful and entirely appropriate. In ‘Catharsis’, where solo piano emerges quietly and patiently from the tutti passages the change seems poetic, and the strings’ re-entry is sympathetic to this. The composition is elegant and subtle.
Which brings us to ‘Hannah’. Here the initial trading of melody between cello and piano, and the effortless transitions between C major and E-flat major, create a deeply sympathetic and tender sound-world. The violin’s appropriation of the melody back in C major, then the use of some solo piano, and contrasts in the string registers (harmonics and everything!), are all emblematic of this album’s exploring and creating spirit.
Go on – play it again.
- Timothy Stevens
credits
released October 2, 2020
Produced by Pat Jaffe and Sturla Mio Þórisson
Piano and Compositions - Pat Jaffe
Siggi String Quartet (Tracks 2 and 9)
Violin I - Una Sveinbjarnardóttir
Violin II - Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir
Viola - Þórunn Ósk Marínósdóttir
Cello - Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson
Recorded at Masterkey Studios, Reykjavík by Sturla Mio Þórisson
Mixed by Sturla Mio Þórisson
Mastered by Lachlan Carrick
Photography by Krystal Neumann at Mount McKay, Victoria, Australia
Album Design by Chad Harris
Vinyl Made in Thornbury by Program Records
I would like to thank Mio and Mar for making this such a joy to bring to life. To Howard, Tim, Therese and Michelle, thank you for your wonderful teaching and friendship. Thanks to Siggi String Quartet for your phenomenal musicianship and to Zvi and Nat for your mentorship during this project. Above all thanks to my parents, Sue and David.
This is a remarkable album. As one who has been pursuing silence, solitude and stillness for years this is the sound that makes me want to stay on in all three. Peter Breen
