sweet emotional piano – Gina Leneé – RED DIAMONDS: I was surprised to find that I hadn’t encountered Gina’s wonderful keyboards before – she has six original albums prior to this latest release. Her supreme and passionate piano work is complimented by renowned artists from Will Ackerman’s Imaginary Road studios… Charlie Bisharat (violin), Eugene Friesen (cello), Jill Haley (English horn), Jeff Haynes (percussion), Jeff Oster (flugelhorn), Marc Shulman (electric guitar), Premik Russell Tubbs (EWI and sax), Tom Eaton (fretless bass, guitar, vocals) Will Ackerman (acoustic guitar and vocals) and Noah Wilding (vocals), and the result is one of the sweetest sonic experiences you will ever have! To get an idea of the creativity in her playing, just listen to “The Moment”… the haunting chords and Gina’s gentle but firm touch in the solo introduction segue perfectly into different movements and shadings from the other players; I just loved this piece!
I’m sure the reason she chose “A Thousand Days Without You” to open with is because it most clearly (for this listener, anyway) displays her ability to communicate feelings through her music… in fact, she describes the piano as her “best friend” and indicates that the music is the language she can speak best – and I certainly understand that, since my own amateur playing is without the benefit of structured and formal training, too. Another thing that playing from the heart, for those with real talent, does, is allows the real power of people to shine through brightly… and nowhere in my recent listening experiences is that shown more clearly than on my personal favorite of the ten songs offered up – “River” is a very moving and impressive composition, to be sure! I give Gina and her cohorts a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.99 for this superb sonic adventure. Get more information on the Gina Leneé website (and be sure to tell her you read about this album in our magazine). Rotcod Zzaj
