Monday, June 2, 2025

Moments in May BY James Michael Stevens

 


Moments in May

BY

James Michael Stevens

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

By some strange coincidence the music of James Michael Stevens came into my life back in 2021 with an album called May, here some 4 years later I get the privilege of constructing a review of his latest album entitled Moments in May, so in essence I have come full circle, but we can look forward to another delicious solo piano album from the artist, one full of textures, colours and glorious musical tones.

The album itself is some 12 tracks long, and has in my view, one of the most wondrous starts ever with the piece Long Ago, Far Away, this composition is played at a tempo that simply begs to be listened to, its soft yet meaningful parade of tonal delights is one of the best the artist has ever opened an album with.

James follows that up with the next arrangement entitled Lovely Lilacs, through the descriptive performance, one can almost see the flower itself gently dancing in a late May breeze. The chord changes and smoothness of this track is a delight unto itself, and thus continues this most precious theme of warmth and tenderness.

Bistro Berlinka is next; this is a memory palace of a piece, and also a lush offering that has an ever changing motif of colours with a European flavour mixed into the weave as well, its melodious vibrations takes us into this next fascinating opus called Beside the Daffodils, the change of chords from major to minor contains a movement so deftly textured and incredibly crafted here.

As soon as this song started playing, my mind was transported to a place in nature I still see in my mind’s eye to this day, it is a comforting sanctuary of natural delights, much like this wonderfully flowing narrative called Woodland Scene, this would become one of my personal favourites from the album, a real and true moving opus of nature and memory.

Morning Dewdrops is the piece that holds our hands with such a pristine quality and leads us into the second half of the album. The generous moods and consistency brings a certain crisp elevation to the offering, one that is so happy and bright and thus manifests a blissful resplendent quality to the overall narrative that is so joyful.

On the deeper manifestation called For Those Who Wait, we have a piece that reminded me in tempo and structure to the great hit of Procol Harum called A Whiter Shade of Pale. This is such a powerful and proud opus that it brought chills to my arms and neck, and if James ever wanted to release a single from the album it should be this one without a doubt.

The heartfelt Gently My Love is now upon us, this is such a meaningful creation and another favourite of mine, yes there building up! How could one not favour the tender tones of this most effulgent of creations, its soft coda allows the temperate piece Sunset San Francisco to wash over us, now it’s unlikely I will ever go to this location, but I can thankfully do so with the artist vicariously, through the medium of this sublime offering.

James Michael Stevens has a quality as a pianist that few do, he is a painter of sound and meaningful reposes, just like this grand and fluent manifestation entitled Elegy Neath a Quiet Sky, listen to the changes of depth and tone in this construction, one minute creating a safe location, and then a breath taking skyline brimming with stars.

To state the moon is a romantic object is probably a truism, but on the piece, in fact on our penultimate offering from the album, James illustrates perfectly the beauty of the moment on the track When the Moon Romances, a musical ode to the light of the sun gloriously reflecting off the regolith of the moon and into your hearts.

So were once again here at the very last track off another stunning album from master pianist James Michael Stevens and this splendid short form narrative called Sea of Stars, it is an oasis of piano like no others, the solo higher notes manifest an immense depth of a limitless cosmos, and as such is simply a stunning way with which to conclude the album.

I have had the privilege of writing many reviews for this artist, and every time I do so I think I have heard the best so far, but on Moments in May, that is not just a statement, that’s is a solid hard core fact, upon this most elegant of releases the pianist I truly believe has created an album that resonates with a timeless quality, and is doing so, may well have created a release that the hordes of piano fans will be more than eager to indulge themselves with, and surely a huge chart hit and maybe more could well be on its way for James Michael Stevens and Moments in May.


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