Light Beyond the Shadow By Joshua Zimmerman

 

Light Beyond the Shadow

By

Joshua Zimmerman

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The soft mellow tones of another sublime solo piano album is now on offer from composer Joshua Zimmerman, this latest manifestation of creative charm is called Light Beyond the Shadow, and follows the equally successful release Finding Peace released earlier this year.

Piano as a musical medium is one of the most descriptive there is if the narrative is well presented and contains a flourishing and compelling elegance, and yes you’ve guessed it, this album has all of those qualities and more. The starting opus is called What's Meant to Stay, it has that Lanz style in its more up-tempo segments, but this dualistic offering has both light and shade, and its tonal shadows interplay perfectly with each other.

The more sombre composition called Beneath the Surface is up next and is one of the most heartfelt pieces from the album, there is a sense of truth coming to the surface in this piece that I found quite palpable and very compelling, and Zimmerman’s stylish grasp on the dramatic was beautifully portrayed here too.

Light Beyond the Shadow is another of those reflective moments of solo piano masterful manifestations, and of course is the title track, the high notes draw an interesting juxtaposition between the more melodic and the darker edge of the piano, there was something quite Elton John about this creation at times, in the more thoughtful of musical instants.

The sensitivity of the album continued its upward arc with the piece Whispers of Hope. Here though is a track that was birthed from the tender touches of a few notes, then just continued to grow exponentially, by the midway section its expanse created a deeply moving narrative, and continued to build into a crescendo of beautiful tone, and ended with an utterly charming coda, on one of the most noteworthy pieces from the album.

There is an under pinned excitement in the track that lays on the half way juncture called Unseen Path. A delicate build up is followed by a charming melody as if someone has just found something that they never knew existed, that level of unexpected excitement of adventure perhaps, once more it contains a charming symbiotic melody entwined with the main theme.

The opening notes of Made New were a beautiful pastiche of repeated notes, how such a simple opening could contain so much colour was a wondrous thing indeed. This is classic new age piano, one with a flourishing nature and it was at this point I could equate the styles of Dan Chadburn with Zimmerman, who I rate as one of the most sensitive performers on the keys of all time.

On Everything in Time we have an ageless reverie that has a sense of calm in the weave of the piano performance, a sagely piece filled with wisdom and experience, Zimmerman’s commanding performance here manifested something quite cinematic, with its energies of reconciliation and harmony built within.

I’ve always thought the deeper waters of any album need a strong track, and on Breathing Still we have just that, Joshua once more delivers a gentle narrative, but one bathed in charm filled fluencies and creative essences on this most grateful of compositions.

The penultimate offering is entitled Grace Without Words, it’s an amiable pacifying last but one offering that feels at times like a lullaby, but has more in the depth of the narrative as Zimmerman’s piano shows in the latter half of the arrangement.

The art of closing down an album has been brought to light brilliantly here by the artist, as he draws the curtain across this splendid album with a parting gift called From Here. This is a track that perfectly sums up the entire journey and leaves the listener with hope and positivity at its conclusion.

Light Beyond the Shadow by Joshua Zimmerman has been one of the best solo piano experiences I had for a while, there is no doubt that the artist has that level of intelligent performance, balanced with a creative thoughtful flair, as such I’ve n doubt this is going to be a fan favourite with the legions of solo piano fans across the globe, for Light Beyond the Shadow by Joshua Zimmerman.