The Weight Of The Sky By Derek Wille

 

 The Weight Of The Sky

By

Derek Wille

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

It’s always nice when you come across a new musician to you personally, and then are so impressed with their work, that you wondered how you have missed them in the 30 years that both the artist and yourself have been in the music business, so it is with joy that at last I listen to The Weight Of The Sky by Derek Wille and what an abundant ride of piano mastery it was as well.

The Weight of the Sky is a 14 track release of great power, intensity and flare, tracks like Eyes Across The Room is a delicious arrangement built on the back of a hopeful pattern of tenderness and love, and is a composition that has a sparkle and a certain romanticism about its construction too.

Rhapsody In Shadow is a fine example of blending jazz, classical, new age, and improvisational styles all into one sumptuous slice of musical magic, the classical influences within this gentle narrative gave this arrangement an almost timeless feel to it for me.

There literally is something for everyone on this release, like the rapid jazz feel of Shadows on the Sidewalk. One might say that this piece is from introspective to whimsical and back again, there is certainly a fun juxtaposition between dark and light being played out here, and in the most palatable of ways.

Moving with pace now to one of my personal favourites from the album called The Years Between. The left hand here is the constant that keep us grounded, whilst the tension of emotional portrayals of musical colours and textures is brilliantly presented to the listener.

The longer my journey through this release went on, the more I feel in love with its expression, its sometimes meditative, sometimes excitable arrangements, and on Reflections On A Quiet Night, the piano conveys a sense of night-time calm, memory, and subtle emotional nuances that remind me of the most fully flavoured compositions from my dear friend David Lanz at times.

The listener will find opportunities to experience the occurrence of crossing genres with this album as well, and sometimes on one piece of music as well, flowing from a globally infused arrangement towards new age piano we can enjoy the rhythms and textures of the track Standing In The Storm, a veritable power piece of a performance.

The concluding narrative is entitled A Lifetime Ago, it channels nostalgic sweetness and bittersweet memory, evoking emotional reminiscence and introspection, through its melodic phrasing. For some reason I am mindful of other artists like Elton John on his more passionate tracks like Funeral For a Friend, and in some ways reflects perhaps on the slow passing of time and the never ending tick and tock of the relentless clock.

The Weight of the Sky by Derek Wille may have been my first introduction as a music writer and broadcaster to the musician, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed, and with total honesty, I now yearn for more. For me this says everything that is good about solo piano, everything that is inventive, artistic and interesting, and drawing on many of Wille’s influences like jazz greats and classic solo piano traditions. This is a solo piano of great style and distinction and one I hope will take the charts by storm, it’s The Weight of the Sky by Derek Wille.