Deciduous Heart by Paul Bezooyen
Review by David Morrison
Known principally as a singer-songwriter trading in reflective and occasionally witty acoustic folk songs, The Hermit’s Music founder, PAUL BEZOOYEN, has taken a stylistic left turn with his latest release, Deciduous Heart. Although he has delivered instrumental music before - both solo, with 2012’s beautiful acoustic guitar collection, Out of the Blue, and collaboratively with player of the Native American style flute Terry Mack (as WindWeaver) - until now Paul has never composed for the piano. Listening to how perfectly natural he sounds caressing its keys, it is a direction certain to present all manner of possibilities for his future projects.
Occupying the same sonic territory as the ilk of George Winston, Ludovico Einaudi or Fabrizio Paterlini, Deciduous Heart is a 28-minute journey into the musical world that this prolific, ever-evolving musician is exploring through his antique Biddle piano. With titles such as Northern River, Blossoms, Seasons and Ancient Trees, the elegant and romantic Deciduous Heart remains in keeping with Paul’s endless fascination for, and awe of, the natural world around him. Considering he is entirely self-taught on this project’s chosen instrument, with his very first piano compositions this sensitive artist has successfully painted vivid aural images to effortlessly compare with experienced musicians working in the same wordless arena.
Joined only by Angelique TNT who composed and performed the vocal arrangement for the spiritual Ancient Trees, Paul is otherwise the sole musician on the 7-track Deciduous Heart, embellishing his pretty, calming melodies with subtle, synthesized adornments to replicate instruments such as an oboe. It is all extremely lovely, and with the exception of the whimsical Sun, Sand and Parasols the material is melancholy and contemplative, acting as the perfect antidote to the noisy, chaotic and cluttered world we inhabit. What’s more, for a first tentative venture into piano composition, essentially an experiment, Deciduous Heart is a quietly triumphant collection that will hopefully pave the way for more just like it in the not-too-distant future.
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About the reviewer , David Morrison:
David is a music industry veteran boasting wide-ranging experience spanning five decades. Music is more a lifestyle than career for Dave, who is in some way engaged with music and its industry every single day of his life. He promoted over 300 shows in the UK, hosted radio shows both there and in Canada, and has worked in music retail since he was a teenager. For almost twenty years Dave has written about music for magazines the world over, and as such has been viewed as something of a tastemaker and passionate authority on the huge spectrum of music he loves. As a former A&R man, band manager and consultant he has worked very closely with, for and alongside musicians around the globe.
Tracklist
| 1. | Northern River | 4:24 |
| 2. | Blossoms | 2:24 |
| 3. | Deciduous Heart | 4:33 |
| 4. | Ancient Trees | 4:35 |
| 5. | Seasons | 5:42 |
| 6. | Sun Sand and Parasols | 3:45 |
| 7. | Sweet Dreams | 3:04 |
Credits
All songs composed, arranged and performed by Paul Bezooyen except:
- Vocals on "Ancient Trees" composed and performed by Angelique TNT
- The melody tagged onto the end of "Sweet Dreams" is part of "All I Have to Do is Dream" - written by Boudleaux Bryant.
License
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.Tags
Hi Folks,
My musical career has revolved around songwriting and studio work. For many years I've enjoyed producing my own music and & the music of others at my record label "The Hermit's Music". My joy lies in creating and collaboration. I Hope you enjoy my work & the work of other artists on our record label, (see link below) and that you might consider purchasing and sharing some of it. Cheers !