Drawing on her extensive background and jazz & classical influences, Cape Cod resident Canary Burton has released an album of piano music.
Burton and her inspiration have traveled from Idaho to Wash. DC, before settling at the sandy tip of Cape Cod’s Wellfleet, where her melodies might summon the ghosts of shipwrecked whalers from centuries bygone.
Track 1, “Sri Rama,” is a contemplative-sounding ode to a Far Eastern deity. Around 1:55 the playing becomes more forceful for a while, before retreating into the dream world.
Track 2, “Costa Brava,” is a more complex piece. Rich in its layers, spontaneous in its movement.
Track 3, “Gala-Noon,” can enter a downright frightening realm. To hear what I mean, head directly to 1:20 and subject yourself to a rather memorable 45 seconds, during which time you might reflect on such matters as a longtime psych patient leaving behind his last trace of sanity.
The period beginning at 4:15 would make a fine sonic accompaniment to E.A. Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher.” Pathologies of the mind seem to pass before the listener in a macabre show.
About 35 seconds into track 4, things become quite tender, which I suppose is appropriate given the song’s title, “Folk Song for my Mother.” A flowing sweetness takes effect about 2 minutes in.
There’s something wistful and reminiscent about the fifth piece, “Victoria’s Harp.” Some of the high-pitched chords seem like an appeal for a reconnection.
Track 6, “Sometime after 1am,” is probably the album’s most playful piece. One might fancy some mischievous nighttime excursion taking place. At 2:15, out of nowhere, things get all virtuosic for a few moments. Then, just as abruptly, the spectacular arrangement of keystrokes subsides.
Given her current location, Burton is well-inclined to compose a piece called “Atlantic Sonata,” the album’s final track. A long track for a long ocean journey, it could be a recital in itself.
Burton’s album provides a haunted elegance that can travel as fast as the speed of sound, or simply float in its own stream of echo.
All interested parties are encouraged to visit: http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Music-From-Cape-Cod/dp/B002A6IIBK
Another stellar option: http://www.reverbnation.com/canaryburton
Ray Cavanaugh – owleyesgatsby@yahoo.com
