Impressions in Black and White is the companion paperback and e-book to Jeff Bjorck’s 2005 CD by the same name. All eleven pieces from the album are included, with note-for-note transcriptions by Rebecca Oswald that I proofed. As is his custom, Bjorck included his arrangements of two classic hymns and the other nine piano solos are original compositions. None of the pieces are overly difficult, but most are not easy, either. I would say that they range from upper intermediate to early-advanced, but with some practice, most pianists should be able to master these pieces without much problem. There are only a few reaches of more than an octave and none of the pieces are in difficult keys. Expression, metronome settings and pedal suggestions are included as per Bjorck’s recording. The sheet music for many of these pieces was released as individual downloads over the past several years, but this is the first time the full collection has been available as a printed book. Rebecca Oswald always does an outstanding job of making transcriptions as close to the recordings as possible, and this book is no exception. The notation is clear and easy to read, making this collection a pleasure to play. My own favorites are Jeff’s arrangement of “Be Still My Soul” and his “Walking with Tevye” and “Return to Catskill Meadow.” The printed books are available from Amazon and the paperback books and e-books are available from
www.purepiano.com. Recommended!
The song titles, the keys they are in, and the number of pages are as follows:
All I See Is Air - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 7 pages
Be Still My Soul - Key of F (1 flat)/ D (2 sharps) - 7 pages
Campfire Remembrance - Key of F (1 flat) - 6 pages
Feather’s Flight - Key of F - 4 pages
Day By Day - Key of F/ G (1 sharp)/ C (0) - 7 pages
First Carnival - Key of G (1 sharp) - 7 pages
La Sonrisa Del Sol - Key of F / C / Eb (3 flats) / C minor (3 flats) - 7 pages
Return to Catskill Meadow - Key of G - 4 pages
Sun Shower - Key of F / G - 6 pages
Swans - Key of Bb (2 flats) - 5 pages
Walking With Tevye - Key of Bb/G minor (2 flats) - 6 pages
