"Still Morning Light, Volume 1" is a four-piece EP by Wayne Gratz, one of my favorite pianist/composers for more than thirty years (dang!). The four tracks were composed by Wayne and he plays both piano and keyboards along with Rick Sky on rainstick and ocean drum, and Wayne Fisher on acoustic guitar. "Volume 1" is the first of three or four EPs that will eventually become a full-length album. If these first four tracks are any indication, and I'm sure they are, this could be one of Wayne's best albums yet!

Wayne Gratz started out on the Narada label in 1989 and became one of their prominent piano artists. I started teaching his sheet music to my piano students as soon as it became available, inspiring a lot of kids as well as adults. We did our first interview in 1993 and finally met when Wayne came to Florence, Oregon in early 2011 with Greg Maroney to do a house concert here - what an amazing treat that was!

"Still Morning Light, Volume 1" begins with "Still Morning Light," a beautiful piano piece that includes choral voices (no lyrics) along with some light keyboard instrumentation. As gentle and peaceful as a sunrise by the ocean, the music inspires visions of soft pastel colors as well as the promise and potential of a new day. "The Disappearing Island" begins with sounds of the ocean and sea birds. The piano enters with a poignant melody enhanced with keyboard sounds and voices as well as a rainstick (Rick Sky). The piece expresses feelings of sadness and loss, and is incredibly beautiful as well as deeply emotional. "From Gray to Orange" is a piano solo where some light reverb is utilized to give the music a soft, shimmering quality. For me, the piece feels very introspective and spontaneous - soul searching at the piano, perhaps? Gorgeous! The fourth track is "The Whimsical Butterflies," which features piano, keyboards, and acoustic guitar (Wayne Fisher). Both light-hearted and graceful, it provides a very interesting contrast to the other three tracks while keeping the mood gentle and relaxed.

New music from Wayne Gratz is always a real treat, and I'm very excited about this new project! "Still Morning Light, Volume 1" is available to stream or download from Amazon and Apple Music/iTunes as well as on streaming platforms including Pandora and Spotify. Very highly recommended!