Kutschera, Ulrich / San Francisco Bay: Piano And Synth-Music, Vol 3
Album: San Francisco Bay: Piano And Synth-Music, Vol 3   Collection:Classical
Artist:Kutschera, Ulrich   Added:Sep 2016
Label:Uvulittle Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2016-09-05 Pull Date: 2016-11-07 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Oct 23 Sep 18 Sep 11
Airplays: 2 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. Nov 08, 2016: Waste FM
California Sunset (6:02)
4. Sep 16, 2016: The Offbeat Fill
California Sunset (6:02)
2. Oct 22, 2016: Music Casserole
Leland Stanford Jr. (6:30), California Sunset (6:02)
5. Sep 10, 2016: test patterns
Carmel Mission (2:30)
3. Oct 18, 2016: Waste FM
San Francisco Bay (7:17)

Album Review
Gary Lemco
Reviewed 2016-09-05
A musical tribute to the sounds (and sights, given the booklet’s artwork, a painting for each musical selection) of San Francisco Bay, with music composed and performed by Ulrich Kutschera on a Grand Piano and keyboard with electronic backup. The musical style might recall John Adams or the post-Minimalist “space music” ((simple harmonies, rhythms and patterns, protracted repetition of figures, and often a pulsing, hypnotic effect) of the 1990s.

1. San Francisco Bay (7:17) – piano, light percussion and “aerial” effects, set over sounds of Bay tides. The piano riffs are mostly gentle arpeggios, modal in color.
2. Mallard Lake (3:28) - a second “nature” study with bright, moody effects, brushed percussion.
3. Leland Stanford Jr. (6:30) - an electronic hymn to Stanford University’s founder with a martial percussion pattern under the strings. The piano picks up the tribute.
4. Sunflower Café (6:45) - organ effects with light percussion lead to keyboard and electronic moody acoustics.
5. Carmel Mission (2:30) - another hymn-tune effect, here in the form of a hazy nocturne.
6. Ocean Beach (3:36) - a kind of scherzo, with flashing effects and more virtuosic piano riffs. The music slows into a meditation on repeated patterns that end on a “symphonic” note.
7. California Sunset (6:02) - long-held notes over flashing electronic patterns lead to rolling keyboard chords. Whether the light splays over water or CA mountains, the effect aims at panoramic.
8. Lone Cypress (6:38) – opens with a chorale, a hymn to Nature with piano, soft cymbals and percussion. The electronic effect tries to simulate a human chorus of praise.

Track Listing
1. San Francisco Bay (7:17)   5. Carmel Mission (2:30)
2. Mallard Lake (3:28)   6. Ocean Beach (3:36)
3. Leland Stanford Jr. (6:30)   7. California Sunset (6:02)
4. Sunflower Café (6:45)   8. Lone Cypress (6:38)