Search - Jordan Rudess :: 4nyc

A very personal tribute to 9/11 and loss.

Bob Zeidler | Charlton, MA United States | 03/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For some time now, I've been trying to decide which album by Jordan Rudess should be the first for me to review here. My initial thought was that it would probably be "Steinway to Heaven," an interesting concept album in which a dozen progressive rock keyboardists "take their turns at the classics." If nothing else, that album proves to my satisfaction that my initial exposure to Jordan was pretty much on the mark: He is a compellingly virtuosic pianist, matched on that album - but just barely - by the work of Keith Emerson. Most of the other keyboardists there fell pretty far behind these two.



My initial experience hearing Jordan play was about five years back, at a concert in Torrington, CT at which he sessioned, taking a "star turn" on grand piano and his trustworthy Kurzweil synth and figuratively knocking my socks off with his improvisations and technical wizardry. I've since seen him a number of times, and have never left any of these gigs feeling shortchanged as far as his contributions were concerned. Classically trained at Juilliard starting at age 8, he might well have been a star in this field. But, as he puts it, he discovered the Moog at 18, and his music world changed as a consequence. But his classical training shows; no one not having this type of rigorous discipline could play with the technique, and in his style, without it.



4NYC is my most recent acquisition, received just a few days ago. For very personal reasons which I explain at the end of this review, it must take pride of place in being my first review of Jordan's work. I didn't catch on to the significance of the album's title until it was actually in my hands and I had an opportunity to read the booklet notes.



The album is Jordan's personal tribute to 9/11, (largely) performed at the Helen Hayes Theater in Nyack, NY on September 24, 2001, but with some studio additions after the fact. (Jordan's notes go on further to state that only the improvised tracks from the Nyack concert remain, suggesting that some others might well have been classical keyboard "standards.") Unlike Michele Moran, the previous reviewer, I was not there. But I wish I could have been. I'm sure it was every bit as moving, in its own way, as other larger, more public 9/11 tributes were.



On 4NYC, Jordan largely divides his works between a 9 ft Steinway concert grand and Kurzweil and Korg synthesizers, with a few of the tracks incorporating all three instruments. Most of the tracks are appropriately meditative and ruminative, yet full of the sweeping grandeur of which only such a classically-trained keyboardist would be capable. There is even a nicely whimsical take-off on "Mary had a little lamb" (suggested to Jordan by his daughter on the evening of the concert, just minutes before he was due to go on), full of stylistic "borrowings" in its variations, not least of which is a variation that is a rather direct send-up of ferociously Lisztian proportions of - who else? - Franz Liszt.



All of this is deeply-felt music of and from the heart of this wonderful talent of a man. It's not something he HAD to do. But we should be grateful that he did, and that we can share in the memories of the concert. Like I said, I wish that I could have been there.



It is a shame that - as I write this - there is no provision at the product page for sampling any of these tracks. I think, had there been, people visiting this page would get this album in a heartbeat after hearing just one or two of them. So the readers are somewhat at the mercy of what we reviewers say about 4NYC. Hopefully, Ms. Moran and I have said the right things.



These thoughts are dedicated to Jonathan Gonsalves, a personal "friend in music," fellow Jordan Rudess fan and keyboardist of no mean ability himself, in memory of his brother Michael ("The Doctor") Gonsalves, lost in the West Warwick, RI nightclub fire of 21 February, 2003, a needless tragedy that, like 9/11, reminds us that - all too often - six degrees of separation are reduced to a painfully smaller number.



Bob Zeidler"

Music to ground; music to heal.

michele moran | Waterbury, CT USA | 09/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own and enjoy all of Jordan Rudess' albums, but 4NYC is, by far, my favorite. I had the extreme pleasure of being at the concert and sitting in the darkend Helen Hayes Theatre, letting this music wash over me--slowly smoothing my ragged, worn edges-- was an amazing experience. This album captures the feeling the concert left me with in a most exquisit way. The range of emotions Jordan Rudess goes through is astounding: sadness, joy, love, whimsy, hope and peace. . . to name a few. This album will replenish your well and will make your spirit dance and soar among the stars."

For There to be Shadows, There Must be Light

Marc Ruby? | Warren, MI USA | 08/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Much of the music on this album was recorded live by Jordan Rudess, after a long creative hiatus in the wake of 9/11. As such it is infused with the spirit of a man trying to turn away from a tragedy to create a source of hope and healing, both musically and via donated proceeds from both the performance and this album. As is often the case, this kind of inspiration can product landmark works, especially in the musical arena.



According to the folks who keep the CDDB (CD Data Base) Jordan Rudess is a rock/pop musician, which is probably an unfair designation. He dances on the thin edge between Jazz and New Age, making his style a bit hard to pin down. Certainly, he is 'Pop' only in the sense that it is a pleasure to listen to his work. He is best described as a keyboardist, alternating between acoustic pianos and synthesizers.



His weapons of choice for this album are a Steinway piano, a Kurzweil 2600, and a Korg Karma - and some generic signal processors. All capable of producing superb music. And Rudess has all the technique and skill to make them really sparkle. I do have a bone to pick about the Korg, though.



The Korg Karma is a very high-end arpeggiator, designed to generate flurries of notes in complicated patterns. And Rudess is a musician who takes considerable delight in his ability to show off. The combination can be a bit overwhelming. Rudess manages to stay just this side of excess, but only barely. Since he is also an excellent melodist, I wish he had spent a bit more time on the songlike qualities and a bit less on the flash.



But don't take this negativity. 4NYC is an excellent album, full of both entertainment and inspiration. Rudess is one of today's improvisational wizards, and this album is an outstanding example of his work. That is also happens to be in the service of an important cause makes it even more special.



[This review is dedicated to the memory of Bob Zeidler, a brilliant reviewer, without whom the world will be a little too quiet]"