"It's About the Rose is seductively beautiful" Jazzreview.com
*** IT'S ABOUT THE ROSE *** (2007)
No. 1 CD of the YEAR - TOP NEW AGE & CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL AIRPLAY RECORDINGS OF 2007
Out of 2,950 recordings submitted to New Age Reporter in 2007, "It's About the Rose" was the only cd/album to chart 1 three consecutive months and hold a slot in the charts for 10 months.
2007 NAR LIFESTYLE MUSIC AWARDS:
"BEST INSTRUMENTAL PIANO ALBUM"
GOLD AWARD - ENGLAND'S PIANO HEAVEN
Songs: Tally's Lullaby, It's About the Rose in the Vase on the Table, Vinot and the Seabird, The Piano Called, Moon Night, Waiting, Beethoven, Chopin and the Rose, Impressions, Tip Toe Dancer and the Sea Pearl, Café Espresso, Daydreams, Finale of the Rose.
*** ALLURE OF SANCTUARY *** (cd released Sep 2005)
Top 10 in just FIVE weeks on national New Age Reporter charts
TOP 20 PIANO ALBUM 2005; Solo Piano Publications, New York
GOLD AWARD - ENGLAND'S PIANO HEAVEN
Studio - George Lucas' Skywalker Sound
Platinum/Gold Record Producer - Will Ackerman
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Karen Marie Garrett - Biography
The music of composer and solo pianist Karen Marie Garrett has been described as classical, contemporary, minimalist, ambient, and deeply touching—a welcome sound in a hectic world. Karen believes there is an inner voice that comes out through the music: “When words are ineffective, music becomes the voice.”
Karen’s enduring popularity is due to her hauntingly beautiful and evocative music. She continues to be among the top-selling and most requested classical and contemporary recording artists in the United States. Her album, It’s About the Rose, was released in early 2007 to rave reviews, debuting at No. 1 on national radio charts, earning her “Top Contemporary Instrumental and New Age Recording of 2007.”
It’s About the Rose also received the 2007 New Age Reporter (NAR) LifeStyle Music Award for “Best Instrumental Piano Album.” NAR is the industry reporter of top charts for contemporary instrumental and New Age music.
A prominent track from It’s About the Rose, “Tally’s Lullaby,” has inspired a number of special projects:
Following the Virginia Tech tragedy in 2007, Karen collaborated with Winter Robinson, a noted Maine author, consultant, therapist, and specialist in medical intuition, in a spoken word meditation using “Tally’s Lullaby” as the musical foundation for solace and healing.
In addition, internationally acclaimed New York author, T.M. Wright was so inspired by the lullaby’s beautiful melody that he wrote a poignant response to Karen’s composition in prose. Wright’s poem, “On Hearing Tally’s Lullaby,” appears in his thirty-second published work “Bone Soup, A Collection” (Cemetery Dance 2007).
Most recently, in alliance with the American Cancer Society, “Tally’s Lullaby” was used as the musical platform for a non-commercial video produced in Nashville, Tenn., to raise funds for cancer research.
Karen is a friend to the Espy Foundation, created in honor of author Willard R. Espy (1910-1999), who was an active member of the literary arts community in New York City. Since 2000, Karen has donated several concert performances to benefit the ongoing mission of the Espy Foundation to advance and encourage literary and visual arts through programs enabling writers, artists, and students to pursue and create new ideas and works.
A native of Washington state, Karen began her music study at age five and later trained at the Sherwood Conservatory of Music, Chicago, Ill. Karen’s alluring and mesmerizing compositions evolved as she absorbed elements derived from popular music.
Her successful recording career began when platinum record producer Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records and early producer for pianist George Winston, noticed her talent. Their collaboration resulted in Karen’s hit albums Allure of Sanctuary (2005), recorded at Academy Award-winning producer/director George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound Studios in Marin County, Calif., and It’s About the Rose (2007), recorded at Imaginary Road Studios, Windham County, Vt.
Karen is currently composing new songs and will once again return to Skywalker Sound Studios to record her eagerly awaited third album.
A video produced in Nashville to raise funds for cancer research, in conjunction with the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign. A touching video filmed by Steve Cantrell of Nashville, Tennessee, dedicated to his wife Kerry, a cancer survivor, set to the music of "Tally's Lullaby", a recording from my latest CD "It's About the Rose"
The location - American Cancer Society Relay for Life. The video, set to the music of "Tallys Lullaby", was filmed during the Luminaria or Ceremony of Hope. This is one of the most moving parts of the night where lighted bags called luminaria are placed around the track area. Each luminaria has a special meaning. Some celebrate survivors, while others commemorate the lives of those who have been lost to this disease.
Please donate to help eliminate cancer in our lifetime! Thank you!
REVIEWS....
Jazz Review.com, review by Tom Schaefer
I have to admit that I approached Karen Marie Garrett’s CD It’s About the Rose with some trepidation. I am not a greater lover of the New Age music genre. Also the prospect of a theme CD centered on the beauty of the rose caused some additional foreboding. But I had my prejudices quickly removed by this absolutely enchanting effort.
When people think of emotional music, they generally picture a Beethoven symphony or Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, but emotion can be subtle and nuanced without the use cymbals or timpani.
It’s About the Rose reminds me very much of Erik Satie, in fact. Both Satie and Garrett have a minimalist style of piano composition. The easy, almost ambling manner of the music belies the deep emotions that are being conveyed. Garrett displays an incredible virtuosity without the flourishes of a Chopin or Beethoven. Yet the subtlety of the music compels you and draws you into the emotions that Garrett is hoping to evoke. It’s About the Rose is a seductively beautiful effort.
Will Ackerman....
"Karen Marie Garrett’s previous recording, Allure of Sanctuary, offered an abundance of melody and emotion, making it truly a remarkable debut. Her latest recording, It’s About the Rose, presents an absolutely stunning evolution in musical styles, textures, virtuosity and emotional depth. She has not departed from what worked so well for her in Allure of Sanctuary, but has simply dug deeper to create an even richer experience.”
Kathy Parsons, Solo Piano Publications, New York...
"With "It's About the Rose", Karen Marie Garrett has established herself in the upper echelons of contemporary pianists. May she always wear her heart on her musical sleeve! WOW!" (full review below)
John Iverson, Shades of Classics, CKUW 95.9 FM Winnipeg, Canada... "Beautiful as a Rose! I had not heard the music of new age pianist Karen Marie Garrett prior to reviewing this album, but after giving it a listen, I wish I had known about her much sooner."
Stephen Cairns; Piano Heaven - England ... "With 'It's About the Rose', Karen Marie Garrett shows continued artistic growth, revealing her creative qualities to the full, without losing that special gift for melody which makes her compositions so endearing to her ever-increasing legions of fans. A true gem of a CD....pure Piano Heaven."
Tom Petersen; Victory Review Magazine; Acoustic Music Resource
"Karen Marie Garrett is a top-drawer pianist headed for bigger things. Allure of Sanctuary is the Olympia artist's third release, following a straight classical disc and another in this New Age vein. This new release is as soothing as it intended, but it's also energizing. Where a lot of New Age is so light it begins to drift and grow unidentifiable, Garrett’s compositions are distinct, with melodies for the listener to hook into. It is billed as New Age, but several cuts qualify as Light Jazz, very mellow Vince Guaraldi, perhaps. Thus, Garrett is a distinctive new artist in this field and could, with the right promotion, see herself at the top of the New Age charts (Allure is already getting significant airplay on Easy Listening stations). It won’t hurt a bit that she is a pupil of the founder of the New Age genre, Will Ackerman; nor do dead-enders get invited to record their albums at Skywalker ranch, us-ing Lucas's Bluthner grand! Get this album, neighbors - you can say you "knew her when"."
Review by Bill Binkelman; New Age Reporter "What can I write that will do justice to this sublime and beautiful recording? I have put off reviewing It’s About the Rose because I didn’t know how, in words, to capture my reaction to this album, conveying how deeply it touched me. From the opening “It’s About the Rose in the Vase on the Table” and its rolling yet melancholic melodicism to the gypsy-ish “Moon Night” (featuring Derrik Jordan on djembe and violin) to the light-hearted “Café Espresso (for Ken)” which prances and dances around like a little kid overflowing with the joy of the moment to the closing reprise “Finale of the Rose” on which Garrett is joined by stellar accompanists Will Ackerman (who produced this outstanding disc), Jeff Oster on flugelhorn, Steve Schuch on violin and Derrik Jordan once again on percussion, there is no misstep, no over-reach, no wasting of a note or a chord throughout the fifty-one minutes on this recording. It’s About the Rose is one of the most evocative, deeply felt albums I’ve heard in years, and that statement encompasses many recordings. Comparable to the chamber minimalism of Tim Story at times, yet also more accessible for less adventurous listeners who need a firmer grounding in structured acoustic instrumentation, this is a CD of uncommon grace and elegance, yet never at the expense of becoming distant or overly concerned with technique as opposed to human emotion.
Try to remain unaffected by the gentle caress of cello (played by Eugene Friesen) and Garrett’s piano as they weave a delicate beauty on “Tally’s Lullaby.” Then there is “Vinot and the Seabird” which begins as a sparse piano piece and introduces ethereal wordless female vocals (courtesy of Noah Wilding) and Oster’s flugelhorn, maintaining a distinct reflective mood with some of Garrett’s more nuanced and subtle playing, emphasizing the silence between notes as much as the gently sad melody. “Waiting” and “The Piano Called” are solo piano offerings, both being quiet, reflective and somber, yet wholly accessible, rich with emotion and inviting to the listener despite the amber tint of the minor tonalities and the overall downcast mood of the compositions themselves.
What separates It’s About the Rose from other piano releases is no one thing, but a combination of elements. The quality of performances, the production by the aforementioned Ackerman, and the compositions themselves written (or in one case, co-written) by the artist all factor in; however, in the end, it’s the intangibles that reach out and grab the listener, the same way that a faded photograph of a long-past relative or a dog-eared letter from a former lover stokes the dying embers of memory and rekindles a flame that burns brightly if only for an instant. In the same way that a rainy Saturday afternoon invites us to withdraw inwards, so to does this sublime recording take us deep within ourselves. It’s About the Rose is so beautiful and so touching that it may reduce you to tears, but they may just be tears of fond remembrance, not sadness. The CD earns my highest recommendation without reservation."
Review by Kathy Parsons; New York Solo Piano Publications
It’S ABOUT THE ROSE is Karen Marie Garrett’s fourth recording to date, and it is stunning! Her previous release, THE ALLURE OF SANCTUARY, was also exceptional with its melodic emotional depth, but this is quite different. The pieces tend to be more improvised and come directly from the soul without a confining structure. Artists of this stature are able to freely, yet cohesively communicate their musical thoughts, creating moods and wordless dialogs with their instruments. True artistry springs from this place, and if you have ever witnessed it, the experience is profound and mesmerizing. Most of these songs have a melancholy cast to them, with flowing left hand patterns combined with simple melodies and explorations on the right. Seven of the twelve tracks are solo piano, and the others feature Eugene Friesen ..o, Noah Wilding on wordless vocals, Jeff Oster on flugel horn, Derrik Jordan on percussion and violin, T-Bone Wolk on bass, producer Will Ackerman on percussion, Steve Schuch on violin, and Corin Nelsen on “piano string duding” - consummate artists, all. Garrett obviously took some major musical risks with this new release, but calls the time spent making the album the most creative period of her life - it shows. I don’t often listen to a CD for the first time and keep saying, “Wow!” but that’s what happened here. It’s not the pianistic flash, but the depth of feeling and personal expression that draws you in and won’t let go.
The CD opens with “It’s About the Rose in the Vase on the Table.” The title refers to a story about dealing with life’s little dramas. The notes of the piece aren’t complicated, but the nakedness of the emotions expressed clearly indicate what an artist we are experiencing here. Wow! “Tally’s Lullaby” was inspired by a letter sent to Garrett about a very special dog who had died and how one of Garrett’s previous songs had helped the family cope with the loss. Overwhelmed, Garrett composed this piece with tears in her eyes. A duet for piano and cello, Garrett and Eugene Friesen are truly a match made in heaven. “The Piano Called” is an improvisational piece that came about one night touching the piano keys and listening to what the piano had to say. Gorgeous! “Moon Night” is piano backed by djembe and violin. Stepping up the pace a bit, this piece has an exotic quality and a gentle energy. “Beethoven, Chopin, and the Rose” combines an essence of both composers with Garrett’s own simple melody, and the results are evocative and haunting. “Tip Toe Dancer and the Sea Pearl” is much lighter and is infused with childlike joy and innocence. “Cafe Espresso” is the most rhythmic and experimental piece on the album. Playful and energetic, it expresses a “happy buzz.” “Finale of the Rose” returns to the original theme for further discovery of its coda. An ensemble piece for piano, percussion, flugel horn, and violin, the musicians bring their passions to the point of heartbreak. I can’t imagine anyone not being intensely moved by this piece.
With IT'S ABOUT THE ROSE, Karen Marie Garrett has established herself in the upper echelons of contemporary pianists. May she always wear her heart on her musical sleeve! WOW!
(Copyright Karen Marie Garrett - all rights reserved)
I am so glad that I finally found your music. The serenity it brings is something I have searched a long time for. Just beautiful. Thank you so much Karen!
I just downloaded your song "Vinot of the Sea Bird" and I'm am completely hypnotized by the surreal haunting, faded voices. Chilled and tingled by the calm piano. Utterly sublime. I love this song.
