QuietMelodies is now open!

As many of you might already know, the new portal is finally open!!!!!  I am so sorry that it has taken so long to happen, but I do hope you find it worth the wait.  Some of the new features you will be able to enjoy are being able to message any member & being able to post your own favorites.  There will also be a forum added so that requests and such can be made there.  Eventually hope to in essence mirror this blog there and of course have new content available.  The new music available should be substantially more than here as there will be multiple people posting =-).  Please stop by and join your NEW home for QuietMusic – www.quietmelodies.com!

Michael Jones & David Darling – Amber

Michael Jones & David Darling – Amber
MP3 @ 192 Kbps | 43:24 min | 1987 | 65 MB | 10% Recovery Record

Both pianist Michael Jones and cellist David Darling are master improvisers, and on Amber they form a perfect team. Jones plays the piano with a delicate touch, sensitive to the patterns of nature; Darling adds dimensions of abstractions; both are in tune with the soul’s inner musings. “Rainfall” is perfectly titled, as Jones is the plink to Darling’s plunk. Darling’s warm chords support the piece like a warm fire adds comfort to the storm. “Wu Wei” is bittersweet, an inventive syncopation with layers of cello (some electrified); the piece is like a carefree walk where you notice this and that. It reminds me of how a puppy frolics to investigate every leaf and bumblebee. The sequences slow to a drunken crawl, almost a race to see who can come in last. “After the Sun” is an inky and introspective solo by Jones, somber yet at peace. Sparkles of hope then come out in bright contrast to the edge of night. The eleven-and-a-half minute “Dreamlight” balances between a lullaby and space music. Darling offers broad plains of electrified organlike tones that create the sensation of floating in space. Both Jones and Darling fill out the musical space with tones that simulate starlight. The album ends with “Shadows of the Moon,” a lighthearted piece that reminds me of the bounce of fireflies. The progression through the album is wonderful.

Michael Jones – The Living Music

Michael Jones – The Living Music
MP3 @ 192 Kbps | 1:19:56 min | 1998 | 182 MB | 2 CD’s | 10% Recovery Record

If you have never tried New Age piano music, or enjoyed the sounds of Michael Jones, this is a great first CD to add to your collection. Seventeen of his most popular pieces, running to almost 60 minutes of music, make the 2 CD set an especially nice collection. Michael Jones, along with artists such as David Lanz, have defined a melodic style of flowing New Age piano music. If you have but one New Age piano CD, this is an excellent choice.

Michael Jones – Sunscapes

Michael Jones – Sunscapes
MP3 @ 192 Kbps VBR | 58:12 min | 1986 | 112 MB | 10% Recovery Record

This gentle solo piano album by new age pianist Michael Jones combines personal musical remembrances with impressions of the intricacies of nature. “Song for Eia” (“dedicated to a brave young woman”) is the tenderest of love songs, as are the noble and bittersweet “Echoes” and the delicate “Dreams of a Child.” There are few liner notes to comment on his inspiration, but they must be dear to his heart. Jones specialty is creating musical portraits of nature. His “Butterflies in Space” are both graceful floaters and flutterers; you can almost feel the warm air under Jones’ fingers. “Sun Showers” has the expansiveness of broad rays and sparkling glitters. “Touch of the Wind” sweeps along gracefully and with a touch of mischief. Jones’s music is such that you can put it on for background, but then be moved to notice a beautiful melody line, a lingering phrase, or a delicate passage. Each listening can be a fresh as the last.

Michael Jones – Seascapes

Michael Jones – Seascapes
MP3 @ 320 Kbps | 58:20 min | 1984 | 148 MB | 10% Recovery Record

This release is filled with soulful piano solo improvisations from a special place in the heart. “Mexican Memories” is a gentle prelude to the dynamic technique displayed in “Improvisation” and “Romance” on side one. Arpeggios flow effortlessly from within improvised harmonies, creating thematic transcendences and joyous recapitulations. Side two features a brighter prelude of “Nostalgia, ” and “Beyond the Dream” is a 20 minute composition that completes this wholly satisfying continuum of music.

Michael Jones – Praizm

Michael Jones – Praizm
MP3 @ 320 Kbps | 33:42 min | 2006 | 82.1 MB | 10% Recovery Record

Contemporary Praise/Worship with a Techno-twist that will leave the listener energized and spiritually aware of a place of peace, joy, and comfort.

Michael Jones – Pianoscapes

Michael Jones – Pianoscapes
MP3 @ 320 Kbps | 54:13 min | 1985 | 138 MB | 10% Recovery Record

Pianoscapes was technically the first album on Narada, one of the top new age contemporary instrumental labels in the U.S., of Jones’s solo piano improvisations. Jones’s playing has a carefree quality grounded in classical impressionistic form and technique. His pieces breathe and pulse as if they were a part of you, pause for introspection (the somber passage of “Daybreak”), then resolve with glistening clarity. The overall tone is gentle, tender at times, but without being surface or trite. The music is very easy to let go into the background, yet it will pull you to notice soul-stirring passes of exquisite beauty and introspection.

Michael Jones – Almost Home

Michael Jones – Almost Home
MP3 @ 320 Kbps | 1:12:09 min | 2007 | 182 MB | 10% Recovery Record

“Almost Home” is the first release from legendary pianist/composer Michael Jones in four years, and was certainly worth the wait! Inspired by Walt Whitman’s poems for the open road, the music for “Almost Home” has an expansive feeling and sense of adventure. The seven tracks range in duration from 6 1/2 minutes to fourteen, with four of the tracks at least eleven minutes long. The music is unhurried and evolves organically as it is being created on Jones’ phenomenal Bosendorfer grand piano. His fifteenth release to date, “Almost Home” was independently released on Jones’ own Pianoscapes label. A psychologist, artful leadership trainer, author, and public speaker, Jones brings his rich and varied background as well as a unique voice to his music. His approach is to work with his original music over a period of time until it feels right, but then to empty his mind as much as possible when he records it so that it is spontaneous and “in the moment.” Jones prefers to record his albums in one sitting with only minor edits – if there are any edits at all.

Michael Jones – After The Rain

Michael Jones – After The Rain
MP3 @ 320 Kbps | 49:52 min | 1988 | 125 MB | 10% Recovery Record

New age pianist Michael Jones found sympathetic collaborators in David Darling (cello) and Nancy Rumbel (oboe and English horn). The title track is one of Jones’ most memorable and magical tunes. The piano flutters like leaves in the wind and sparkles like light breaking through the branches; Rumbel’s woodwinds sing like birds while Darling’s cello seems to hold the warmth of the earth, then plunks and plops like raindrops. All the tracks are this evocative of nature, its ponds and trees and seasons. Jones creates the sparkles and ripples, Rumbel adds heartfelt nobility, and Darling supports the bass with long resonant lines and also provides jaunty syncopated rhythms. While appealing upon its initial release, After the Rain remains enchanting years later after dozens of listenings.