ANN SWEETEN, Still

In 2023, I had the pleasure of taking to heart, being uplifted by and expressing my appreciation for Ann Sweeten’s album Love Walks Through Rain, which I called one of the most heartrending, emotionally hard hitting piano driven albums in years, showing us that, even amidst the shadows of melancholy and heartbreak that seem to be a necessary part of the journey, life is still very much worth living.

The notes accompanying that collection imparted two important elements of her life that drove her creative vision – she had been battling cancer for over 20 years (and leukemia for six) and that she had lost her beloved dogs Remy and Jazzy, who respectively inspired the reflective songs “Glimmer” and “Through Jasmine’s Eyes.”

Because those elements of her narrative were so prevalent, I overlooked, with some exception, a handful of fascinating realities about Ann’s life, notably, that before she became a popular new age pianist and composer, she danced the classic ballets (Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Sleeping Beauty) with a regional ballet company in New Jersey and fronted the pop/rock band Fallout; and, as a member Actor’s Equity, had a unique run as a professional Musical Theatre performer in regional theatres. She began composing in 1989 in the midst of her array of performances, which included Man of La Mancha, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Chicago.

Nearly three decades and 17 glorious albums into what has evolved into one of new age music’s most prolific and storied careers, Ann continues to share life’s most joyfully exuberant and deeply heartbreaking moments via the lush, meditative and seasonally themed mini-symphonies that populate her latest opus, the perfectly titled Still. The subtle and graceful, quietly triumphant 10 track collection delights and stirs our souls anew, with lush, infectious melodic melodies reflecting the challenges of a journey with life-threatening health issues while celebrating the gift of life and the slowly unfolding beauty of the inevitable changing seasons.   

Though Ann’s elegant, classical influenced piano eloquence is always center stage, propelling the narrative forward, Still is a true ensemble album, with different genre greats contributing complementary harmonic voices and counterpoints. The Steinway artist’s collaborators include violinist Charlie Bisharat, English Horn virtuoso Nancy Rumbel, soprano saxophonist/alto flutist Premik Russell Tubbs, cellist Eugene Friesen and French Horn player Richard Sebring (named principal horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in April 2023). Speaking of genre legends, Ann co-produced the piano tracks with Will Ackerman and co-produced all other tracks with Tom Eaton at Imaginary Road Studios.  

Seeming to have moved past the grief of her great losses (musically, at least) to looking back nostalgically (sometimes with great joy, other times with shades of sorrow) on a life full of great challenges yet so well lived, Ann embarks on a different journey from the one she took us on with Love Walks Through Rain. Explaining the title concept Still as both her declaration that in spite of her health struggles and being in a challenging industry, she’s STILL here and those chosen moments of calm and quiet where she’s “able to listen to that which comes from the heart with no noise and no distraction.”

The album finds her gliding beautifully from a tender and reflective, sweet yet slightly melancholic look at “Distant Clouds” (featuring the gorgeous sonic colors of Bisharat and Rumbel) through the breathtaking dance of falling snow (initially fast flurries, then slower, like a soft natural blanket) on “When Winter Comes,” a rhythmically varied piece that includes the haunting shadings of Rumbel and Friesen.

Many of her titles indicate an exploration of her connection to the natural world and changing seasons, and the poem “Music” she includes in the packaging reminds us, quite eloquently of our connection to nature: “I am Wind, Water and Waves/I am Forest, Meadow and Birdsong…” Yet throughout, as we engage in her powerful heartfelt expressions, it feels like she’s merely suggesting that we appreciate the splendors of nature with her. If we choose to simply put on Still, slow our breath, relax and immerse in 48 minutes of piano and ensemble bliss without regard for titles and themes, that makes for an equally wonderful experience.

Still (pun intended), for those who still appreciate graphically stunning and highly literary CD inserts and pay attention to an artist’s intentions via song titles, there’s quite a lot of magic to unpack. Ann engages her classical training most powerfully as a visceral, ivory dancing response to hearing those oncoming “Whispers of Spring” (enhanced by Friesen and Russell-Tubbs) and intrigues us with exactly what she might mean by the phrase “Ebony Light” – a meditative gem with frequent bursts of shimmering notes, artfully textured by Bisharat’s sweeping violin and Russell Tubbs’ gorgeous alto flute.

On the path to the majestic piano solo piece “Autumnal Breeze” (whose performance speaks emphatically to the darkness/light scenarios of the change of seasons), Ann anticipates the splendor of nature’s peripatetic illumination via “Waiting for Fireflies,” featuring the powerful contrast between Bisharat’s high tones and Friesen’s darker moods; looks to the sky to feel the warm, embracing glow of “Heaven’s Stardust”; and taps into the earth’s dynamic daily art show where “The River Bleeds the Sky” (a free flowing musical interpretation of her brief poem of the same name which includes the words “Glimmering, Shimmering”).

The simplicity of the titles of the other two pieces, “Still” (whose subtle grace mirrors the words of another poem she includes) and “The Crossing” (featuring Friesen’s stunning caress), allows us an opportunity to reach inside our hearts and memories to discover our own story in the wonderful music Ann presents.   

Check out Ann Sweeten's album Still here: https://lnk.to/AnnSweeten_Still