The title of pianist/composer Roger Kellaway’s 2019 hard swinging jazz trio album The Many Open Minds of Roger Kellaway captures the spirit of his fascinating career perfectly. With a multi-decade resume that includes nearly 30 film scores and work with Carmen McRae, Diane Schuur, Yo-Yo Ma, Yo-Yo Ma, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Darin, Van Morrison, Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley, adventure’s been a hard-wired driving force in his musical DNA for nearly six decades.
Though some have described his famed 70’s “Cello Quartet” albums as the beginning of “New Age” music, he more officially and emphatically enters the genre with his beautiful and heartfelt, fluid and free-flowing new solo piano track “Autumn.” The striking seasonal cover photo, which shows a distant man walking into the mist down a path lined with blazing orange and red trees, might prompt listeners to anticipate a track more typical as days grow shorter this time of year – a somber, reflective soul searching meditation.
Instead, and quite blissfully, Kellaway’s infectious, whimsical melody rolls like an empowering celebration of fall, its powerful chords and ivory sparkle creating the musical equivalent of the exuberant colors of the leaves and their mystical, playful dance as they make their final journey from the trees to the ground. Ultimately, his composition showcases the power of nature to inspire our hearts to dance at any time of year.
“Autumn” is one of six individually released tracks that are part of myndstream November Flight collection – the second in a series of seasonal collections of tracks handpicked by the label’s Head of A&R and General Manager (and veteran two time Emmy winning artist) Michael Whalen. The first, released in August 2021, was titled Summer Flight.