Ran Blake: the New Englandest New Englander

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

Ran Blake is one mysterioso pianist. His playing smacks of deep, complicated feelings, like melancholy, or nostalgia, where painful longing and sweet remembrance mix. His right hand - could be one finger - might hammer out a melody like a brass bell, choosing notes with a poet's care, while his left hand plumbs the depths, with low dissonant chords made all the more ambiguous via subtle foot pedaling. Other pianists abuse the sustain pedal for… more »