Esteban Ramirez
Descanso Music
[323] 938-0305
www.descanso-music.com
Ramirez hails originally from El Paso, now he lives in Los \ Angeles; he's a good looking hunky gay guy who plays quiet simple romantic piano melodies. It's the kind of stuff you'd play on a quiet date, behind a massage, or if you just plain don't feel good and don't have the stomach for that same Metallica from last night's kegger party.
He's good at what he does, though I'd say he doesn't fly around the keyboard quite so much like others in this field. He doesn't seem to have the skill of a David Lanz or a George Winston, nor the individuality of some of the new age masters, but other than that... yeah it's worth pickin' up. He does what he sets out to do, to calm down and comfort the listener in a world full of noise.
These songs sound composed, and are very strong on melody rather than atmosphere or texture. Many pianists of this ilk seem to improvise in the studio until they find something they like, and then slap it on a CD. That's fine, this is just different. Texture, come to think, is what he could use a bit more of. A little more with the left hand, maybe.
Cellist Melissa Hasin makes a welcome appearance on four of these songs, adding some body to the solo piano. It's kind of personally interesting because I wrote a string quartet for her back in 1988 and I'm sure she has forgotten about it completely. But if you're reading this, Melissa, I still have a tape of your Cellistic Visions album.
The album ends with "Over The Rainbow," kind of doffing the cap to the gay community, other than that, he wrote it all himself.
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