What does it sound like?:
Can I urge you, if like me you are approaching saturation point as regards bad news and reported malevolence, sick of finding yourself thinking misanthropic thoughts that welcome the obliteration of the human species, to take a listen to Pete Judge’s solo material?
What does it all *mean*?
I think you will find within his piano playing a mellow, contemplative body of work that reflects the love, creativity and benificence of humans at their finest. I’ve read comparisons with Satie and Nyman, and his melodicism and use of repetitive phrases certainly calls them to mind at times, but really Pete has his own path between these greats, and finds a satisfying sound of his own; his pieces never outstay their welcome, they build and cascade in a very pleasing fashion, and provide a beautiful sonic scaffolding that allows the listening ear to follow multiple simultaneous strands of melody.
Goes well with…
Quiet contemplation. Deep, thoughtful work that brooks no interruption. The start of a busy day, and the close of a day when all is done.
Release Date:
His third album is out now via his Bandcamp presence. The first two are also available. Go here to investigate: https://www.petejudgemusic.com/solo/
Might suit people who like…
Nyman and Satie for a start. But, really, investigate his music on its own merits. I have all three of his solo piano albums. The first two are marvellous, and I was keen to acquire the third, which arrived here today. Wonderfully, it continues his extraordinary journey across the octaves, and invites your serious attention. The recording is breathtakingly done – listen to the slow Steinway fade at the end of track 14, and marvel!
From an earlier album, this is a favourite:
Grey Wethers is a stone circle on Dartmoor.
Beautiful. Will definitely investigate further.
We need something Foxey, Orange headed, orange faced, yellow bellied cnut, tawt will announce his decision to end Democracy in The Land Of The Free any time now.
He`s a bigger threat to the Planet Earth than Putin.
As an American friend of mine says “I’m much afraid of what’s going to happen here could be the end of this grand experiment in democracy. Republicans via Trump have found that they can very much control the ignorant, the uneducated, the undereducated, the school drop outs, the illiterate, and the people who have money.”
In short, they are The Deplorables. TMFTL.
I know this is not strictly in tune with the post but in response to the Comments from @baron-harkonnen having been in California twice within the last 6 weeks I would say categorically the USA is already screwed and it is an opinion shared by a big proportion of their population. The homeless situation is shameful and out of control.What is more worrying is that people are choosing to go off grid because they have a loathing of government and that trust is breaking down..I was just on a cruise that called in Mexico and the guide told the passengers if they didn’t have a ticket they couldn’t get back on the bus and would have to stay in Mexico – a lot of them thought that was a preferable choice.
My American friend lives there every day of the year his comment was made on Monday of this week. It was not a comment from myself.
Excellent review! You’ve got me interested!
Now I’ve listened and am hooked.
How fantastic that one musician playing solo at home can be such a delight!
This is superb, thank you for the heads up. It reminds me of Dustin O’Halloran who I absolutely adore so I will be investigating further
Thanks for the review, Vulpes.
I have Pete Judge’s previous album, cunningly titled “piano 2”, and it is of course a beautiful thing. I’ll definitely get “piano 3” via a Bandcamp download.
I also love all the records by Three Cane Whale, the Bristol band that Pete Judge shares with Alex Vann and Paul Bradley.
@duco01 Yes, we have tickets to see Three Cane Whale at Bristol’s best music venue – St. George’s – in March of next year, so assuming that Vlad doesn’t drop a few big ones and/or Covid doesn’t mutate into a 100% mortality variant, we’re very much looking forward to seeing them play live!