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Alvaro Is Rojas - piano

Solo pianist Alvaro Is Rojas continues with his remarkably prolific recording activity. He describes the selection of the title of the album, and his journey on finding new, ever-expanding and expressive sonorities:

"I like the word OCEANIC. It describes a feeling of wholeness, completeness, as used in psychoanalysis.

The inner and the outer worlds are in a continuous conflict. Somehow the gap between the two looses sharpness or disappears when creating music. All of a sudden, the complexity of mundane things cease to interfere and the emotional process leads me closer to a dimension where all events seem to intertwine in perfection. Those short moments give me a respite from the daily worries and uncertainties."

The eleven titles on Oceanic are an amalgam of songs from the American Song Book, jazz compositions from the 1950s and 60s, popular tunes and original Rojas compositions.

"I find Thelonious Monk to be a musician that deviates from most improvisers. Monk's compositions are distinctive and often border to the limits of what could be seen as coherent. I find the title of the tune 'Brilliant Corners' especially appealing, although I wouldn't attempt to explain why. It was a challenge to prepare this song for the recording.

The composition 'Nefertiti' is probably one of the finest by Wayne Shorter. I spent quite some time making myself thoroughly acquainted with it. The tune offers such a palette of colors that the choices of harmonies become natural to the tune.

Burt Bacharach is one of the best composers in popular music of all times. The tune 'Walk on By' is just beautiful. During many years, I planned to record it but it took that long before I came close to my own way of playing it.

'Short Stories (II)' and 'Perseverancia' are my originals. The former one was written already back in 1984. I kept it in the drawer until the time was right to record it.

'Zingaro' is a composition by Antonio Carlos Jobim, who I'd say ranks in the same league with Burt Bacharach. This tune never became part of the standard repertoire, although it's been recorded before.

The other selections on this album are from the American Song Book."

OCEANIC was recorded on August 5 and October 11, 2010 at the Royal Music Academy in Stockholm, Sweden.