Pure Piano Portraits 
12 tracks 
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Available now,  this Pure Piano CD includes ~60 minutes of timeless music! Click the player above to enjoy Jeff Bjorck's fresh compositions and arrangements. 

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Piano for relaxation and meditation
"I love piano music, not the least because I've played piano myself for some years. I am especially fond of contemporary piano solos (you could say "New Age") like George Winston, Jim Brickman and the like. Jeff Bjorck composes piano music in this genre, but gives it his own unique quality--very attentive to rhythm and evocative of nature and introspection. When I got this CD, I lent it to family members, and all of us played it endlessly. It is really soothing and just the thing to put on for a Sunday morning, when you want quiet music with a meditative tone. In particular, the adaptation of "Jerusalem"--one of my favorites, is far from the majestic solemnity of this hymn; here it is quiet and deep and almost a fantasy or improvisation on the theme. If you like contemporary piano, you are certainly going to like this CD."
~~Joanna Daneman, Middletown, DE

     Since its release date several years ago, Jeff Bjorck's debut CD, PURE PIANO PORTRAITS, continues to be a top seller at Amazon.com's Indie Music-New Age-Piano section.  It has also received airplay on select radio programs across the country and continues to do so.
     As Jeff's first effort, PURE PIANO PORTRAITS features compositions from a wide variety of points along his personal time line. The included selections were all recorded between 1993 and 1995, but their creation spans twenty years.  For example, both "Can't Say How I Feel" and "Catskill Mountain Meadow" were originally composed in 1977. 
     Many of the pieces on PORTRAITS emerged in rough form during his days in graduate school, where a baby grand piano in the dormitory across from his office at the University of Delaware provided many welcome study breaks. On one such occasion in 1985, given his preference for spontaneous composition, Jeff brought an inexpensive cassette tape recorder with him. His plan was to "catch anything good that accidentally occurred." The recorder was simply plopped on a pillow on the floor near the piano.
     Given the cheap equipment (!), the surprisingly good fidelity of the recordings startled Jeff, and he risked playing his tapes for some friends. It was then that people first mistakenly mistook his music for George Winston's. There are still a few people who are the (proud?) owners of copies of those early tapes!
     Formal recording of his earlier work did not begin until 1995, when as part of a small church with many musicians, Jeff was invited to contribute a track to a promotional tape.  It was then that he first entered a studio and recorded "Living Waters," with much help and moral support from friend and engineer/producer Bill Pearson of Mindseye Productions. 
     Having experienced the recording studio, Jeff was bitten  by the "red light fever" bug, and the idea of recording more of his compositions "for friends and family" inspired him to polish up many of the pieces he had composed since his early teens.  Once again with the invaluable assistance of Bill Pearson, Jeff returned to the studio and recorded a variety of works, including each track found on Pure Piano Portraits.
    Serendipity does not stop there. Through the continued help of Mr. Pearson, Jeff's music was "discovered" by Gene Michael Productions, a music library whose owner Gene Ort offered to purchase the commercial rights to Jeff's music. Thus, with no promotional effort or legwork of any kind on Jeff's part, the commercially licensable CD, Piano Portraits AV147 was born. (Since then, Panoramas is similarly available as Desert Sky AV231.)
     When friends heard this commercial CD, the frequent response was "I'd love a copy of that!"  Unfortunately, the required "license" fee to obtain a copy was considerably more than what one pays for the typical CD. Thus, Jeff returned to Gene  Ort and requested permission to re-release his music as a retail CD. Gene graciously agreed, and Jeff proceeded to create PURE Piano Portraits.  
     Jeff comments, "Making a CD was the ideal project for me, because it allowed me to enjoy a variety of my artistic interests all at once. Where else can you pursue  graphic design, photography, poetry, creative writing, and music composition, performance, and production....all in the space of a 5.5 inch square?"
     The road to producing Pure Piano Portraits was a long and circuitous one, and Jeff clearly sees God's hand in it all. "I am thankful to my listeners who have graciously given me the chance to share my music,  and I thank God for making it possible."

   To read the stories behind each piece, click here.

More Reviews 

    "Pure Piano Portraits is just that! Each track on this album by Dr. Jeff Bjorck is a soundscape that takes you away to that place in your mind where you feel safe and protected...This album is full of powerful emotions and sensitive moments that reach out, touch the heart, and grab the soul. We at Innervisions are very glad to include Pure Piano Portraits in our programming!" (CLICK HERE for a full review.)
~~ Dave Butler, radio host of InnerVisions 1420 WHBN ~~

   "Jeff Bjorck’s compositions are elegant and emotionally moving. The classical flavor of these contemporary pieces makes them well suited to our listeners’ tastes. We are glad to include Pure Piano Portraits in our playlists."
~~Bob Wennersten, Program Director for KMZRT 105.1 FM, Los Angeles~~

   "Bjorck has developed an approach...with just the right balance of ornamentation and serene space. These original songs interweave fragility with fervor. The subtle use of tension and relaxation of the harmonic progressions give the recording fluid movement and direction. This free-flowing music creates an excellent ambiance for receiving a massage." (CLICK HERE for a full review.)
~~M. Jeffrey Schmidt: MASSAGE MAGAZINE~~

    "Upon first hearing PURE PIANO PORTRAITS, I found myself an instant fan. I listened three times to the full CD in one day, including during a dinner party where it set the perfect tone.
~~David Gardner, Author and Co-Founder of The Motley Fool web site~~

   "This CD is extraordinary. We bought it for our wedding reception as an accompaniment of a slide show of various stages of our lives, to be played before our introduction. This music captures you emotionally and draws you into the ride. It is perfect! I can't say enough about this up-lifting emotional album."
~~Troy Puccia, Bethpage NY~~

    "This music is GREAT! Really quite incredible. I enjoy every piece, but tracks 7, 9, and 10 really stand out from the very first play. As someone with a substantive collection of classical piano music, I view PURE PIANO PORTRAITS as a welcome addition. This CD is ideal after a long day. Kick back, relax…and listen!"
~Jeff Fischer, Author  Advisor for the Motley Fool Pro at Fool.com. 

     "Jeff Bjorck's Pure Piano Portraits is one of those rare instrumental creations that captures more emotion and conveys more vivid imagery than any number of lyrically based popular albums on the market today....Bjorck has created something very special with Pure Piano Portraits---a musical statement that can touch a wide variety of people on a wide variety of emotional and reflective levels. Listening to it is much like embarking on a journey---albeit one that begins and ends in your heart and soul. Grab Pure Piano Portraits for yourself, and you'll soon be on your way..." [Mr. Urbanski is a friend of Jeff Bjorck, but his review-writing skills could not be passed up, and he promised to be objective!] (CLICK HERE for a full review.)
~~Dave Urbanski, Product Development Director of Youth Specialties~~

   "Each of the twelve pieces [on this CD] is a soothing breath of fresh air....A gentle serenity is present in each of the pieces, as is a sense of optimism and moving forward... Simple, heartfelt melodies with a classical feel give the CD a very calm, pensive mood throughout....This is a very fine piano album, and I strongly recommend it!" (CLICK HERE for a full review.)  
~~ Kathy Parsons of Mainlypiano.com~~

    "I have enjoyed Pure Piano Portraits immensely! It is a welcome addition to my program and made the Top 20 playlist for May, 1999."
~~Doug McCorkle, host of Sunday Morning Cafe radio program, WVKR 91.3FM ~~

    "My personal favorite Pure Piano Portraits tracks are Mountain Echoes and Twilight. They both have the "air" around the instruments voice that I personally value so much. They "breathe" and transport the listener effortlessly to another place. Jeff's CD is a very a welcome addition to NAS."
~~BEAR, host of New Age Sampler radio program, 90FM WWSP~~

    "Jeff's CD is a perfect fit for KASU's programs of 'contemporary instrumental' music. The melodies are appealing, relaxing and very enjoyable. I'm glad we can share this music with KASU's listeners!"
~~Marty Scarbrough, program director for KASU 91.9 FM ~~

      "Jeff Bjorck’s music strikes a resonant chord deep within the soul. In a harried world of cookie cutter music, it is uniquely refreshing to put on a CD with the warmth and depth that Jeff delivers. For those looking to relax and escape the never ending spiral of everyday life, this disc is highly recommended. Two thumbs up!"
~~Bill Pearson, Composer-Producer for Mindseye Productions~~

    "Jeff Bjorck's music is very relaxing and definitely worth hearing, which is  why Pure Piano Portraits made my top 20 for March of 1999."
~~Tani Chen, host of Dreams of a New Age radio program, 88.1FM WMBR~~

    "Pure Piano Portraits made the delivery room a truly relaxing place for me as we welcomed our new baby into the world! Since then, it has provided the perfect nap time lullabies for our little girl."
~~Jennifer Davis, Pasadena, CA~~

    "Pure Piano Portraits will be heard regularly on our radio series. It is a fine collection of orginal keyboard pieces."
~~Rod Tijerina, editor of AcoustiCDigest/Radio Productions~~

    "This is very good stuff, of the caliber of George Winston, Danny Wright, David Lanz, and Jim Brickman..."
~~Hershel Chicowitz, host of the Baby Boomers Headquarters web site~~

    "Jeff Bjorck's piano is a magic! It goes directly into your body and mind."
~~Shlomo Israel, radio producer for IBA (Israel Broadcating Authority) and teacher at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel~~

        "I find this music soothing to the soul--on first listening, it appears to be a cross between Debussy and new age music."
~~Dr. Myra O. Smith, Neuroscience Program Chair at Colgate Univerisity ~~

     "PIANO PORTRAITS features graceful, original themes on solo acoustic piano that flow gently with poignant reflection and warm romance to touch the heart and move the emotions."
~~Gene Ort, President and Founder of Gene Michael Productions~~

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