Egyptian Bazaar

"New York Dreams" is a love letter to old New York — from the tenements my grandma grew up in, to the Bronx in the 40s where my dad played stickball. The call of the city has always tickled my ear. This album is an expression of that call. It brings me joy and nostalgia for something I’m not entirely sure existed outside the music of Gershwin, Broadway and old movies.

Some of the pieces were composed for films I want to make and some came from noodling around on the piano while my thoughts carried me away. As the album came together, I noticed the thread of a story. I imagined a timeless day in the life of New York — the city awakening, a morning stroll and new lovers meeting in the park. From there, the album moves through time, drifting off to other corners of the city as night falls.

"Monument City" is an introduction and overview. As I wrote it, I pictured a golden sunrise, towering skyscrapers and the great bridges spanning the East River.

"Sunday Stroll" came from my love of days with no plans or pressures. A day of meandering and discovering.

"Woman in the Park" arose from a playful, almost flirting melody I happened upon. I kept trying to keep it on course but the music carried me to some place grand and at times, tender.

I wrote "Our Apartment" while looking out at the garden of a new apartment my wife and I moved in to.

As time advances, we arrive at "Christmas Morning" and the discovery of a room full of presents in an imaginary penthouse.

I wrote "Rain" at a vacant piano in a dance studio on the second floor of Tisch School of the Arts. As the rain fell, I noticed how it slowed things down, creating a sleepy peace across the city.

In "Flight of the Bluebird", we take on the point of view of a bluebird perched in a winter tree. He takes flight and soars high over Manhattan, then dives into a courtyard and look in on various inhabitants before returning to the sky.

"Sunset River" refers to Riverside Park and the golden light on the avenue as the sun goes down on the Hudson.

As my fingers discovered "Balcony in the Stars", I imagined an empty ballroom in the moonlight.

"Rooftop Dreamer" is about a man on a roof after sundown who looks off at the promise of a thousand glittering dreams.

"Grand Central" is plucked from the scene of a movie I’d love to make that takes place in this wonder city. It echoes the rhythmic tramp of footfalls crossing the great room and is a metaphor for the intoxicating city at large.

Balcony In The Stars

Sunset River

Flight Of The Bluebird

Rain

Christmas Morning

Our Apartment

Woman In The Park

Sunday Stroll

Monument City

Wonderful Wednesdays

Greg is a diverse composer whose music is driven by story and emotion. His home sound is soulful and dreamy, and partly influenced by classic Hollywood.

Greg Zymet

Popular tracks