"Graduation" was written by George Winston and was first released in 1999 on his 8th solo piano record entitled "Plains".  This song has a stately grandeur about it that evokes a sense of accomplishment and pride.  Listening to this piece inspires me to look back and reflect on the amazing accomplishments of my two beautiful daughters and the many graduations that have already happened, and those even more important ones yet to come.  

I recorded this piece on my Nord Stage 2, voiced it with my Steinway Model D patch with a good amount of sympathetic resonance and ambient mechanical sounds.  I recorded it with Ableton Live 11, mastered with Ozone 8 and used EQ, reverb, compression, limiting and imaging.

Graduation

Valse Frontenac is a traditional Quebec waltz written by Chris Norman originally recorded by George Winston from his album Montana.  

I recorded this on my Nord Stage 2 controlling PianoTeq 7 loaded with a Steinway Model D simulation.  I managed the recording using MOTU Digital Performer 11 using a couple of effects (ProVerb, MW EQ)and mastered the track with Ozone 8 Elements.

Valse Frontenac

Japanese Music Box(Itsuki No Komoriuta)is a traditional Japanese Lullaby.  The title means Lullaby of Itsuki, a region of southern Japan near the city of Komumoto.  This arrangement is from George Winston's album Forest.  The melody is haunting, melancholy and both exquisitely beautiful and simple all at the same time.

I recorded this piece on my Nord Stage 2 controlling the PianoTeq 7 virtual piano loaded with a Steinway Model D simulation.  I used Ableton Live 11 to manage the MIDI recording which I made in a single pass with no editing.  All effects (EQ, compression and reverb came from PianoTeq.

Japanese Music Box (Itsuki No Komoriuta)

Originally written by composer Mark Isham from the children's soundtrack 'The Steadfast Tin Solider' this arrangement was created by George Winston from his solo piano album 'Forest'.

I recorded this with my Nord Stage 2 controlling PianoTeq 7 running a Steinway Model D simulation.  All effects (EQ, revere, delay and compression) were from the effects built into PianoTeq.

Love Song To A Ballerina

My Rendition of George's Winston's classic track 'Fragrant Fields' from his amazing 1991 solo piano album entitled 'Summer'.  This tune was originally written by pianist Art Lande for the soundtrack of the children's story 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. 

I recorded this on my Nord Stage 2 voicing Spectrasonics Keyscape using a variation of the Ballad piano patch modified to my liking.  This is a beautifully sampled Yamaha C7 Grand Piano that I have absolutely fallen in love with.  Hope you end enjoy it!

Fragrant Fields

Cold Cloudy Morning (Carousel 2) is from the George Winston's 14th solo piano album entitled Spring Carousel which was released on March 31st, 2017.  Spring Carousel features a collection of 15 solo piano compositions written by Winston while in recovery from a bone marrow transplant for Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) at City of Hope, in Duarte, California.  

The song pairs perfectly with so many of the mornings that we experience here during our long Wisconsin winters and playing it helps me cope with yet another day where I don't get to experience the warmth of the sun shining down on me.  Hope it helps you too!

Cold Cloudy Morning

The songs ‘Returning’ and ‘The Cradle’ are from George Winston’s Grammy award winning album ‘Forest’ released in 1994.  Returning has been transposed to the key of G minor as George frequently played this song as the introduction to The Cradle which is also in the key of G minor.

‘Returning’ was written by George Winston and ‘The Cradle’ is George’s arrangement of a song originally written and recorded by jazz organist Larry Young (Khalid Yasim) as a duet for organ and drums on his 1968 album Heaven on Earth.  The song is dedicated to moms everywhere.

I recorded songs on my Nord Stage 2 voicing Spectrasonics Keyscape using a custom patch based on a modified 7’ 6” Yamaha C7 Grand Piano.  This piano was fitted with Renner “Blue Point” hammers with Welckert felt - a special piano hammer felt used during the pre-Cold War “golden age of Steinway”.

Returning/The Cradle

This is my arrangement of the song "Perfect Way" by the British pop band Scritti Politti. It was featured on the band's second and most successful studio album, Cupid & Psyche 85, released in June 1985.  I recorded this with MOTU's Digital Performer using 32 tracks of MIDI triggering a variety of both real and virtual synths including my Nord Stage 2, Roland D-550 and JV-1080, my Prophet-08, Emu Proteus, Ensoniq EPS-M, Yamaha TX81Z and many others.  I played this song with several bands during my career as a keyboard player including Gerard, Beat Crazee and Married w/Children.  Hope you enjoy the 80's awesomeness as much as I do! 

Perfect Way

My take on the unbelievable cool strings at the end of Purple Rain... Can't believe he is gone :-(

Purple Rain Strings

Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth is from my favorite Devo album of all time 'New Traditionalists' which was released in August of 1981.  I recorded this with a Minimoog Voyager (signature edition), Waldorf PPG v3, Roland MKS-50, Prophet 08, Nord Stage 2, NI 80's Drummer and Reactor Monark using DP 8.  It is at least 10 tracks of real Minimoog including the lead sound which are all custom patches I made specifically for this tune.  To me, Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth captures the irreverence and playfulness of the band and really showcases the raw power of in-your-face analog 80s awesomeness.  I hope you enjoy it!

Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth - Devo

From my most kick-ass Depeche Mode album ever Violator, released in March of 1990 but recorded in 1989 which still qualifies this as 80s music in my opinion!  I recorded this using an avalanche of period synths including a Prophet 08, Yamaha TG-77, Roland JV-1080, E-mu Proteus/1 and ESI-4000 and a bunch of soft synths including MOTU BPM, MX-4, Mach Five 3, NI Kontakt and a Waldorf PPG v3.  The recording was made using MOTU DP-8.  This track is incredibly powerful and builds to an amazing crescendo of 80's synthesizer sonic bliss at the end which is a testament to genius and artistry of this band. 

Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode

My take on the Michael Jackson classic "The Way You Make Me Feel" released in November 1987 as the third single from Michael's seventh studio album "Bad".  I have always loved the upbeat vibe of this tune driven by the relentless 8th note triplets in 12/8 time.  It was an absolute joy to dive in an unlock this songs secrets as it brought me back in time and made me feel like I was 21 all over again!

Technical Notes:
I used a Yamaha DX-7 for the synth bass and a variety of soft synths for the drums including NI's 80's Drummer and Battery 4 as well as MOTU's BPM (for the synth toms).  The slow synth string pad was voiced using NI's FM-8 and the rhythmic off-beat synth pad was a combination of the Prophet 08 and the Nord Stage 2.  The synthesizer effects right before verse one were achieved with three MOTU MX-4's each voicing a different part of the overall effect.  The brass was NI's Session Horns Pro (my absolute favorite Horn simulation)and the synth lead was created using a combination of the virtual analog on my Nord Stage 2 along with Sonic Project's OP-X Pro II and NI's Massive.  The three guitar tracks were all played in using a keyboard and three instances of Music Labs' Real LPC each run though NI's Guitar Rig Pro 5.

The Way You Make Me Feel

From the classic 1983 movie Risky Business, the haunting, etheral Tangerine Dream instrumental that serves as the background to Lana and Joel's midnight train rendezvous.  For this track, I used 3 monophonic lines sequenced lines from Arturia's Moog Modular plus a bass patch, a beautiful electric piano from Keyscape, and a lead line from the Prophet 08.  There are also breathy drones coming from a JV1080, TG-77 and NI Absynth as well as percussion and sound effects from NI Battery and Arturia's DX-7.  Recorded using Ableton Live 10 Suite.

Love On A Real Train

Let's Get Close

I have been haunted by this track since I was 16 years old when I had the good fortune to purchase a copy of George Winston's December album.  In a sense, I have been learning how to play this song my entire life, but only recently have a gotten serious about trying to record it.  This song was played during the candle lighting at my wedding and had been my constant companion though many long, cold Wisconsin winters.  It has brought me much happiness over the years, and I am so glad to have finally spent the time I needed to get my version recorded.

I learned the song mostly by ear, but played this version as close as possible to George's official transcript (a great way to improve my music reading skills!)  I voiced the piano using Modartt's PianoTEQ 6 standard edition setup with a physically modeled Steinway Model D piano (George only plays Steinway pianos).  I recorded my performance using Ableton Live 10 Suite on a single MIDI track.  I have applied EQ both pre and post to the reverb on the piano and employed a compressor and limiter on the master bus.  It was recorded during my 4th of July break in 2019.  I hope you enjoy my version of this beautiful song!

Thanksgiving

My version of George Winston's 'Night' from the album 'December'.  Night is a haunting piece which always makes me recall those long, cold, star-filled nights during winters in Wisconsin.  It is divided into three sections:

— Part One: Snow 
— Part Two: Midnight 
— Part Three: Minstrels

Minstrels was inspired by St. Basil’s Hymn, a traditional Greek Children’s New Years’s Carol based upon a rendition by Malcolm Dalglish.

I recorded this with PianoTEQ v7 using the NY Steinway D Prelude patch.  Part Two (Midnight) was voiced using Native Instruments 'Giant' piano instrument.

Todd Dunst

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