Pianist Ed Clute, whose profile appeared in the first issue of The Syncopated Times, has just released A Summer Night’s Magic, his first CD for Bryan Wright’s Rivermont label.
Sightless since birth, Ed has been working steadily as a solo pianist and band sideman in the southern tier of New York for over 50 years. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, and a student of Robert and Jean Casadesus, Ed combines nimble-fingered virtuosity with a keen ear for harmony and an abiding love for popular piano styles to create lush, distinctive arrangements.
In his first CD for Rivermont, Ed turns his attention to nearly two dozen pop ballads of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. The selections include well-known numbers such as “Moonlight Serenade” and “Deep Purple,” as well as worthy obscurities like “A Tree Was a Tree” and “Out of the Dawn.”
The CD includes a 12-page illustrated booklet with liner notes by Andy Senior (based on the article in the February, 2016, issue of The Syncopated Times) and Bryan S. Wright, who recounts the extraordinary circumstances of the recording session at Ed Clute’s home in Watkins Glen, New York.
Read our review: Ed Clute A Summer Night’s Magic
A Summer Night’s Magic is currently available at the discount price of $15.95 from Rivermont Records; to purchase the CD, please visit rivermontrecords.com.
