The New York Times has called Andre-Michel Schub, "Pianistically flawless...a formidable pianist with a fierce integrity."
Since winning the 1981 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Mr. Schub has earned public and critical acclaim for his hard driving, controlled and altogether brilliant performances. He is known to perform as many as 100 concerts a year and has played with major orchestras both here and abroad.
It was a privilege to have Mr. Schub join the PianoDisc Artist Series in October 1995. His repertoire includes Liszt's Paganini Etudes, Schumann's Arabesque Op. 18 and the Mozart Sonata in F Major K332. In his varied and interesting program, listeners have experienced the power, control and lyricism for which Mr. Schub has become world renowned.
"There's one guy you have to record. He's a great pianist and he can play anything. His name is Paul Smith." The glowing tribute came from a man who has certainly known his share of great pianists (and qualifies as one himself) Steve Allen.
Reading Mr. Smith's performing / conducting credentials is like looking at a musical "Who's Who." He played for Tommy Dorsey, was the staff pianist for the Steve Allen Show, accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Toni Tennille, Bing Crosby, Edye Gormé and Steve Lawrence, to name but a few. He's recorded over 50 albums on Capital, Verve, MGM, Warner Bros., Imperial and Discovery Records.
Butch Thompson, who came to national attention during his long run with Public Radio's "A Prairie Home Companion," is one of the most prominent musicians in traditional jazz. As one critic said, "His taste, exquisite execution and interpretive power are unequalled today." His love for, and mastery of, the stride style is apparent in his disk, which features tunes like Hello Love, If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight, and Ain't Misbehavin'.
One word describes this disk and the amazing artist who recorded it: sublime. A jazz pianist of the first magnitude, Ms. Williams has dazzling keyboard skill and a musical imagination to match. Her style is hers alone, but you can hear some of the greats there too. It's obvious why a jazz legend like Dave Brubeck has called her, "One of the greatest jazz pianists I have ever heard," Listen to her We Kiss In A Shadow, In A Sentimental Mood or anything on her disk, and you'll agree.
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Moulin D'Or recording artist Danny Wright is the newest member of PianoDisc's prestigious Artist Series. The popular pianist/composer recorded songs featured in his hugely successful "Black and White" series of CDs--recordings that have sold in excess of three million copies worldwide. Wright's fans will be pleased to know that in addition to showtunes ("Phantom of the Opera") and standards ("Somewhere Over theRainbow"), he also recorded some of his highly regarded original compositions for PianoDisc. One of his newest songs, in fact, was featured in a worldwide telecast of the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Although frequently classified as a New Age artist, Wright's music and appeal cross over into several musical categories, including Popular, Adult Contemporary and Classical. On a typical Wright CD, a Chopin prelude might be followed by a medley of Barbra Streisand hits, followed by one of his own sensitive compositions. The combination has led Wright to numerous awards over the years, including being named as a top-ten artist by Billboard magazine. Billboard also named three of his albums to their list of top ten albums of the year in his genre.