Melodic Voyage

This is Dunn's fourth album. Each has been in a different genre - jazz, Celtic, and Latin-inspired. Melodic Voyage offers straight-up Western melodic/harmonic content. This is an instrumental solo piano album designed for relaxation. The songs are pretty and free of anxiety-provoking dissonance.

The twelve songs on the album were inspired by the composer's extensive travels while performing and his long sojourns to other parts of the world, incidents he witnessed in foreign locations, and his family and friends. 

Solo piano albums can become monotonous. Dunn avoids this by working with a variety of rhythmic textures, different kinds of melodies and harmonic progressions. He uses piano effects and riffs in creative ways, particularly in Track 4: Return to Peace. The final Track 21: It's You has a particularly rich and lovely harmonic progression. 

This is a lovely album for sitting and thinking and for background music while alone or entertaining friends. Peter Duchin played the piano for martini-fueled Cocktail Nation of the mid 20th century; now Mark Dunn is playing the piano for the non-alcoholic, low-calorie, vegan cocktail nation of the 21st century.

~review by Elizabeth Hazel

Artist: Mark Dunn
2018
12 tracks
CD $10, mp3 $9.