Open Window CD

While better known for his electronic textures, Robert Rich often includes piano solos during his live concerts. Open Window documents his improvisational approach to acoustic piano, with influences ranging from Alan Hovhannes, G.I. Gurdjieff and Erik Satie to Terry Riley and Keith Jarrett. Rich chose to record Open Window on his own 1925 vintage A.B. Chase baby grand, an instrument with a more intimate sound than a full-size concert piano. Over a period of two months, he kept a daily schedule of piano improvisation, with microphones set up to record at all times. The pieces selected here reflect special moments during this concentrated period. These were the moments when effort vanished, and the music seemed to write itself. Robert Rich has pioneered new worlds of ambient and electronic music for two decades. He studied computer music at Stanford's prestigious CCRMA while earning a degree in Psychology. In 1982 he first performed his legendary Sleep Concerts, all-night shows meant to sustain hypnogogic states in sleeping audiences. His 7-hour DVD Somnium may be the longest continuous piece of music ever released on any format. Rich has recorded two dozen influential albums, ranging from the slow deep ambience of Trances/Drones, to the electro-acoustic world music of Rainforest and Seven Veils, to shadowy cinematic excursions like Stalker and Bestiary. Rich has worked with Steve Roach, Lustmord, Graeme Revelle, David Torn, Alio Die, Paul Haslinger, Ian Boddy, Vidna Obmana, and others. His group, Amoeba, explores atmospheric songcraft on their two CDs, Watchful and Pivot."The deep, ethereal soundscapes that Robert Rich creates don't engage you as much as they engulf you. Shimmering waves of sound pour from the speakers, transforming both space and time." Keyboard MagazineAll of Rich's CDs are available directly from http:// robertrich