LEAH WAYBRIGHT is a life-long Composer, Pianist, Recording Artist, Teacher, Floral Artist, Wildflower Preservationist, and Dreamer. The common thread that connects these many professions is her role as a Storyteller. Hundreds of lectures and the wide variety of special floral programs she has presented for Garden Clubs and Civic Groups are the most obvious examples of her Storytelling.
However, her ability to tell a compelling story is not limited to words. Despite the instrumental nature of her music, her unique approach to composition and instrumentation means that each vignette reveals an unfolding and ever-evolving story rich with meaning. As a steward of the Earth, Leah\u2019s creativity and mindset benefitted from the pauses in older projects, and the development of new projects, but throughout she consistently creates new music through improvisation and then hones it with a nurturing process similar to the way she cultivates her beloved plants and wildflowers.
Her newest CD, \u201cDreamed\u201d will be released by Invasion Merch on July 17, 2023 and is the culmination of years of compositional crafting. In some ways it picks up the floral storytelling narrative where \u201cBeauty Gone Wild\u201d left off, and is a compositional masterpiece. Leah\u2019s musical DNA is immediately noticeable in the melodies and the rhythms, but are even more elegant, captivating, and mysterious. What consistently leaps out of the speakers is the luscious sound of the grand piano, as there is more of a focus on her piano with \u201cDreamed.\u201d Leah commands this fine instrument and presents each composition with confidence and verve. Somehow without using a single word, she pulls the listener into her private world where a story for each dreamy piece unfolds like a new plant in spring.
Leah has always been an active dreamer, both in a literal sense as well as in a more figurative sense. Her dreams have a huge influence on her, and she sees power and wisdom in exploring dreams. After experiencing a vivid dream she often incorporates elements of that dream into a piece of music.
Says Leah, \u201cMy DREAMED collection is gathered from a wide arc of experience and time travelled. This \u2018new\u2019 music is captured from the first song I ever crafted, to pieces invoked by powerful moments and turning points in my life. There are vintage songs from the past as well as imaginings through to my most recent compositions. Each piece emerges for me as special and meaningful.\u201d
The innovative orchestrations on \u201cDreamed\u201d reveal numerous, subtle aspects of the melodies. The skillful contributions of the other players support the harmonic and rhythmic content when needed, but at other times they shine via tasty solos. In particular, the guitar work of \u201cHappy the Man\u201d alum Stan Whitaker is stunningly effective, especially on the track \u201cDreamprints.\u201d As with \u201cBeauty Gone Wild,\u201d Gary Blu, who has worked with Boz Scaggs, Donald Fagen and Steely Dan was the only choice for saxes, flutes, piccolo and clarinet. His flute and piccolo work on \u201cCandlewink\u201d is breathtaking.
Mark Wood, master violinist and Trans-Siberian Orchestra co-founder uses violins of his own design to add bold and exciting swaths of sound. A fierce player, his Paganini-like virtuosity never overwhelms Ms. Waybright\u2019s brilliant compositions. His playing on the somewhat classical-leaning \u201cSunwise\u201d emphasizes complex interplay between violin, piano, and flute. Leah\u2019s complex, shifting piano work in the piece is slightly evocative of both Erik Satie and Claude Bolling. Similarly, \u201cHappy the Man\u201d bassist Rick Kennell manages to both underpin and accent Leah\u2019s every twist and turn. Rick deftly provides movement and support that reveals the glorious details of Leah\u2019s sonic landscape. Rick also handled the production chores.
This is one of those rare albums that rewards the attentive listener with insights and delights. Play these tracks on your stereo or on your best headphones and let Leah\u2019s dreams unfold around you. When you do, this master Storyteller will transport you to a wild world where anything can happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Featuring:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Leah Waybright: Compositions, piano, keyboards and vocal musings Here\u2019s what\u2019s been said about Leah Waybright:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWaybright\u2019s compositions are intensely melodic and brilliantly orchestrated, each with its own spirited vision and expressive purpose; even though this is a concept album, any of these pieces could easily stand on its own: zero filler\u2026 nothing short of superb, and there is plenty here within to satisfy the tastes of even the most discriminating progressive rock listener. Highly recommended.\u201d \u2013 Expose<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSmoothly woven orchestral tapestry of melodic and rhythmic cross-currents, though heavier moments reflect hints of old Happy the Man.\u201d \u2013 Progression Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA classically trained keyboardist, Waybright is first and foremost a floral artist, and with this album, combines both her passions successfully. The music is reminiscent of Happy the Man; new agey, serene, yet always with a solid, bouncy feel to propel the music along.\u201d \u2013 Gnosis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLeah Waybright has a very smooth sounding recording here. The songs are thoroughly addicting. Leah has a wonderful talent to make her keys sing. She is a very creative composer, who can really get to your heart. I’m impressed as this is a work of art and it is a must for any modern jazz, modern age, or easy listening music lover.\u201d \u2013 Electronic Musician Magazine<\/em> LEAH WAYBRIGHT is a life-long Composer, Pianist, Recording Artist, Teacher, Floral Artist, Wildflower Preservationist, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[226,3005,125],"class_list":["post-20162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-news","tag-classic-rock","tag-leah-waybright","tag-prog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20162"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20168,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20162\/revisions\/20168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Gary Blu: Saxophones, flutes, clarinet, piccolo
Rick Kennell: Bass, drums, percussion, orchestration
Stanley Whitaker: Guitars on tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
Mark Wood: Violin on \u201cSunwise\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To purchase: <\/strong>https:\/\/ffm.to\/leahwaybright-dreamed<\/a>
For more information:<\/strong>www.leahwaybright.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"