Sound Quest Traveling the coast of California yielded a stop at Moss Beach. Of course one had to eat at the very fine restaurant and learn of a famous ghost who sometimes entertains at the restaurant. The cover is the overlook at Moss Beach. A very nice acquaintance who happened to be 14 years old, when visiting in my home for a Christmas party, allowed me to photograph her. She has grown up now and graciously allowed me to use her photograph for the "Sound Quest" album. The juxtaposition on the photograph with the Moss Beach Inn was no accident. The ghost was a lady as is the young lady in the photograph. I couldn’t resist the opportunity. I will leave her name a mystery in honor of her and the ghost. The music is something that means a lot of me. Although all are improvisations, they follow a definite form. The "Piano Fantasia" is just that, an attempt at different textures somewhat free in form. The "Promised Symphony" attempts to follow Sonata form as closely as I could make it happen on the fly. It has always been a goal of mine to fulfill a promise I made a long time ago to a very close friend, that being to complete the most beautiful symphony anyone ever heard in her honor. Knowing I shall always fall short of that goal, I still try. This is one of many efforts. "Piano Bass & Drums One and Two" are just two examples that I put in for fun. My interest in jazz has been long standing, and I have very strong opinions about improvised music. This form is quite limiting, and doing all the parts my self leaves something to be desired—interaction with other people. I wanted to do it just to see if I could. It seemed to work out pretty well. A lot of my music is just plain depressing. I like to think it is also uplifting. "Dark Suite" might be thought of that way except for the fact that one can find hope in these pieces. They are brought from memories of a very beautiful time in my life. I particularly enjoy listening to them, and hope they are equally enjoyable for others. "A Piano Flourish" is just a playful series of arpeggios. It seemed to come out well, so I chose to include it rather than throwing it away. Who knows, someone may want part of it for a ring tone. The music of the Orient has always interested me. The martial arts and the tradition of Chinese opera have a special place in my way of thinking about music. "Orientale: In the Face of Fear" may one day become part of a collection of similar pieces. It certainly is fun playing with those kinds of sounds. Also thanks to Jean Sibelius and the people of Finland for my having quoted Finlandia in this piece. As I was playing I suddenly thought of them and the melody just came out. I have great respect for the people of Finland and Jean Sibelius' music. The title of this piece came from my knowledge of their history. "A Favorite Piano Piece" inspired the idea to do a series of recordings of improvisations at the electronic synthesizer. That I could create a piece from scratch that appealed to me upon repeated hearing came as a revelation to me. I like this piece so much that I may include it on other albums. This piece was first produced on my now dead Ensoniq TS10 and recorded in wave form. I hope you enjoy "Piano and Strings" as much as I enjoyed make it.