Redwood Reflections is a collection of original compositions by Matthew Cook. With singing melodies and vast moods Cook creates an inspirational homage to the giant Redwood Trees of Northern California. Drawing from such diverse influences as George Winston, Scott Joplin, Stephen Stills and Keith Jarrett, Cook weaves together a mozaic of rhythms and textures. From it's misty beginnings to it's Latin flavored end this album flows wonderfully. The `Redwood Reflections Suite' takes us on a journey through magnificent groves of these ancient trees from the stillness of the `Morning Fog' to the magnificence of a warm, sunny `Sanctuary', an exuberant flight `Over The Canopy' and a triumphant, refreshing return in `Mountainside'.
`If I Could Fill Your Cup' is a beautiful love ballad with a singing melody. "One time I found myself without a Valentines Day present for my wife. I sat down at the piano and this song came flowing out, lyrics and all. It makes a great solo piano piece."
`Benson's Soliloquy' is straight out of the pages of Scott Joplin. "I wrote this piece for my father who was a big fan of the way I play Joplin."
`The End Of The Century' is a melodic lament: "By the end of the 90's it didn't look like we had come very far since the 60's. I just wonder where all that idealism went."
The album ends with the toe-tapping `El Cuervo', a song cowritten by Matthew Cook and his son Kai.
Redwood Reflections is a journey well worth taking for lovers of piano music.
