Mario Feninger, Solo, February 1979 — Sheridan, Oregon

Finding an original pianist who can front a jazz trio and not sound like myriad others is a daunting task. How many jazz pianists have a fresh voice? Well, Reggie Thomas does. His soulful, hard-swinging brand of piano immediately grabs the listener, imparting joy and a positive energy. Ballads? Yes, he also plays those flawlessly and does so in in this outing. Joining Mr. Thomas is a veteran rhythm section with Dennis Carrol on bass and George Fludas on drums. Dennis and George both support and complement Reggie’s piano artistry with excursions of their own. The result is a masterful trio creating exquisite music. The performance was captured with the finest custom (tube) and vintage microphones including a pair of legendary cardiod AKG 414 EB’s on piano, two AKG ULS’s on drums and a single AKG ULS on bass, directly to a highly modified Studer/Revox 8-track master recorder. The result is an audio and musical gem.

Where technology meets art

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Mario Feninger, Solo, February 1979 — Sheridan, Oregon

Finding the perfect setting for the performance and recording of solo classical piano, not to mention finding the instrument itself, is one of the most difficult endeavors a producer and recording engineer can encounter. Such was not the case in this recording as somehow the congruence of the two took place with little effort. The handmade. 9-foot Mark Allen piano was already situated in a wonderful hall in Oregon where the (piano) builder was in residence – a rare occurrence. The pianist, Mario Feninger, knew about the piano and asked me to record him there with minimalist technique; two microphones and one tape recorder (B&K instrument microphones and a Studer/Levinson ML5 A80). The result is sublime sound and a wonderful performance including such composers as Chopin, Scarlatti, Liszt. Don’t miss this celestial sounding performance.

To order an analog tape copy (direct off the master ($250.00) or a production copy ($150.00) of this performance, please contact jonathanhorwich@me.com for details. Note, a direct digital copy of the tape master may be available as well.