Daniel Pesca

Promontory

Neuma, 2021

9/10

Listen to Promontory

The composer and pianist Daniel Pesca knows how to elicit the most amount of range and richness out of a piano, as evidenced by this diverse and profound body of work that features the compositions of Augusta Read Thomas, Aaron Travers, Alison Yun-Fei Jiang and even Pesca originals, too.

Travers’ “Olcott Park” starts the listen with mysterious and moody keys that have the capacity to rumble playfully and also sprint with firmness, and Jiang’s “Isles: As Birds Bring Forth The Sun” follows with incredible finger acrobatics that are as mesmerizing as they are intimate.

Further on, “Watercolors: A Pair Of Cats”, an original, flows with an unpredictability that can be bare as well as frisky in its strategic climate, while “Bell Illuminations” balances a charming cinematic quality amid cautious key manipulation.

Closer to the exit, “Hyde Park Boulevard: The Lagoon At Dusk” recruits much beauty that’s sometimes sparse and other times very forceful, and “Hyde Park Boulevard: Promontory Suite” finishes the listen aglow in meticulous sounds from Pesca’s estimable vision that captures the spirit of the Chicago neighborhood where he spent much of the pandemic.

Pesca navigates the many facets of his instrument with an intellectual attention to detail, and the colorful, sensitive and minimal versus elaborate textures make for an arresting listen.

Travels well with: Pan Project- Pan Project; Richard Carr- Over The Ridge