Maple Room Melodies Vol 3: Album Notes

Bensonville
This tune was originally written for a 1987 project where I was hired to compose and record music for the SBI Motherwell company. That project was all instrumental. I never created any words for the tune, but as a “model” the Motherwell people suggested an old George Benson song. Thus my naming of the tune. Rearranging this for solo piano was a challenge! However, I like the way this piece develops throughout, while returning to a very simply refrain.

After the Blue
This is one of my earliest original tunes. When first composed on the piano in 1982, it was called “A major#1.” In 1985, I recorded a version for my ole’ cassette album “Silently” where it was titled “A Major Surprise.” In 2021, I began revising the tune for solo piano and gave it yet another title: After The Blue. The first 3 notes made me think of those 3 words. This tune never had any lyrics.

Wait and Begin
When first composed in the early 1980s, this tune was titled “C major #3.” There are no words and the tune was never previously recorded. Note the adjacent scan of my original leadsheet.

One Life
This tune was originally composed in 1982. The copyright title shows “Eb major #1.” Until 2021, I hadn’t recorded any version of this tune. Note the scan of my original leadsheet from 1982.

So Unsure
This tune was originally called Amajor#5 and I composed it in 1983. A full-blown instrumental version appeared on my 1987 cassette album “Time Machine.” In January 2021, I began work on a solo-piano interpretation. Note the scan of my original leadsheet.

Still Standing Here
This one was originally called “D major #3” and was composed in the early 1980s. The tune was never previously recorded. Note the scan of my original leadsheet.

Blue Sky
The song was written on January 23 1986, according to the date on an old MIDI file in my archives. It was first written for my Time Machine cassette album, released in 1987, which was an all-instrumental project (drums, bass, etc.). Later, I recorded a version of this tune with vocals by Mari Steele (later known as Mari Hill) on the Fostex Model 80 (8-track reel-to-reel recorder). That version (called Blue Skies) was recorded in the Summer of 1986 using most of the original instrument parts from my Time Machine album. I wrote the lyrics for the version recorded with Mari Hill. Work on a solo-piano rendition began in 2021 — and it was a BIG challenge. I experimented with a semi-stride accompaniment, but settled on simple Bach-ish figures with closely packed voicings and lots of movement/counterpoint, inspired by the Bach C-minor prelude from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I — which I taught myself to play in college.

Pieces of the Night
This tune was originally written and copyrighted as “Eb major #2.” I recorded a couple versions of this tune on solo-piano in the early 1980s. In 2021, I began revisiting this piece and re-titled it “Pieces of the Night” because the middle section (added in 2021) was my take on a typical Chopin nocturne. Nocturnes were pieces typically played at night, featuring “a cantabile [smooth singing style] melody over an arpeggiated, even guitar-like accompaniment.”

We Just Might
Although I composed this melody sometime in the early 1980s, there was never any recorded version of the tune until recently. I did save a rough, initial lead-sheet and some words way back when. The chorus included the phrase “we just might” — thus the title. I think the melody, music, and emotion in this tune reflect me pretty completely.

Windy Wit
This tune was originally written for a 1987 all-instrumental project where I was hired to create and record music for the SBI Motherwell company. For this tune, the Motherwell company wanted me to create something with the feel/groove of the Whitney Houston song “How Will I Know” which was popular at the time. Rearranging this for solo piano over the past few years was a challenge. I was never a big Whitney Houston fan; the title speaks for itself.

Lady Won’t Dance
This tune was originally written July 10, 1986 for my cassette album “Time Machine” (released in 1987). That album was all instrumental (drums, bass, synths, etc.). There were no words, but the first line of the chorus sounded like “lady won’t dance” to me. I am still pretty proud of the old “all-MIDI” recording of this tune from 1987. I think it’s exceptionally good sounding with a ton of energy. The way music styles “come around and go around,” my old recording actually kinda sounds “new” again — considering the modern techno-pop-dance genre of the past 10 years. Rearranging an energetic piece for solo piano was a huge challenge. I did incorporate many of the motifs and such from the old rendition in the new solo-piano rendition.