Pearce, Jeff

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2020
Twenty years ago, I released an album that very few people heard. It was originally a cd-r of songs that i had composed for a concert I played in June of 2000, at the Gatherings Concert Series in Philadelphia, PA. That was my second appearance there, my previous being in February of 1999. I wanted to not only create a new set of music to play for those in attendance, but also have something they could take home with them at the end of the evening, featuring the music they'd just heard.
Over the years, I've received inquiries as to whether or not I might do an official release of "Songs for the Gathering", and until recently, I'd not considered it. But given the perspective brought by 20 years of distance, I can hear not only previews of where I would eventually head on my ambient guitar path, but also a couple of songs that were the only ones of their kind in my catalog- like "An Isle", which still remains one of the most enjoyable songs for me to play in a live setting.

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2016
Follow the River Home is the 2016 album from Jeff Pearce, continuing in the ambient guitar style of his award-winning album, With Evening Above. The enveloping compositions on Follow the River Home were all created with just electric guitar and complex signal processing.

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2017
Over the years, I've told many people that I could not live in a place where it was the same "season" all year around- that I need to be some place where all four seasons can be experienced in their entirety. Unlike many people, however, my favorite seasons have always been fall and winter; the "shorter" days, the longer shadows and the colder weather- there is a hidden beauty in the slow fading of autumn, and in the blanketed landscapes of winter, with moonlight on snow being the definition of "natural beauty", for me.
The music on this album are all songs from the darker seasons of Autumn and Winter, written from late Autumn 2016 to the heart of Winter 2017.

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2020
In May of 2020, I was scheduled to play a concert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Gatherings Concert Series. Because of the pandemic, however, it was cancelled. Playing a Gathering concert is always a treat for me, and I wondered what I could do for the audience who would be missing the show? Making a live video seemed like the most obvious answer- with the added bonus that anyone with an internet connection could watch it. But as the weeks went by, and things became worse worldwide, it seemed less important for me to “play a set” than it was to provide some much needed peace- for my audience, and for myself. In that moment, I thought about all those messages, and all the comments about “The Hidden Rift” and “To the Shores of Heaven”. So I created an hour long set of music, using sounds and tones from those two albums, but creating new music with them. The concert video, which I titled “Hidden Shores”, is available to view on my website and on YouTube. What is here on disc one is a little different than what is in the video, in that there are four distinct songs on the CD, as opposed to the one, long piece featured on the video. Disc Two of this set, “Empty Beach”, is a live set that was created for the Star’s End radio program, also in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the past, when I’ve been in Philadelphia to play a Gathering concert, i would always follow that with a trip to WXPN to play a live, on-the-air set for Star’s End. Of course, with the May Gathering show being cancelled, the Star’s End set was as well. Still- I wanted to do something for the Star’s End listeners, so I did exactly what I would have done after a Gathering Concert: I used elements of that concert, reworked in different ways, for an improvised Star’s End show. During “A Memory for the Tide”, I felt a strange “pull” toward a direction I’d not really explored before- and I’m glad I didn’t fight it, because the song “Empty Beach” might be the most peaceful long-form song I’ve ever created.
 

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2022
"In Late Summer" concludes the seasonal "in home" live recordings that started with "In Winter" in January of 2021. It seemed a good idea to bring the final release in this series full circle; like “In Winter”, “In Late Summer” is performed entirely on electric guitar (except for “What Summer Leaves Behind”, which is performed on an acoustic guitar, but more on that in a bit).  Unlike the previous seasonal releases, "In Late Summer" is not an EP, but a full album. And it's the first of any album I've released to feature the beautiful photography of my daughter, Thalia, on the cover.
 

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2012
In July 2011 Jeff Pearce has created together with his wife Anastasia a year-long project entitled "Provision Series". During this period Jeff was releasing each month one digital download single with donations to a different charity each month. A truly applauded project of this wonderful person and musician, and his family!!! "In The Season Of Fading Light" CD, packaged in beautiful 4-panel disc eco wallet, was released at the beginning of September 2012 on Jeff Pearce Music and features all 12 singles plus one unreleased track. The album again showcases Jeff's humanitarian dimension, because one dollar of each sold CD is donated to Feeding America. Mostly based on filigree piano performance, the album has a very strong evocative and nostalgic feel and showcase that Jeff Pearce is not only an ambient guitar genius, but also a very accomplished piano player. The portfolio of 13 tracks on the album is quite diverse even if the piano is the leading instrument, but we can hear here and there also peaceful guitar ambience, Jeff's indisputable trademark, along with few tranquil field recordings. The whole album is stunningly beautiful and intimate, with compositions ranging from more serene reveries, through those evoking long forgotten memories to those possessing more euphoric and melodic feel. Quietly meandering, title and opening piece "In The Season Of Fading Light", wonderfully merges sparse reflective piano lead with clouded ethereal guitar washes. Absolutely gorgeous intro!!! "Autumn And Regret II" is hauntingly joyful piano piece and reworked version from the remarkable "Bleed" album, one of my fave albums by Jeff Pearce. "Where All Rivers Begin" and "Harvest Prayer" (the only unreleased composition) masterfully incorporate into expressive piano textures intriguing and absorbing moments of silence. Tranquilly intimate piano on "A Secret For The Moon" with occasional distant dreamy washes is another standout piece!!! "After The Frost" captivates with sorrowful piano, which is later accompanied by immersing electric guitar played by the ebow. Solo piano on "Newfallen" and "Winter Waltz" has a very strong cinematic feel, on the later piece is joined by longing guitar ambience. Without any doubt, both these compositions are pure masterpieces!!! "Almost The Moon II" is another reshaped piano version, this time from "Lingering Light" CD, a beautifully reflective piece. The next composition, "Into Spring", returns to more uplifting mood. "Words From The Rain" are created by heartwarming piano soundscape delicately blanketed by tranquilizing rainy sounds. Pure aural bliss!!! "The Road And The Wind" is again more active while the closing and beautifully entitled "Where All Rivers End" bridges deeply evocative and ruminative piano with gracefully soaring guitar texture. A grand finale and soothing elixir for my ears!!! "In The Season Of Fading Light", 11th solo album by Jeff Pearce, paints hauntingly contemplative sonic landscapes, precisely displayed also by utterly gorgeous cover image by digital art designer Teodora Chinde from Romania. Additional awards also go to Corin Nelsen, Grammy Award winning producer and engineer for the mastering, to Mike Griffin of Hypnos for the graphic design as well as to Philip Aaberg, renowned pianist and composer (recorded for Windham Hill Records), for his lessons. Another amazingly introspective and enchantingly immersing work by Jeff Pearce!!!

Richard Gürtler (Dec 28, 2012, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2005
"Lingering Light" is a recording from award winning ambient musician Jeff Pearce. Unlike his previous releases featuring processed electric guitars, the music on "Lingering Light" was written and performed on the Chapman Stick (R). Music for contemplation and reflection.

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2023
"Only the Stars Remain" consists of three songs created around my trip to the Philadelphia area in mid-May 2023. I was headed there to play three concerts, and I did a lot of rehearsal recordings in the weeks before the trip. Two of those songs are on this album. I also wrote one song on the way home, and that is on here as well.

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2020
This album consists of my live performance on the Star's End radio program in October of 2017. As with all of my previous live shows on Star's End, my set was improvised, beginning to end.
In the case of this set, however, I used some nature elements to ease the transitions from one part of the set to the other, and i found this incredibly satisfying from an improvisation point of view; the music i create in my home studio is often informed by the presence, outside my house, of the sound of birds, the rain, and a stream that runs through my property. It was nice to have a few of those elements to incorporate into my live improvisation, and these elements can be heard on the first track "Forest Afternoon".
The second song, "Path to Returning", is a gentle and spacious exploration featuring some long delay loops. What i most remember about this piece was how it really didn't have a defined direction for quite a while- and how good that felt; I was just looking for a path to follow, but was enjoying the "audio scenery" until one presented itself.

Artist: Jeff Pearce
P: 2008
Overall Rainshadow Sky has an exceptionally meditative and contemplative feel. Tracks such as "Autumn Clouds" and "The Last Warm Day in October" have the ability very easily take the listener to many inner worlds with repeated listening. There are even some overtly moody and melancholy songs such as "Sorrow in Spring", "Hope's Last Whisper", and "Through Tears" which, at first reading of the titles, sound like they might be real downers but these songs are so achingly and attractively beautiful that they seem to express a very perceptible sense of healing in the face of suffering.
The album is played "live," taken from a series of "house concerts" Jeff played in 2007 and 2008; however, the music was recorded directly into his computer, so there are no "audience sounds" (e.g., people coughing, shifting around in their chairs, etc.), and we are getting the "best of both worlds" (i.e., "live," and "studio").
Amazingly, there are no overdubs; Jeff plays everything on his "Chapman Stick" (see: www.stick.com for info), which looks somewhat like a guitar fretboard, but can produce an amazing array of sounds (indluding "drums"!).
The compositions on the album are too diverse to simply "categorize": some pieces are soft, almost "solo guitar" pieces (reminiscent of early Windham Hill), whereas other pieces (such as the wonderful title piece, my favorite) create a darkened, yet gentle ambiance suggestive of, well, the cover photo: Thick, yet not ominous, clouds, overlooking an immense open landscape.