Short Reviews [Pat Strawser - 2024 - "Memories of Roosterville"]

It was through pure chance that Pat and I came into contact again, decades after I had reviewed his band Volare, when I was asked to review an album on which he appeared. Since then I have reviewed his last solo album (2023’s ‘Vignettes’), the latest from French TV where is a member, and now he is back with another solo instrumental release. Apparently, this album is looking back to a period when Pat and his family lived in an old farmhouse in the small west Georgia community of Roosterville, which allowed him to get away from the world and to prepare for what was to come next. This is mostly Pat, although there is a drummer on a few tracks, and he has multi-layered keyboards to create something which at times feels very Canterbury, is at others more full-on jazz and yet others where he is moving into more eclectic areas of keyboards. The music can be complex and complicated, in your face and dynamic, or it can be more laid-back with restraint and control. One of the real positives about this release is one never knows exactly which way it is going to go as it can be powering one second and then almost loungecore the next, soft jazz giving way to something far more dramatic. One thing that does stay a constant, however, is a feeling of beauty and adoration which permeates everything. The cover, a chair in a field looking over a scene with mist in the distance, definitely captures the feelings coming out of the music as this is a delight. They say it is darkest just before the dawn, and to my ears “Darkest Hour” is about the time when the world is slowly coming to life with the birds reminding us of our links to nature and how important it is for all of us to live in harmony with each other. The piano is wonderful, and the result of the layers and harmonies is to deliver something quite special indeed. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album which only gets better the more it is played.