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I spent more time than usual thinking about how to characterize Michael Barden's style of play (it's my job), and concluded that his style is somewhat genre-defying. Because the final cut, I'll Be Home for Christmas is a live improvisational jazz performance with Simon Weller (saxophone) and Larry Schneider (bass), one might surmise that Mr. Barden plays jazz piano. However, the remainder of the CD features contemporary "pop" piano arrangements, but played with the percussive weight, the tempo, and the energy of a barrelhouse bluesman. The result is a catchy, can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it style which sounds more individualized than eclectic. (In other words, I don't know what Michael Barden's musical influences are, but his style is uniquely appealing.)

At any rate, his energetic arrangements won't be mistakenly called "new age". However, they share the positivism of many new age recordings, and the CD, taken as a whole, plays out as thoughtful but optimistic. The first eleven selections are sacred carols, with Mr. Barden's only tip o' the hat to contemporary secularism that final jazz number. But he is able to make his production work, primarily because the carols hang together so well (almost as it were a really, really long medley of popular carols).

If you enjoy listening to contemporary piano stylists, you will enjoy Michael Barden's Glory to the Newborn King.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2002)

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From the liner notes:

Glory to the Newborn King was originally released on cassette in 1994.… At that time, [tracks 1-11] were performed on a Yamaha Disklavier, which is a modern-day "player" piano that can record, store, and replay piano performances using a computer interface. So in that year, the songs were played and recorded and released as the original Glory to the Newborn Kings cassette. A year or two later, those performances were edited to clean up some… mistakes; then, in summer 2002, they were re-recorded, using a disklavier at UW-Stevens Point.… Track 12 comes from a live jazz trio performance at the Hotel Mead in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, on December 15, 2001. The trio consisted of Mile Barden on piano, Simon Weller on saxophone, and Larry Schneider on bass.

Michael Barden, a pianist from central Wisconsin, is also Pastor of Worship at his church in Waupaca, Wisconsin.

Michael Barden

Glory to the Newborn King

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Track List