Patrick Moraz

Granted, Moraz's liner notes for "Windows of Time" have the whacked-out content and print quality of religious pamphlets left on bus station benches. But don't let the nutter packaging put you off the fine music inside. It's essentially an hour-long piano improvisation by Moraz, divided rather loosely into three suites, and interrupted solely by an occasional bloodcurdling whoop from the pianist. Some pieces work well, like the charging "Invocation," and while others dissolve into dissonant noodling. In the end, though, they all flow together in Moraz's inimitable fusion of dark Romanticism and bright Brazilian dance rhythms. He even briefly revisits two of his own classics, "The Best Years of Our Lives" and a renamed "Kaaru." For fans of his piano work -- and it's this work that has aged best out of his back catalog -- this an album well worth seeking out. ~ Paul Collins, All Music Guide