In a recording career spanning over 20 years, Peter Kater has typically displayed his talents in duo or ensemble settings (smooth jazz, Native American, New Age, world), so it's a little surprising to note that Piano is only his third recording of piano solos. An additional, welcome surprise is the potency of his playing. A vibrant, even vigorous production, Piano offers a fresh view of Kater's creative instincts, revealing not just pastels and sunset hues, but bold swaths of color and a broad dynamic palette--all coalescing into an expressive blend of energy and elegance. Kater's compositions (some, from past ensemble recordings, recast here as solo works) are thoughtful and complex, and at times are so note-dense that you may yearn for more breathing space. ("Espresso," for instance, is aptly named.) Yet the effect, ultimately, is elevating, particularly on the disc's attractive first five pieces--tracks that succeed first as think-pieces, later as mood-setters. Kater even slips in a few bars of blues into "Anthem" and "Fool and the Hummingbird," sly winks to the reduced-saccharine ambitions of Piano. The result is an earnest, full-bodied release, one that earned Kater his second straight Grammy nomination (following 2003's Red Moon). --Terry Wood
