The Fine Art Of Jazz Piano

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"The genius of G. F. Mlely . . . gives the performance of a lifetime on this solo piano outing, and it is an excellent CD for the jazzlistener.  Re-Entry is solo piano at its best, and this is a magnificent collection of performances by G. F. Mlely!  Five stars." Lee Prosser, Jazzreview.com (for entire review ) 

“G. Francis Mlely’s Re-Entry may be heralding his re-emergence into the tantalizingly perilous world of music.  It could just as easily be talking about a Re-Entry into Earthly experience from a different musical dimension - one that is best explored with an insightful, powerful guide.  Mlely is such a guide, and his Re-Entry clearly harks to a streaming musical dimension.”  Phyllis A. Lodge (co-author McCoy Tyner Autobiography), JazzUSA.com [for entire review] 

"Whether he's playing a standard or an original, Mlely's approach has all the flourish and intensity of a classical pianist with the improvisional surprises of jazz... His compositions are filled with invention and bewitching musical patterns which fit his style well... Very impressive stuff, indeed."  Dave Nathan, All Music Guide.com [for entire review] 

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Titles

*“You ought to hear him.  A two-fisted, ten-fingered player, Mlely has an imagination to match his technique.”  Kirk Silsbee, The Los Angeles Reader, Los Angeles, California

*“As effective a composer as he is a soloist.”  Jim Aiken, Contemporary Keyboard, U.S.A. 

*“An extremely brilliant pianist.”  Serge Loupien, Jazz Magazine, Paris, France.*“Unique, an original, Mlely doesn’t fit easily into any category. . . an eminently comprehensible musician.”  Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California 

*“The influences I hear are hardly commonplace.  I’m impressed.”  John Simon, The Village Voice, New York, New York 

*“Worthy of the exposure granted our greatest players. . . a rich, complex player.”  Michael Fishman, Jazzline, U.S.A. 

"When pianist G. F. Mlely returned to the music scene in 2000, one might easily have wondered if, after a hiatus of nearly twenty years, he still had it.  After all he had quite a successful touring and recording career and a recording, Trio, that was among the top ten jazz albums being played on US radio when personal circumstances caused him to bow out.  How would he sound twenty years later?  Asserting in no small way that he was back, Mlely released "Re-Entry," a daring solo piano recording, proving that not only was his technical ability better than ever, but so was his imagination and creativity. 

"'Re-Entry' consists of a number of standards, as well as some original compositions.  While Mlely's personally-developed harmonic language, called the '8-Tone Quarto-Modes Concept,' is not yet in evidence, he still manages to demonstrate a personal style.  His attack is strong, his ideas audacious; he reinvents the Gershwin staple It Ain't Necessarily So with a broken-up stride on the left hand that makes it more aggressive than normally interpreted.  

"His playing exudes confidence and a sense that, as exploratory as he gets, he always knows where he is going.  Nothing feels left to chance, yet the spirit of improvisation is strong; within the context of compositional structure Mlely takes the tunes to places that often surprise.  Even pieces like Battle Hymn of the Republic, while always keeping the melody near the surface, take unexpected twists and turns.  Mlely is one of the few pianists out there who can extend a solo piano interpretation to seven minutes and maintain interest throughout.  

"But for all his sense of invention, melodic diversions and ability to break up the rhythm while, all the while, implying a strong pulse, Mlely manages to keep things accessible.  This is no 'outside' exploration a la Cecil Taylor; this is a considered investigation into the melodic potential of each piece.  Even on originals like Never Quite Say, with its lightning fast runs and slightly more abstruse changes, Mlely never loses sight of the core of the tune.  

"Since 'Re-Entry,' Mlely has issued two more albums, '88 Keys and Counting' and his first group recording in over twenty years, the 2003 release 'A Little Night Waltz.'  But it is with 'Re-Entry' that Mlely established that he was back on the scene, ready to take no prisoners.  It is an inventive and passionate album that deserves to expose Mlely to a broader audience."  

Purchase CD

Re-Entry available also at CDBaby     http://www.cdbaby.com/gfmlely and at  Amazon.com

"Mlely shows great depth of sensitivity, imagination, and technique skills in this collection. This is a standout jazz pianist who shines in everything he plays, such as the incredible, sytlish treatment he bestows upon Battle Hymn Of The Republic.  He has four of his own jazz songs which he plays with imagination and verve: Words We Say, Fat Butterfly, Threnody For An Unborn Child, and Never Quite Say. 

"And for a special treat, give a listen to what Mlely does with George Gershwin's It Ain't Necessarily So and Bess, You Is My Woman," two surefire hits for any season, performed with brilliance. Very nice renditions, very! 

"Secret Love is a pleasure to listen to as well.  Cole Porter's All Of You is beautifully expressed, with Mlely infusing the standard with new fire and emotion! The ghosts of Cole Porter and George Gershwin must be sitting together in the audience enjoying the genius of G. F. Mlely interpreting their songs with such class! 

"G. F. Mlely gives the performance of a lifetime on this solo piano outing, and it is an excellent CD for the jazzlistener.  RE-ENTRY is solo piano at its best, and this is a magnificent collection of performances by G. F. Mlely!  Five stars." 

Purchase CD

Re-Entry available also at CDBaby     http://www.cdbaby.com/gfmlely and at  Amazon.com

“Re-Entry is pianist G. Francis Mlely’s answer to the doctors who told him that the wrist injury he sustained some years back would hamper his former playing ability.  Call it a testimonial to the power of Mlely’s musical will. 

"To paraphrase the title of a Monk classic, Mlely’s piano is powerfully ‘on minor.’  The CD notes call him two-fisted.  I hear a spirit that is initially somber, like twilight, with a brightly complex delivery.  That complexity involves rather than puts off the listener.  He is as clear as a bell.  Mlely walks the keyboard and strums it like a harp.  He rolls it around in your ear like a bluesy summer evening after you’ve had that tasty meal, and just before you nod off on the front porch.  Opening with It Ain’t Necessarily So, Mlely moves through the Gershwin classic like the expressive ambling of a deep thinker who triumphs over life. 

"Battle Hymn of the Republic is positively refreshing.  The pianist’s hands converse with one another in animated, musical dialog.  They maintain a gentle rapport between his creative impressions and the resultant outpourings of musical expression.  Battle Hymn floats on a cloud rather than sloshes through trenches.  Then Mlely carousels into a delightful original entitled Never Quite Say.  This is the beauty of solo piano.  It can be highly satisfying for the listener, because one experiences an unobstructed bird’s eye view of the pianist’s artistic spirit at the keyboard. 

"Threnody For An Unborn Child is a shining example of this.  Mlely’s treatment of this original is a quiescent, assured anticipation of a beautiful spirit, and he closes the number with a series of triumphant, climactic chords of jubilant welcome.  When he follows up with a very modest, calming version of Bess, You Is My Woman Now, it falls softly into perfect formation.  Classics challenge the artist to distinguish their musical fingerprint after plunging into an abyss of countless others who have ‘been there’ and ‘said that.’  After stating Bess... exquisitely, Mlely charms us with the classic, Secret Love.  By now, Mlely’s style is in our heads as he plunges into an original, Fat Butterfly.  Distinctive as its title, and equally as magical, Fat Butterfly snagged my ear.  Mlely then follows up with All Of You, which rings in warm, robust tones. 

"Mlely closes with a final original, Words We Say.  It is a proudly executed number that Mlely handles with the bridled passion of a seasoned charioteer.  He respects the emotional forces of his personal expression as he allows it to roam.  And yet, he has a firm grip on the reins.  Mlely allows the listener into his experience, into his musical garden. 

"G. Francis Mlely’s Re-Entry may be heralding his re-emergence into the tantalizingly perilous world of music.  It could just as easily be talking about a Re-Entry into Earthly experience from a different musical dimension - one that is best explored with an insightful, powerful guide.  Mlely is such a guide, and his Re-Entry clearly harks to a streaming musical dimension.”

Purchase CD

Re-Entry available also at CDBaby     http://www.cdbaby.com/gfmlely and at  Amazon.com

"Hawaii resident G. F. Mlely has been blessed with various artistic talents.  In addition to pianist and composer, he is an educator, essayist and author.  He also overcame a serious accident which threatened to end his career as a pianist.  Thus the title Re-Entry for his first album, a return to the performing art. 

"Whether he's playing a standard or an original, Mlely's approach has all the flourish and intensity of a classical pianist with the improvisional surprises of jazz.  He gets a very different sound from the instrument.  Bass lines aren't as prominent as he spends a lot of time at the higher end of the keyboard (or maybe it's the way he has his piano tuned).  In addition, he has a unique way of moving back and forth between the stated melody and his own improvisational ideas.  Listen to his rendition of Battle Hymn of the Republic which has the undulations of a mazurka and, if you listen very closely, a bit of ragtime, as well as other rhythmic commentaries. 

"His compositions are filled with invention and bewitching musical patterns which fit his style well.  Abrupt tempo changes pervade Words We Say, building tension and then allowing its release.   Never Quite Say has the left hand repeating chords at which the right hand hurls all sorts of swirling, dazzling runs and arpeggios.  Very impressive stuff, indeed. 

"The standards also are the recipients of Mlely's nonstop, expressive style, including a captivating All of You. It Ain't Necessarily So is done at a slower, almost dirge like, pace than one usually hears it, again with the right hand bearing the brunt.   This album displays a high level of virtuosity and is recommended." 

Purchase CD

Re-Entry available also at CDBaby     http://www.cdbaby.com/gfmlely and at  Amazon.com

and at

LINER NOTES

Amidst a concert tour of Europe in the 1980s, G. Francis Mlely is suddenly called back to the United States to take care of his son, Donovan Derry, the boy’s mother having died.  Quitting professional music, Mlely moves to rural California where father and son live for several years beside the Tuolumne River near Yosemite National Park.  So far out into the country, in fact, that Donovan goes to an elementary school in a building that contains all eight grades in its one room.    

When Donovan grows and finally leaves home to be on his own, Mlely moves to Los Angeles.  There he strives to get back into professional music, beginning with songs, writing words and music as well as ghost-writing for other writers.  Among Mlely’s industry credits during this period is the lyric and music for Was She Really There? sung by Phil Perry on Freddie Hubbard’s multi-charted Blue Note release, “Times Are Changing.”  The album goes to #1 in “Radio and Records” and #15 in “Billboard.”  Also during this period is his lyric and music for I Think (That’s How I Feel) on The Cunninghams’ Grammy-nominated Discovery release “Strings and Swing.”    

But, there are more unexpected difficulties and additional delays in his career.  An avid bicyclist and wilderness hiker, within a 2-year stretch he breaks his left hip, breaks his left knee, and, most significantly, breaks his right wrist, requiring several years of healing.  Worse for his morale are the doctors’ prognoses that he cannot expect the wrist to return to its former shape well enough to perform professionally again on piano.    

Mlely sets out to prove the doctors wrong.  He moves to Hawaii to heal, and he moves there to marry his former sweetheart and one-time fiancée, Billie Jean.  He makes some precipitate performance forays out into the public.  With persistence, though, developing special re-training techniques, he slowly combats the recurring disabilities, daily exercising for hours at home.     

Francis then produces a 13-part video series for television, “Jazz Piano with G. F. Mlely,” wherein he discusses and demonstrates “the art and craft of jazz piano.”  After listening to this album, I think you will agree that Francis Mlely has in deeds proven the doctors wrong.  

William Rocker, Producer 

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