An album of piano music composed and performed by John Crosby

RICHARD CROSBY

By the Waters of Memory

Navona NV 6598

3 stars

By John Evans

An album of music performed by its composer who also produced the recording is, surely, not a recipe for excellence. Where's the impartial voice questioning the quality of what is being performed and recorded? That was the question on my mind when listening to this music by composer/pianist (and recording session producer) Richard Crosby.

An educator and an academic, Crosby has written much music over the years. Some of it features on this album, on which he's joined by instrumentalists and fellow teachers Sila Darville (viola), Nathan Jasinski (cello) and Julie Smith (oboe).

There are some good pieces here that showcase Crosby's unique style and his grasp of a wide array of musical forms and instrumental partnerships (the interplay between piano and soloist on Four Latin Dances for Oboe and Piano is a case in point). However, the performances are occasionally spoiled by Crosby's often dull and lifeless playing, as well as by some discreet, technical slip-ups. A bolder and more ambitious pianist and, one suspects, an independent session producer, would have done this album wonders.