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Inspired by the classic piano improvisation albums by Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, in late 2018 pianist Jeremy Hatch decided to start a Patreon where he releases three to four piano improvisations every month. He has collected the pieces released during the first several months of the Patreon to make Piano Improvisations, Vol. 1 (out March 1st, 2019). The title is an homage to the classic Corea album of the same name, but it’s also a promise of more volumes to come.
Jeremy recently relocated from the heart of Oakland, California to a suburban part of Portland, Oregon, and the dramatic change of scene and weather was a surprisingly big factor in the creation of these pieces. “The first track on the album is called ‘Rainy Day,’ and the mood of that track, the contemplative quality of a quiet rainy afternoon in a quiet part of the world, runs through all these pieces,” he says. “There is a lot of music inspired by nature on the album too. Since we moved here, my wife and I have spent a lot of time hiking on the trails near our new home and out in the Columbia River Gorge, and a number of these pieces, like ‘Yellow Leaves’ and ‘Waterfall Trail,’ were inspired by the sights and sounds of those weekends.”
The weekly challenge was really inspiring even though the initial audience for these pieces consisted of just a couple very close friends and relatives, and the amount of money involved was very small. “It amounts to less than a dinner out,” he says. “But just having a few dollars involved changed it into something more serious for me — I suddenly felt that I was on the hook to produce on the schedule I’d set, so I started making it happen week after week. The entire existence of this album is due to the support of my two first Patreon supporters.”