Thoughtful patterns Music played by Corey Jane Holt, reviewed by PATRIC STANDFORD Blue Pearl

Corey Jane Holt is undoubtedly a dynamic pianist, and there are moments among these eleven tracks when her proficiency is matched by the quality of work the composers have provided for her, but there are many weary passages of patterning attractive enough but with very little musically worth saying.

Among the best of it all might be the thoughtful patterns and rather vacant minimalism of Robert C Constable's Recursions, the most substantial work on the disc and one that is spread over six movements ranging from contemplative designs [listen -- track 2, 0:00-0:56] to empty sequences [listen -- track 5, 0:01-1:00].

There are two pieces that involve tape with the piano: Hideko Kawamoto's After the Summer Rain for amplified piano and two-channel tape; and Paul Reller's Executive Outcomes. Paul Reller is also there with Corey Jane's Polka Madness which, like David W Rogers's Florida Suite for piano and percussion, seems to provide an unremitting series of energetic but hollow events [listen -- track 9, 4:44-5:24].

There is some angry virtuoso modernism in Greg Boardman's Monolog 3 which does at least seem to suggest that Corey Jane is worth a better repertoire [listen -- track 11, 0:01-0:59].

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Record Box is Music & Vision's regular series of shorter CD reviews