Alan Pasqua has long been a quietly powerful force in jazz — a pianist, composer, educator, and collaborator whose artistry has touched everything from jazz fusion and classical to pop, rock, and film. With New Hope, his latest solo piano album released via Blue Canoe Records, Pasqua strips away every layer except one: the pure sound of a master at the keys, playing exactly what he feels.
New Hope is not a concept album or a technical showcase. It’s a deeply personal meditation — reflective, spacious, and unhurried. “This is simply the music I wanted to make right now,” Pasqua explains. In that understatement lies the essence of the record. Recorded with the intimacy and clarity that only solo piano allows, the album invites listeners into the artist’s creative space, where melody, memory, and emotion all speak through the same voice.
A Steinway Artist, Grammy nominee, and Professor of Jazz Studies at USC’s Thornton School of Music, Pasqua brings a lifetime of musical experience to this recording. The album features original compositions — the hopeful title track “New Hope,” the contemplative “Agrodolce,” the lyrical “The Folks,” and the meditative “Contemplation” — all delivered with Pasqua’s trademark restraint and sensitivity.
Interwoven with these originals are intimate reinterpretations of beloved jazz standards: “There’s a Small Hotel,” “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” “Lullaby of Birdland,” and Ellington’s haunting “Star Crossed Lovers.” In each, Pasqua finds fresh emotional depth without ever straying from their essence.
Pasqua’s musical résumé is vast — from playing with Tony Williams at Carnegie Hall to recording with Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Elton John, from co-composing the CBS Evening News theme to crafting improvisations for Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. His versatility is legendary, but New Hope stands out for its vulnerability. It’s just Pasqua, a piano, and the truth of the moment.
This release follows a string of critically acclaimed solo and ensemble albums including Twin Bill, Northern Lights, Day Dream, and the Grammy-nominated Standards with Peter Erskine and Dave Carpenter. But New Hope feels like a quiet turning point — a return to the center.
In a world of noise and spectacle, Alan Pasqua has offered something rare: stillness, honesty, and profound musical intimacy.
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