Roger Dean - Multi-Piano: 1978-2012

It’s a rare thing to be able to showcase a performer’s work over a forty-year period.

This 2-CD set does just that. Roger Dean has had a serious career in improvisation, ranging from his performances over that time to his books written on the subject. This pair of CDs contains some of his best work since 1978 on his main instrument, the piano. The music shows the depth and breadth of his musical interests, and the skill he brings to performing. One can also see how he has re-invented himself musically over that period, during which he has also re-invented his professional working life, from running a heart research institute, to becoming a university vice-chancellor, to his current university research.

Dean opines that this release was inspired by the ground-breaking set of CDs Tall Poppies released in the early 90s of the improvisations of the late Roger Frampton. In this 21st year of Tall Poppies, it feels somewhat like a coming of age, when a project from the beginning inspires a new project a couple of decades later.