Chad Lawson is a fabulous, award-winning pianist and composer that is so multi-talented that he earned more awards that most people would even dream of. This composer wishes that he could get one award let alone the amount of awards this Chopin pianist has won in his career. His accolades include holding acclaim the popularity of over seven albums (including two Chopin albums featuring so many of his famous preludes). He has toured extensively with artists such as Enrique Iglesias as a keyboardist. He even debuted on several jazz artist’s albums in the nineties.
He has a 32 minute single entitled “Song of Prayer” that is chalked full of improvisational riffs that are set to take you on a wild ride. It is very eloquent and silvery in its delivery with plenty of runs to keep the hands busy for quite a while. It’s length is another thing that makes the piece stand out. Who would have thought about a 32 minute single, but think back to many of Beethoven’s middle works. Much of these were 30 or 35 minutes long per movement. The piece starts out with sustained G major 7th and 9th chords very softly played and skillfully laid out for the listener to meditate to. These chords (ending in a D major add 2) add a modern river of life and hope to all of those struggling with various plagues in life. There is even a youtube video that has him playing the whole song. This song is dubbed as him playing the beauty that was all that is on his heart. The way his hands move in the middle section (the G sounding section) is really beautiful and graceful and it sounds like flowing water. It is a breath of fresh air to take one away from depression and all the troubles of the world. This is why most of us who are in music get into it in the first place. If you’re looking for a piece to play to bring people to their feet and for a challenge, put this song on your playlist and in your repertoire.
