Sounds Like: George Winston
In a world ruled by the forces of musically shallow pop songs and four chord punk bands, one woman and her piano will stand up for the beauty of traditional ragtime and jazz. That woman is Deborrah Wyndham.
"It works to my advantage that a lot of people aren't doing the kind of music I am doing," Wyndham said. "Ragtime and jazz are kind of becoming a lost art. Instrumental piano on its own is becoming a lost art."
Wyndham has been playing piano for 24 years, and professionally for 11. She's released two albums — a collection of ‘30s and ‘40s pop music covers called Tenderly and another five-song collection of her own compositions called Piano Compositions. She's currently poised to release another album, titled The Beginning.
But don't let the jazz/ragtime label fool you into thinking you can listen to Wyndham's compositions during a study session.
"You can listen to it as background music, but it's designed to put a demand on the listener," Wyndham said. "It's not your typical massage music — there's a lot going on, and that's why it sounds classical at times. There's a lot of fast and slow dynamic to it."
While she admits that her music appeals to a primarily older audience, Wyndham says she'll also at times find it catering to an audience of college students.
"I want to do it, because I love it and I want to inspire kids to see that it's an option," Wyndham said. "It's something different that they can do. I think a lot of younger people are surrounded by pop, hard rock and heavy metal. I think that they want to balance that. I've met a lot of metal heads who admit to listening to Jewel or something like that."
Wyndham's upcoming album will include the five tracks featured on Piano Compositions, while also providing nine additional tracks. It was recorded at Family Piano Co. in Waukegan, Ill., and is slated for a release between mid-September and early October.
