The music of award-winning composer Paul Reale has a truly authentic American voice: eclectic in its cultural references and having a respect for tradition, but with a knife-sharp edge that keeps listeners alert. This collection of piano pieces represents the widest possible variety in his catalog chosen together with soloist John Jensen, a pianist with whom Reale has worked for most of his life and considers his ideal interpreter. Atmospheres of jazz infused bar-life, Piazzolla’s tangos and a comic pastiche on Beethoven contrast with the dark and austere Stroke of Midnight, the chiming bells of which confront the harsh realities of mortality.