Doug Riley

Doug Riley : Dreams.

PMR-007, 1976.

Doug Riley; Accoustic and electric pianos.

Michael Stuart; Tenor and soprano saxophones.

Don Thompson; Accoustic bass.

Claude Ranger; Drums.

Yet another beautiful album from the PM vaults :-

"Riley was born in Toronto April 12, 1945 and started studying classical piano at age 3. By 1958, he came under the influence of Hungarian classical pianist Paul de Marky, who had been Oscar Paterson's teacher. Studies saw Riley at the University of Toronto where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music. He has written 3 ballets for the National Ballet of Canada, arranged an album for Ray Charles, scored 6 feature fi Ims, and played piano and arranged for Dianne Brooks, Gordon Lightfoot, Moe Koffman, Sonny Greenwich and Dr. Music. Musically, Riley is moody, poetic, humourous, multi-colored, religious, defiant and most of all rich. He is a thorough investigator of the musical language whether in a romantic or Post-Coltrane bag."

Of the young Canadians presented by Perla, none is more impressive than keyboardist Doug Riley.

His improvisations are emotionally moving, structurally complex and technically sophisticated. Riley’s format for the group balances taut ensembles and open-ended improvisations.

In sum, the success of their voyage through the perilous waters of extended spontaneous composition is one more indication of the depth of their musicianship.
Chuck Berg, Down Beat