Running Away – Timothy Wenzel
Over the last few years, Timothy Wenzel has become one of my favorite New Age Artists. His music is perfect for meditation or my morning or evening yoga. It also just great to have on when I’m reading.
The first of Timothy Wenzel’s albums that I listened to was Summon the Wind. You can read what I wrote a about that album here. Next came Distance Horseman,. For that album click here. Timothy’s 2017 was What We Hold Dear, and while I have listened to the album and enjoyed it, I have not written about it.
So that leads us to Timothy’s new album Running Away.
About Running Away
Running Away is Timothy’s seventh album, comprising twelve tracks of beautiful music ranging from soft and Celtic to more energetic themes. The genre is not just New Age, but rather encompasses Celtic, Americana and Contemporary Instrumental.
Here’s what some folks have said about the album….
Another exercise in the beauty of new age music comes from one of the 21st century’s truly talented and prolific keyboardists/pianists Timothy Wenzel. His latest release Running Away is chock full of charming melodies and runs that are bound to steal your heart and soul in their breathtaking delivery.” Ronald Jackson, The Smooth Jazz Ride.
“Dream of Summer introduced by Josie Quick on violin begins this delicious new album from Timothy Wenzel, Running Away, a piece which sets the scene to ‘run away’ from the cares of everyday life, if only for a while. Each of the songs is vastly different, presenting a wide range of influences…” Janet Mawdesley, Blue Wolf Reviews.
About Timothy Wenzel
One thing that always has amazed me is that music is Wenzel’s second full-time career, Initially, he was research scientist for Union Carbide and Dow Chemical. He has PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry from Cornell University. During his career he was issued about 50 U.S. Patents. Wenzel sees a correlation between his two main passions – science and music. He says.
“Music and Science have always been my two main passions. I see a correlation between them. Scientific research is very much like writing a song. In both cases you start with an idea and then explore the possibilities of where it can lead.”
Wenzel’s primary instrument is the piano. He is also a master of the synthesist and augments the piano parts with a wide variety of instrumental sounds including: violin, cello, flute, woodwinds, harp, guitars, bass, drums and percussion.Additionally, he uses wordless vocalizing of men’s and women’s choirs. And he does it all so well!
The Guests on Running Away
On Running Away Wenzel is joined by several special guest musicians. First and foremost at least for me, is Josie Quick. Ms. Quick plays violin on nine tracks on the album. (She also appeared on the last two albums) Jill Haley an early pioneer of new age music provides English horn and oboe on five tracks. (Note to self check out both Haley and Quick’s other work). In addition to these two great musicians Jeff Haynes provides percussion on five tracks.
More About Running Away....
The title track on “Running Away “ on my Running Away album was inspired by a fantasy that I think many people have” explains Wenzel “the idea of starting a new life escaping from problems and all your stresses, maybe slipping away into another part of the world and creating a different life, just leaving everything behind. The great thing about art such as music is that it can facilitate mental escapism and daydreams”
Wenzel says “Running Away is not a concept album but a collection of musical ideas that I feel can permit one another. However the theme of going to some other place is not only in the Running Away” title tune, but is echoed in “Breaking Free” and “Traveling Light”. Wenzel explains that breaking free is about changing your life for the better getting away from what binds you, making a plan for a change, and then following through with it. The piece “Traveling Light” reflects “the feeling of not being burdened by too much baggage whether it’s suitcases or the emotional stuff we all tote around”
Finally, Wenzel says”On Running Away I enjoyed working with musicians Jill Haley, Jeff Haynes and Josie Quick. as well as, my engineer and co-producer Corin Nelsen, because everyone brought their own special talents, energy and inspiration to the project. The result truly is a team effort with the sum total well beyond the individual parts.”
Final Thoughts and a Video
The Bottom Line is that the end result is a great album that is going to be in my music rotation for a long while.
Links for the Exploration of the Music of Timothy Wenzel
Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
CDBaby
Here’s “Breaking Free from Running Away Enjoy!