Our Time
Eric Chapelle, a Paris-born pianist-keyboardist now based in Austin, Texas, offers a self-released 1998 debut album that delivers a late-'80s New Age flashback, right down to the sunset-on-the-beach cover photo. That may sound like a put-down, but it's not. Uncomplicated, unpretentious, and sincerely played,Our Timepresents a quiet, crescendo-free listening environment designed for reflective occasions. Piano and synthesizer--sometimes played solo, more often intertwined, are the only instruments Chapelle (not to be confused with pianistJim Chappell) includes on the 66-minute disk. Traces ofYanniand improviserMichael Jonesand even faint hints ofBrian Enocan be detected in the album's 14 tracks. Melodies, though, are fleeting in Chapelle's work, meaning that this modest but earnest collection is best regarded as a background diversion. A highlight: the dreamy, slow-building "Enchanted Rock."--Terry Wood