Autumn
The precursor to 1982's commercial breakthrough,December, George Winston's 1980 Windham Hill debut boasts all the lyrical power and poignancy of its follow-up. A simple, clear recording for solo piano,Autumnfinds Winston developing simple melodic motifs with studied left-hand underpinning, on hypnotic pieces like "Woods," which moves from a brisk rhythmic figure torubatominor-key runs. Leaving pauses and breaths in all the right places, Winston suggests the play of color and light, the comfortable melancholy, and the encroaching slow-down that characterizes the fall season. Full of memorable themes, sure pacing, and whiffs of classical grandeur,Autumnis a timeless album that belongs to the firmament of the new age canon.--James Rotondi