"Pianomania represents that moment in time when a musician reaches a point when experience and vision intersect and the music takes control."
-CD Baby review. Hear mp3s and more Click Here!

"The Midas touch...and Fantasia,(track 9), is cosmic!"
-Chris Cooke: KIOS-FM. Hear the interview: Click Here!

NEW! Pianomania review by Mark E. Gallo from JazzReview.com:

This is a strong compositional and performance calling card for New York City-based pianist Serrato and his trio, bassist Hill Green, and conga player Henry Morales. From the musical landscape glimpsed in the evocative “Urbanicity,” it is apparent that Serrato has full command of his instrument.

The busy and hip picture painted here sets the tone for the nine pieces that follow it. Following the lush “No Return,” the pianist and his mates lash into the percussive “Flashback,” on which Hill unleashes dazzling arco work and Morales serves as driving force with Serrato weaving elements of Michel Camilo and Chucho Valdes into his riveting performance.

With Green’s arco sounding as sonorous as a cello and serving as intro, “Kroma” shifts in tempo and timbre. Serrato lays back more here than elsewhere, giving his band mates more room for stretching. “Nighthawks” is a standout. A bluesy piece with a dramatic flair, it is one that impresses for its deep reservoir of ideas and exquisite touch.

“Samba Cuisani” has the sweep of a cinematic piece, while “Fantasia” steps out of character with Serrato playing a Roland that sounds at times like a toy piano awash in a sea of muted electronics. The closing “Traces” reminds of Bill Evans at times, though with more swing.

Serrato has been playing professionally since the 1960s. He is well regarded among the cognoscenti, but his reputation is not as broad as it deserves to be. He is simply a monster player with chops to spare. Very highly recommended fans of superb, adventurous piano.

Copyright© 2008 JazzReview.com®

PIANOMANIA HITS JAPAN!

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About Pianomania:

Pianomania is the piano as storyteller, inspired by the muse of New York, itself a city of perennial improvisation and mood swings. The program presents Paul's compositions composed and recomposed. Drawing on a time honored tradition in jazz, he "reimagines" his pieces over time, "tinkering," as he puts it. This is how he describes his creative as, “sitting down at the piano and letting ideas flow through the fingers…have faith that something tempting will eventually present itself in the emergence of a musical idea.”The piano legacies Paul draws on are diverse. Aspects of the Bud Powell spirit can b e heard in “Urbanicity” and “Nighthawks” (“Un Poco Loco” and “Dry Soul” are two of his particular favorites.) Flashback calls to mind some of Eddie Palmieri's Spanish flights, as does No Return. But, ultimately, the point is to let you, the listener's imagination, loose to reap the final rewards of this indelible set of pieces and performances.

Accompanying musicians include Hill Green, recently returned from a tour with Little Jimmy Scott when these sessions began. In addition to the traditional bass man's role, he's heard coaxing his strings into surprising bursts of expression, particularly in “Flashback” and “Kroma.” Henry Morales, (himself having returned from a tour with Jimmy Bosch), shares his deep knowledge and experience of the congas to provide the rich variety of rhythms that give Pianomania its urban drive and spirit.

Ask where Paul Serrato is playing and one answer you're likely to get is "on the radio." After more than a decade of releasing and distributing his music on his indie Graffiti Productions label, he has built up a strong and devoted fan base among jazz listeners across the country. Astute viewers have heard tracks from his label's releases on a panoply of television shows.

You are invited to enjoy this energetic exploration of the traditional combo that is lovingly infused by ethnic rhythms and urban interpretations.
Listen carefully and you will indeed hear the biography of Paul Serrato.

To listen to tracks or to purchase click here!

Click here to go to mp3 page with Paul's September 9, 2007 Pianomania interview by Marc E. Copeland of WFDU-FM New Jersey!