Greg Mills' Piano is a Kurzweil PC-88."Inside Piano" is a Steinway baby grand. These track are recorded live performances with overdubs done live, in one take.
Sonata For 2 Pianos
1. Fanfares For The Uncommon Man (2:02)
2. Etude Fantastique (1:07)
3. BerSeuss (3:04)
4. Enclaves (2:24)
5. Klavierstucke I (10:26)
6. Blue Oktober (5:29)
Suite For 3 Pianos
7. Spiral Ascent (2:04)
8. Formation I (3:36)
9. Attack! (1:52)
10.Formation II (2:16)
11.Klavierstucke II (3:24)
12. Secret Passages (2:03)
13. Bursts Of Central Command (2:19)
14. Arcs/Arks (1:58)
15. Tactical Textures (1:14)
16. Formation III (4:33)
17. Epilogue For 4 Pianos (1:37)
Total time: 51:37
All music by Greg Mills
Recorded and mixed at Krazy Kat Studio:
Jay Zelenka, engineer. 1998
Cover art: H. Annie Ortbals
Design: Tony Patti
Produced by: JZ & Freedonia Music
© (P) 2006 Freedonia Music
"Blue Oktober presents a set of 11 pieces that explore various properties of the piano. On the three pieces for multiple pianos, Mills has recorded an improvisation then overdubbed the remaining pianos on top of that. It creates an impressive, dense web of music with sounds passages colliding and careening nimbly off each other. The title track explores the inside of the piano. He also appears to be using a cymbal (or gong) with a bow placed inside or near the piano to get rich resonating textures. 'Formation III' also uses percussion but here it's overdubbed. On the solo pieces Mills demonstrates a technical mastery of the keyboard as well as two-fisted rhythmic drive. All in all Blue Oktober is an impressive recording of contemporary Piano music that straddles the line between free jazz and contemporary classical piano music. But it sells neither element short." --Robert Iannapollo, Cadence, Oct 2007
Pianist Greg Mills is into something here. Deriving influences from classicists, Stockhousen, Ives and others, he also intermixes elements of free-jazz piano great Cecil Taylor's aura into these relatively brief works. So, its a hybrid classical-jazz improvisation fest recorded live...the pieces tend to weave into a complex story line... And its largely about a continuous state of musical construction amid a few jarring meltdowns here and there...a ritualistic pattern of fragmented mini-motifs...[There are] noticeable accomplishments and acute vision during this curiously interesting endeavor. --Glenn Astarita, eJazz News, September 25, 2007
Reviews of Mills' previous releases
"[Mills exhibits]...rhythmic vitality that catches hold of the listener instantly and never lets go, a sense of timing that's utterly sure and secure, a virtuosity that sets the keyboard ablaze. He's an exciting pianist, one of a handful of original talents on the St. Louis music scene." --James Wierzbicki, St. Louis Globe-Democrat
"While listeners spend time trying to categorize Mills...years of classical training have ensured that they will be dazzled by his technique. His left hand is often stunning, weaving a complex counterpoint to his right-hand creations. Equally fabulous is his rhythm, honed to a fine art ..." --Tom McDermott, The Riverfront Times
"Mills is a keyboard tour de force...forceful and individualistic. Reminds me of Horowitz gone global." --The Fortnightly College Radio Report
"His playing rises above any question of influence. ESFOMA is an excellent showcase..anyone with an interest in fine piano playing would find this album highly entertaining." --Terry Perkins, The Riverfront Times